Could cactus juice soothe my eczema?

By JANE CLARKE

Last updated at 11:02 13 February 2007

Please help. I have suffered from eczema for more than 50 years, but over the past few months my fingers have become very sore, with painful cracks in the skin, and my scalp is very dry. Am I lacking something in my diet? I eat fresh fruit and loads of vegetables daily. And I have tried all sorts of creams, as well as always wearing rubber gloves for washing up. I am so careful, but nothing seems to help.

Gilly Birt, Chatteris, Cambs

I come from a family who suffer with eczema, so I'm aware how troublesome it can be. One of my greatest pleasures as a nutritionist is helping someone overcome bad eczema.

I find it especially gratifying treating children — it's heartbreaking to see them clawing away at their red, raw, sometimes bleeding skin, in the hope that scratching will provide relief.

Because the right diet really can make a difference: you can go from having red, raw eczema to virtually no problem at all, other than a little dryness and sensitivity.

Eczema is an inflammatory condition, causing dry, itchy skin — scratching breaks the skin and makes it bleed, introducing the risk of secondary infections.

And the causes? Ezcema is associated with high levels of IgE — a substance found in the blood which plays a role in the immune system — and that means genes definitely play a part. Eczema is also linked to environmental and lifestyle factors, including diet.

Washing up, which you mention, can be a problem. However, there are other environmental triggers, including contact with pets, rubber or latex, nickel and house-dust mites.

Scratching is the worst thing for eczema — it exacerbates the skin's inflammatory response. People who can stop notice an enormous difference. Of course, with little ones this is really hard, but try to stop them scratching as much as you can. Night can be the worst time — in severe cases, making them wear soft cotton gloves and sleepsuits can help.

Specific foods can trigger eczema, while others can just make an existing problem worse. For instance, your skin might be irritated by a pet, but the eczema this provokes isn't unbearable — then you eat a diet rich in cow's milk and the combination of the two factors makes your skin flare up big time.

The first thing is to see if your eczema is triggered by any particular food or drink. The reaction isn't always immediate, so keep a diary for a couple of weeks, recording what you're eating and drinking, and how your skin reacts.

Among the most common food allergens are milk (usually cow's, but it could be sheep's or goat's), eggs, citrus fruits (usually oranges), nuts (especially peanuts), shellfish, wheat, soya and colourings and preservatives (particularly E210 and 219). Certain alcoholic drinks, particularly red wine, can trigger eczema, too.

If you think certain foods are responsible, remove them from your diet for two to three weeks — but make sure you replace them with something equally nutritious.

If, for example, you cut out cow's milk and its products, switch to sheep or goat equivalents, unless you then find these also trigger your eczema, rice milk (which goes well in porridge and on cereals) or oat milk. If wheat seems to be the problem, buy wheat-free breads and cereals.

After a couple of weeks you should, if your eczema is related to trigger foods, start to see a difference; then it's a case of trying to keep these triggers out of your diet on a longer-term basis.

Whether your eczema is triggered by a food or not, it's definitely worth boosting your intake of oily fish and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as these can have a positive healing effect on eczema.

Girls and women of childbearing age should have two 140g portions of oily fish (salmon, fresh tuna, sardines, mackerel), while boys (and men) can eat up to four portions a

as they're not going to be passing on any potentially damaging toxins to future generations through pregnancy. If you're not a of oily fish try other omega-3-foods such as walnuts, walnut hemp oil (I like Good Oil, from supermarkets, or River Cottage's oil (www.rivercottage. net), hemp seeds.

Linseeds (aka flax seeds) are another source, although they have be ground up in a blender in for the body to absorb the beneficial omegas — stir the ground seeds into porridge, sprinkle on cereals, add to a smoothie a teaspoon). However, in my experience these plant omega oils aren't as good at reducing inflammation as oily fish.

Another option is a fish oil supplement. Adults can take a supplement containing a total of 500mg to 750mg of fish oils EPA and DHA.

For young children — over six months and up to five years — the best form of essential omega-3 fatty acid is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). I like MorDHA-Mini, a highly purified DHA supplement with a natural strawberry flavour available in a small, easy-to-swallow capsule.

The much-worried-about impurities such as mercury and PCBs have been removed. The recommended dose is 100mg of DHA a day. For older children there are MorEPA-minis.

If you choose another supplement for your child, make sure the label states it is definitely suitable for their age group. Supplements can be mixed with milk and juices.

Saturated animal fats (found in butter) and polyunsaturated fats (found in some margarines) adversely affect the way the beneficial omega oils work, so use monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil instead — olive oil is rich in vitamin E, which is great for irritated skin, too.

I'm a big fan of aloe vera juice, which comes from the cactus. I'm not sure why it works, but it really can help with eczema. The usual dose is between 25ml and 75ml per day. Look for the 'IASC certified' seal, which guarantees that products have been processed according to standards set by the International Aloe Science Council.

I AM 42 years old and follow a healthy diet, but I suffer from frequent attacks of mouth ulcers which are very painful and sometimes make eating difficult. I take a multivitamin and mineral tablet every day, but is there a certain vitamin I am lacking?

Paul Brown, by e-mail SOME people seem to be more susceptible to mouth ulcers (the medical term is 'canker sore'); they can also occur if you accidentally chew or bite your tongue or mouth. Check with your dentist that you don't have any rough teeth rubbing against your mouth and causing ulcers to develop.

Another possible cause frequently overlooked is toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). This is a foaming agent thought to wear away the mucus membrane, the protective layer that safeguards the gums and tongue.

It might be worth avoiding toothpastes with SLS — you will find non-foaming alternatives at health-food stores. This simple change can make a big difference.

It's unlikely that a vitamin or mineral deficiency is causing your mouth ulcers — your diet is healthy and you take a vitamin and mineral supplement (I don't think you need to, by the way, but it does rule out the likelihood of any deficiency).

Make sure you eat a balanced diet — plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, oily fish, etc. Mouth ulcers have a habit of appearing when one is a little run down.

Keeping a food diary for a couple of weeks will help show if your ulcers are triggered by specific foods — strawberries, tomatoes, dairy products, oranges, even Marmite can be a problem, although rarely so.

Even too much vitamin C taken as a supplement can cause mouth ulcers, so check that you're not overdosing on these — really you need only 60mg of Vitamin C per day (30mg for children). Excessive alcohol can also irritate the mouth.

Some people swear by liquorice which has had the glycyrrhizic acid removed (called deglycyrrhizinated liquorice or DGL, available from health-food stores).

If none of this works, it would be a good idea to see your doctor, to check that you're not suffering from anything more serious.

WRITE TO JANE

• Jane will answer a selection of readers' questions in Good Health every Tuesday. Send your nutritional queries to Jane Clarke, Good Health, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, or email jane. clarke@dailymail.co.uk Jane cannot enter into personal correspondence. Please include contact details (not for publication). Her replies cannot apply to individual cases and should be taken in a general context. Contact your GP with any health problems.