A couple of weeks ago I got a little patch of dermatitis on my leg and thought I’d have a go at finding a dermatitis treatment that was natural. I wanted to share with you my experience in case it is helpful for anyone out there!
Step 1: Identifying the skin condition as dermatitis
When I first got the little itchy, red, rash on my leg, I wasn’t sure what it was. Was it a fungal skin condition? was it eczema? or some kind of rash? To try and clarify things, I looked through some photos on google images (you may need a strong stomach for google imaging skin conditions! – proceed with caution! lol!). After a thorough bit of google research and seeing several photos that looked exactly like what I had, I was fairly confident that what I had was dermatitis (in my case it was probably brought on by a combination of dry skin and, according to the location of the rash, Traditional Chinese Medicine would locate it on the Liver channel, which may be to do with feelings of frustration and irritability which are things I had been experiencing at the time the dermatitis came up).
Step 2: How I found a natural remedy for dermatitis
Once I knew what the rash was called (“dermatitis”) I just googled “natural treatment for dermatitis” and the first helpful article that came up was a great article on home remedies for dermatitis, and it suggested in point number 1 to try using high quality, organic, virgin, Coconut Oil (sometimes also called coconut butter since it’s solid at room temperature in colder weather). I had some at home already (I use this one by a company called Tiana which I usually buy to use in my cooking: links on Amazon – Amazon UK; Amazon USA), and it felt to me like a good, gentle product to try so, I gave it a go.
NB In picking a coconut oil, I think it’ a good idea to get one in a GLASS container, not plastic, because glass helps preserve the purity of the coconut oil better. There are some theories that plastic may leach plasticy chemicals into the product, especially with very fat-rich products like coconut oil.
Important note: In rare cases, some people may be sensitive to coconut oil, so make sure you are not sensitive to it before use.
Step 3: Treating my dermatitis with coconut oil / butter
I applied a small amount of coconut oil to my rash, and the cooling feel of the oil on my skin was immediately soothing and relieved the itching. I massaged the oil in gently, loving the coconutty aroma. I applied the coconut oil about twice a day (morning and night) for the first few days – sometimes more than twice a day if the area was particularly irritating / itchy. Every day it looked better and better and after a little over 2-3 weeks, it was completely gone.
The way I look at it, I think a good guide to know if the method is helping, is to see if you can see any improvement after the first few applications. If it feels better, I continue, and if it feels worse, I stop and look for other possible methods of treatment.
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Other things I did to help the situation:
Alongside the coconut oil application I also took some nutritional supplements to help the situation. I took zinc picolinate (22mg) once a day (this one on Amazon UK; Amazon USA), and vitamin C (500mg) once a day (this one on Amazon UK, Amazon USA), since these are both nutrients that are helpful in skin healing.
Other methods I tried before coconut oil which I didn’t find as helpful in my particular case:
- - Essential oils (I tried melaluca alternifolia when I thought that whatever skin condition I had was fungal, and I also tried applying lavender and geranium, but none of these helped much in my case)
- - Homeopathic remedy: Urtica Urens (seemed to have no effect in this particular case)
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I hope that reading about my experience is useful to someone out there. I’m not qualified to give advice on how to treat medical conditions so this isn’t advice of me telling you what you should do – it’s just my report of what I did in helping myself. : )
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Disclaimer: It is always prudent to seek professional guidance from a qualified medical practitioner with all matters concerning health. It is the responsibility of each individual person to do what feels right for them. The author of this article takes no responsibility for the health choices made by readers of this article.
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