If you love Kiwi fruit like I do, and if you have been eating a lot of them, you might want to take note of this. This exotic fruit is very rich is Vitamin C but it is also the culprit of causing ailments such as fatigue, migraine and allergy related ailments. Yes that includes eczema too.

Kiwi can be linked to up to 40 conditions, said allergy specialist Yorktest Laboratories. Its researchers took blood tests from more than 30,000 people and 17 per cent showed an allergic reaction to kiwi fruit. The figure was up from 4.4 per cent of people who took the same test three years ago. One scientist said: ‘Kiwi fruit has been well recognised as a high problem for more than 20 years. Our tests show an alarming rise in potentially kiwi fruit-related illnesses.’ However, the side-effects are not harming sales. Last year, £46million of kiwi fruit was shipped into Britain – up from £21.6million in 2002.

So if you have a sudden eczema flare up and you have been eating kiwis a bit too much, that might be the culprit.

Most eczema sufferers tend to turn to steriods whenever their eczema flare up. Often these people neglect what needs your attention most, your skin. Your skin needs something and a flare up is its way to tell you. Treat your skin rather than the symptoms (the itchy rash).

One of the common reason for a flare up is dehydration. Eczema skin is dehydrated skin. When your skin is dehydrated, the moisture barrier which protects your skin against harmful irritants is depleted. Therefore making you more susceptible to breakout and allergic reactions.

How do you know if you are dehydrated? Here are some of the warnings signs: headaches similar to what is experienced during a hangover, a sudden episode of visual snow, decreased blood pressure, and dizziness or fainting when standing up due to orthostatic hypotension. Untreated dehydration generally results in delirium, unconsciousness, and in extreme cases death. Symptoms of mild dehydration include thirst, decreased urine volume, abnormally dark urine, unexplained tiredness, lack of tears when crying, headache, dry mouth, and dizziness when standing due to orthostatic hypotension.

However, do not wait for these symptoms to arise before you do anything about it. It is absolutely important that you keep your skin hydrated at all times. If you exercise, do keep a bottle of drinking water handy.

DRINK WATER! MOISTURIZE IMMEDIATELY AFTER BATH TO RETAIN MOISTURE.

This is referring to the process of eczema healing. During this time, you may experience utter discomfort, such as itching and peeling of your skin. Most people find this a difficult period. However, this period of time is necessary as your body is against years of abuse to the body. You’ve got to keep things in perspective. Respect your body’s pace and let the success in one area provide hope for breakouts in other areas.

For some there is grainy or leathery like skin , this happens when the skin cells are regenerating too rapidly (in basic terms). Hyperkeratinization (spelling off) is the technical term. This is why I continue to suggest the vitamin E oil. Vitamin E regulates normal skin cell regeneration and proliferation. You have extra layers of dead skin cells that need to be exfoliated. The vitamin E oil will help the process. However, you need to excercise more patience with it. Through this process expect a lot of flaking until the new skin is finally revealed. Don’t rush it by harsh scrapings or scratching; gently exfoliate it.

The body knows that both scratching and picking equates to reversal of the skin healing process. The scab that forms on the outer layer of the skin serves as a protective barrier while the new skin cells are forming underneath. As those new skin cells form, they soften the scab and it falls off naturally when those new skin cells have completely formed. When you pick the scab, you pull off the forming new skin cells and make that area of skin vulnerable to the outside elements because the skin cells hadn’t completely formed or matured. As a result, the process has to start over again. My mother habitually sits watching the television and picking scabs. Then she wonders why the area never heals. The frustrating part to me is that I know how close the skin is to healing. This is what I mean by patience. I’m not talking months or years; I’m talking in a matter of days to a week that your new skin would have been revealed had picking not entered the picture.

Yes, itching (though we hate it) is a part of the healing process. When you exercise, you’re releasing sweat and promoting circulation. In the area of your arms, where the pores are currently blocked or clogged by dead skin cells, your sweat release (due to the blocking) will feel more like the prickly heat sensation I mentioned in an earlier post. Eventually, and when your pores are clear of the dead skin cells, that irritation will go away. Continue to exercise; this will speed up the healing process.

Your body is healing. It is revealing to you all the areas that need attention. When it reveals those areas, don’t get frustrated. Work with your body to continue the healing process. You’ve already demonstrated proven success; so attack it from a position of power, not from a position of fear. Understand that healing is a process; it has stages of progression. Everything you’ve described to me suggest the body is healing. The only point in your message where I saw a regression in your healing condition was in the fact that you picked a scab.

A hundred years ago, an over-the-counter cannabis extract ointment was sold as a household remedy for eczema and other allergic skin reactions, but was later withdrawn from the market as a quack product. Now scientists in Germany have discovered that cannabis does in fact reduce the itching and swelling of allergic skin reactions and they have called for a reappraisal of granny’s household remedy.

The research, conducted on mice, points towards new cannabis-based treatments for irritated skin. Extracts from the hemp plant were traditionally used to treat inflammation and could be bought from pharmacists in the early 20th century. But doubts about the efficacy of the untested product along with fears about the intoxicating effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that causes the cannabis high, led to a ban on sales in the 1930s.

The new research suggests that the herbalists who used cannabis ointments to treat eczema knew what they were doing. Scientists now believe that cannabis skin lotion, in a safe form too diluted to affect the brain, could make a comeback.

The team from the University of Bonn in Germany stumbled on the anti-inflammatory effect of THC while conducting a brain study on mice. The animals were genetically engineered so they could not respond to cannabinoids, either THC or its natural equivalents generated in the brain. Unexpectedly, the skin around ear clips placed on the mice to identify them became red and sore.

The scientists realised what this meant - that cannabinoids act like a brake, preventing the immune system from running out of control and triggering inflammation. For 20 years, scientists have known that the brain produces cannabinoids, but it has not been clear why. They appear to have psychological effects, and influence bone growth. Another possible explanation now seems to be that they help regulate the immune system.

The German scientists confirmed their suspicions by dabbing THC ointment on the skin of mice exposed to allergens. Professor Thomas Tuting, a member of the team, said: “If we dabbed THC solution onto the animals’ skin shortly before and after applying the allergen, a lot less swelling occurred than normal.

“The THC attaches itself to the cannabinoid receptors and activates them. In this way, the active substance reduces the allergic reaction.” He said the amount of THC needed to treat skin allergies would be far too small to produce intoxicating effects.

Another treatment option was to develop drugs which prevent the breakdown of natural cannabinoids in the brain.

Source: http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=41246