Quite a number of people I met recently complained about experiencing an increase in their eczema symptoms during summer. From an Ayurvedic perspective, this makes total sense.
The skin (and the eyes) being the seat of Pitta (fire), any excess of fire or heat regardless of the source (physical, mental or emotional) will manifest in those areas in the form of rashes, eczema, psoriasis, irritation or eye problems of all kinds, especially for those with a Pitta constitution.
Multi-level solutions
To address this, Ayurveda proposes a cooling diet, lifestyle, skin care products and awareness. With eczema, the logical approach during summer it to be even more conscious of heating factors in your life.
Diet
Diet may be an issue, and if this is the case, you most likely know the most cooling foods. But do you know which one are too heating? Some are not so obvious. For a cooling diet, you may wish to consult Ayurvedic books such as The Yoga of Herbs by Dr. Vasant Lad, or book a consultation with an Ayurvedic nutritionist.
Below are some ingredients to cool off the skin externally and an exercise to bring awareness to the more subtle triggers.
External solutions
An unguent, hopefully a cooling one, is the first step and I assume you already use one. If you don’t consider Face to Grace’s Eczema Unguent or a consultation to create a customized moisturizer. In addition to your unguent, when the itch or burn increases, apply one or a combination of the following ingredients on the affected area:
- Plain organic yogourt
- Coconut oil by
- Aloe vera gel (cooling yet can be drying, in which case, apply coconut on top)
- Avoid salt baths and drying products on your skin
- Wear a hat
- Prefer clothes made of natural fabrics
- Wear cool colours (blue, turquoise, lilac, beige, grey, white) that reflect the sun out
- Reapply as often as needed
Life-style solutions
Our environment and life in the fast lane, with high levels of stress can be major factors in generating eczema and other skin “dis-eases”. Tackling that is challenging, but we are not powerless. Becoming aware of the irritants and our attitudes in front of them, and establishing consistent habits to cope with them neutrally help tremendously. Consider the following
- Slowing down the breath
- Yoga (ask your instructor for cooling meditations), quijong, tai chi
- Meditation
- Take personal time out/off
- Lavender and chamomile essential oil in your diffuser (helpful to fall asleep too)
- At play, focus on enjoying yourself rather than playing to win
- Engage with people with a Kapha constitution; they are cooling in nature
- At home and at work, spend less time in front of the computer and other tools that emit radioactive waves/particles
The Knower exercise
In this exercise, the point is to ask your inner voices or Knower for its help to identify your triggers. This inner Knower is wise, generous, caring and more knowledgeable than the mind yet includes it.
You’ll need:
15 minutes by yourself, without interruption
1 sheet 8.5 x 11 paper
Pen or pencil
Calm breath
Method
1. Take a sheet of paper and cut in 10 equal pieces
2. On each piece, write one of the following words:
- diet, lifestyle, physical environment, allergies, relationships, emotions, attitudes, medication, connected to other current disease, other
3. Fold each piece of paper, mix them up
4. Take a deep breath and ask your Knower to show you the way to the source of your skin condition. Note that the answers can manifest in any way (pulsation, vibration, tingling, etc.) but you will a definite sense of I Know.
5. Pick up each piece one by one without looking at them, just sense them. Be patient.
6. Put aside those that “felt right”
7. Open them. There may be one or more. They are your partial answers.
8. For each of those, create a new list of question. Let your Knower guide you.
Let say you picked medication, environment, relationship, emotion:
You may ask questions such as:
a. Does my medication create too much heating in my system OR am I allergic to it?
b. Am I allergic to anything in my environment (eg. soap, dust, pollen, piece of clothing, etc)?
c. With whom do I have a heating/irritating relationship (self, other)?
c. Which emotion is creating too much heat (eg. anger, frustration, irritation, stress) and what is the source (eg. too much or too little communication, too much work no play)?
e. What belief is creating too much heat (eg. I must be perfect, I must perform, I must overcome)
f. If you picked Other, you will need to be creative, but do consider karma
Trust that you will get the proper questions, answers and insights to bring you closer to balance. The rest is up to you. Good luck.
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