Eczema And Joint Pain

[honeybee]

@pina vitamin b2 is said to help with skin problems including eczema you can google for more info. I happened upon this info when searching for dry eye help. B2 seems to be helping me with eye health in general (not the dry issue) and perhaps digestion.

 

[Nina]

post 98385 I had pain under my heels fixed with myofascial release massage (rolfing).

Makes sense. I also had a lot of relief in the past from a few sessions with an osteopath.
However I'm out of cash right now.
Aspirin is working for now!

 

[Nina]

post 98400 @pina vitamin b2 is said to help with skin problems including eczema you can google for more info. I happened upon this info when searching for dry eye help. B2 seems to be helping me with eye health in general (not the dry issue) and perhaps digestion.

Thanks. According to cronometer, I'm getting a lot of B2 from food, 3 to 5 mg a day.

 

[Nina]

I just realized that when I concentrate on being busy, doing all kinds of stuff, being productive, going out of the house, being active, happy, planning fun stuff, my eczema, joint pain and new heel pain tend to fade. ("if she thinks, she sinks")
I also benefit on organizing my home and workspace, taking control of things.

In the last years, I put a lot of energy in avoiding all kinds of stressful situations at all cost, even low-stress stuff, like avoiding this street corner because it's hard to cross.

I became an excellent avoider. Talk about painting yourself in a corner. Straying from your path.

Of course, I did what I could in the situation I was in.

I changed my situation, so take this eczema: I don't want you, I don't need you, you can totally leave now and DIE!

+1 for coffee, sugar, gelatin and checklists

 

[tara]

I was getting heel pain earlier this year. I eventually tracked it down to some inappropriate insoles I was wearing on some days but not others, and it went away within a week or so of ditching them for flatter soles. But while it was in swing, it was hurting most when I first got up from sitting, and on every day, not just when I was ill-shod.

 

[Nina]

post 98576 I was getting heel pain earlier this year. I eventually tracked it down to some inappropriate insoles I was wearing on some days but not others, and it went away within a week or so of ditching them for flatter soles. But while it was in swing, it was hurting most when I first got up from sitting, and on every day, not just when I was ill-shod.

I also get pain when I first get up from sitting. It seems that flip flops are very bad for heels... I don't usually wear those, but it's been very hot here. I switched them and my tiny sandals for good quality shoes, thick and comfortable sole, with just the right heel height. It really helps. The knee pain has almost disappeared also! That's a relief.

The eczema is really bothering me though, and I'm actively looking into it.

Thanks, Tara!

 

[Nina]

I'm trying to learn everything about eczema. This eczema needs to be gone last week, and I wont be able to work with it. Also my son's eczema returned.

So here it goes.

Eczema is an autoimmune disease. (I didn't know). My immune system is "disordered".
Ray Peat mentions eczema in Membranes, plasma membranes, and surfaces .
He wrote about autoimmune diseases in Immunodeficiency, dioxins, stress, and the hormones.

RP (...) I reviewed the many things in our environment that are known to suppress immunity, and which have become increasingly prevalent in our environment--unsaturated vegetable oils, ferrous iron and carrageenan in our foods, lead in air, food, and water, exposure to medical, military, and industrial ionizing radiation, vaccinations, pesticides, chlorinated hydrocarbons, nitric oxide (smog and medications) and oral contraceptives and environmental estrogens, in particular. (...) Currently, it is popular to recommend polyunsaturated oils to treat eczema and psoriasis. These oils are immunosuppressive, so it is reasonable to think that there might be some pleasant consequences if a certain immunological process is suppressed, but they are also intimately involved with inflammation, sensitivity to ultraviolet light, and many other undesirable things.

(from "membranes...")

So of course I'm already avoiding PUFA and iron, although I could probably do better. Peat mentions lead, so I decided to stop using my slow-cooker, and my chipped Le Creuset, just in case. While I'm at it, I have a teflon pan, it's new but I'll stop using it for a while also just in case. As for lead in water (for coffee), I'm using a Brita filter.

RP: It is common knowledge, among people who study immunity, that radiation, polyunsaturated fatty acids, estrogens, and dioxins are toxic to the thymus gland, and can produce immuno-deficiency. (...) Slight damage to the immune system, such as can be produced by hypoglycemia or other energy deficit--creates an exaggerated inflammatory response, and the release of the mediators of inflammation, including histamine, serotonin, and prostaglandins, activates the stress hormone system, leading to further biological damage. Liver disease and several other "autoimmune" diseases involve abnormal immune responses, probably including thymic deficiency and an intensified inflammatory response.

(from "membranes...")

Radiation? EMF? Should I be worried about it?
I already put my phone in airplane mode before going to bed. My boyfriend doesn't, and most of the time the phone is somewhere IN the bed (BAD). Shutting the WI-FI off for the night has been on my list for a while also. This issue is controversial to say the least, judging by articles on this forum and on the web.

hypoglycemia or other energy deficit:
I take it it's very important that I get enough calories and sugar. Aiming for 2500 calories, getting used to sprinkle sugar everywhere (avoided those for 20 years). And cook desserts.

What if it's NOT eczema?
I remember reading this article a few years ago: Irrational rash (NYT). My rash "pattern" fits this woman's hands. She would get hurt by the sun while driving.

Photo-allergy is a rare reaction to light. For some, light alone is enough to cause the reaction. But this patient didn’t have that sort of allergy — if she did, she would have a rash on all the parts of her body that were exposed to the sun. Her reaction occurred when sunlight interacted with something on or in the skin that was otherwise benign and well tolerated. In this case, the woman seemed to be reacting to UVA rays, which are able to travel through glass. (Most UVB rays are not.) The UVA light somehow changed a substance into something the patient was allergic to, and that caused a reactive rash.

But what could that substance be? She had switched out every cream, every soap, every lotion many times since this rash started. Grekin didn’t know what the specific trigger was. But he assumed that something she used, probably years earlier, caused a reaction that lived long after the initial substance was gone, in what is called a persistent light reaction. It’s the rarest form of this rare reaction.

NYT article: Irrational rash

Sensitivity to light would suggest a deficiency in vitamin A right ? +1 for liver. will try small portions daily. Liver also contains B2.

What about shampoo?
A lot of people are allergic to Methylisothiazolinone. It causes allergic contact dermatitis, and it's in my ex-favorite shampoo. It's also in dishwashing soap, etc. I'll be trying Dr. Bronner's castile soap.

I'm also looking into latex gloves allergy.

My strategy is to try EVERYTHING at the same time. I'm hoping a combination if things will work, and then I'll slowly back down on some (annoying) things to see if it makes a difference.

OTHERS:

• Aspirin seems to help. I had a headache, took aspirin most of the day, and the eczema seemed better. So I'll be taking an aspirin daily

• Drinking a lot of coffee also seems to help

• CO2: bag breathing works for me

• I am allergic to nickel (skin reactions, mostly to jeans buttons). Apparently mac laptops with the silver finish contain nickel. I just put a sticky plastic over it.

• Now taking eggshell powder 1 teaspoon a day

 

[Giraffe]

I experienced sensitivity to light a couple of times when I was travelling. I think that I lacked the dairy products, which normally are center stage in my diet.

 

[Nina]

This morning I took an epsom salts bath and used castile soap instead of showering in methylisothiazolinone (MI). I put shea butter after, it worked great.

The MI is everywhere, and I have been washing dishes with it daily. Next I'm looking into Sodium laureth sulfate.

Found a simple recipe for deodorant, will report back.

I ordered a red light.

My vitamin E has soybean oil in it.

Heel pain almost gone, so is knee pain. :)

 

[Gl;itch.e]

Pina. Just wondering if you saw my post regarding carrot fibre? It's seriously the biggest thing I can recommend from my own experience with eczema. I went through the same process of trying to find the "missing factor" for years with very annoying eczema. IMO keeping endotoxin in its place and keeping the gut clean/healthy with enough good fibre like a carrot a day is the biggest piece of the skin problem puzzle. Make sure you have that in place before looking elsewhere. Yes its simple but its powerful. If you have slow digestion/transit time look into ways to speed this up/increase your metabolism.

 

[tara]

post 99024 The MI is everywhere, and I have been washing dishes with it daily. Next I'm looking into Sodium laureth sulfate.

I think this is one that irritates lots of people.

post 99024 My vitamin E has soybean oil in it.

If it's highish dose vit-E, and lowinsh ratio soybean, it may not be a big deal.

post 99024 Heel pain almost gone, so is knee pain. :)

Yay. :)

 

[Nina]

post 99037 Pina. Just wondering if you saw my post regarding carrot fibre? It's seriously the biggest thing I can recommend from my own experience with eczema. I went through the same process of trying to find the "missing factor" for years with very annoying eczema. IMO keeping endotoxin in its place and keeping the gut clean/healthy with enough good fibre like a carrot a day is the biggest piece of the skin problem puzzle. Make sure you have that in place before looking elsewhere. Yes its simple but its powerful. If you have slow digestion/transit time look into ways to speed this up/increase your metabolism.

Yes, I read it! Everyday I have my carrot salad, or just a carrot. Wouldn't live without it!

 

[Nina]

post 98400 @pina vitamin b2 is said to help with skin problems including eczema you can google for more info. I happened upon this info when searching for dry eye help. B2 seems to be helping me with eye health in general (not the dry issue) and perhaps digestion.

I decided to give vitamin B a try. I bought a complex B liquid that I use topically. It smells absolutely disgusting, I wonder how long it takes to get in the bloodstream, anybody know? It smells like rotten oranges from hell.

 

[Nina]

post 98888 I experienced sensitivity to light a couple of times when I was travelling. I think that I lacked the dairy products, which normally are center stage in my diet.

Interesting. Recently I had doubts about dairy because of my eczema, digestion, etc. I tried different types of milk, I lowered my milk consumption, and it didn't help, in fact, I felt worse. So I think dairy is okay, yay! How could I live without dairy?!

These days I'm scanning my cron-o-meter a lot, trying to hit the 2500 calories mark (still impossible), and get all my vitamins and minerals from food, especially magnesium, calcium, potassium, and proteins. I realized that when I have my special drink: sparkling water, OJ and 1/2 tsp eggshell, I don't digest well, so I'm not hungry. Might be just the bubbles, I hope it's not the OJ. Maybe too much eggshell at one time. Also I never get 100% recommended potassium or vitamin K. Looking into that.

To protect my skin I wear nitrile gloves over cotton gloves for cooking and whenever necessary. (not all day...). it helps. I mention it for someone who would have the same issue, it took me a while to come up with the right gloves combination. In short, the cotton gloves take care of sweat, and the latex-free nitrile gloves protect from water, soap and others.

post 99038 If it's highish dose vit-E, and lowinsh ratio soybean, it may not be a big deal.

Thank you Tara, I had stopped using it, although it helps. It gets very confusing sometimes.

I saw in another thread that uncooked gelatin might be allergenic for some, (like gelatin in coffee), so I stopped.

The eczema is suddenly getting better, and I'm also feeling happier. I have been depressed a lot in the last two weeks. The thing is, when you have been depressed a lot in your life, you don't really notice it sneaking back into your life. Also, my main coping mechanism is... humor. That has got to be confusing. Anyway, I slowly lost motivation, courage, energy over the past two months or so. But I feel suddenly happier now, so something is working. On top of all my Peaty efforts, COULD IT BE THE COMPLEX-B LIQUID??? That would be amazing.

This story from a Peat article reached me, since I had no memory for words recently:

RP: A 37 year old slightly alcoholic man with a bright red nose and cheeks was an amateur fiction writer, but he was having trouble with his memory for words, and for everyday events. Even conversationally, he had to struggle for relatively familiar words. On the suggestion that riboflavin might help his memory, by allowing his brain cells to use oxygen more efficiently, he had his doctor give him an intravenous injection of B vitamins. When I saw him the next day, his conversation was perfectly fluent, and he obviously had easy access to a good vocabulary. Just as noticeable was the normal color of his nose and cheeks. For a week, he had a daily injection of the B vitamins, and his nose color and vocabulary stayed normal. But on the weekend, after not having the shots for two days, his nose and cheeks were again maraschino cherry red, and his speech was halting, as he struggled for words. He forgot the whole episode, and neglected to return to the doctor for more of the vitamin injections. Ten years later, he had developed a medium-sized potato nose, and had his heart valves replaced.

(link)

More to come...

 

[Nina]

A little update:
I have more energy, more concentration, I am more organized since taking the b-complex. I'm not constantly looking for words and names. I can imagine a day without taking a nap. wow.

At the same time, I'm having success with my calories goals, I now eat 2200 calories minimum. I am hungry and I eat a lot of small meals. That way I get almost all the vitamins, proteins, etc. I don't think I gained weight and frankly, it's not a priority. I'm thinking of taking something else for B vitamins, since I'm taking way too much B12. Might try Energin next. If I could eventually rely only on food for that it would be great.

Eczema is still there (but better), and heel pain comes and goes.
Since I react so strongly to tomatoes, I wonder if I'm allergic to nightshades. Potatoes are very practical, and there is potato starch in all my flour mixes for cookies and crepes. (Cookies and crepes are essential for the kids!). I guess I should give this a try. Well, if it works, at least i'll get rid of the eczema. Also, I love turnips, which are not nightshades. Turnip cookie anyone?

It would make a lot of sense, that the eczema and joint pain appeared when I gave up gluten. Giving up gluten was great, but then I began to eat more potatoes and potato starch. We'll see!

 

[Nina]

I had another idea, I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

I didn't have a lot of info on nickel allergy (self-diagnosed, small reactions to metal buttons), and while doing some googling on potatoes, I learned that they have some nickel content. What, nickel in food? I knew about chocolate and shrimps actually. I guess I didn't want to look into that.

Turns out a lot of peat-approved foods are low in nickel. (high nickel foods include grains and beans)

There is nickel in ground meat (i eat some from time to time), and gelatin.

My favorite shea butter (for eczema) probably has nickel. (switched to coconut oil)

Nickel content varies from region to region, so it's hard to get info, I'll have to test it.

It is recommended to have a high-iron diet to limit symptoms, which I won't do. It explains a lot, though. It might explain why eczema sufferers feel better when giving up dairy, right? Absorption or iron.

Vitamin C is also recommended. It happens to be included in my complex-B vitamins.

I think some of my ustensils are nickel-plated.

Nickel allergy is explained here in detail.

Nickel is a ubiquitous trace element and the commonest cause of metal allergy among the people. Nickel allergy is a chronic, recurring problem; females are affected more commonly than males. Nickel allergy may develop at any age. Once developed, it tends to persist life-long. Nickel is present in most of the dietary items and food is considered to be a major source of nickel exposure for the general population. Nickel in the diet of a nickel-sensitive person can provoke dermatitis. Careful selection of food with relatively low nickel concentration can bring a reduction in the total dietary intake of nickel per day. This can influence the outcome of the disease and can benefit the nickel sensitive patient.

I getting all worked up about this, I think I should just have some OJ and breathe a little.

 

[Nina]

I'm inspecting the kitchen, and I realize my electric kettle is non-magnetic stainless steel. I have been using it constantly. (french press coffee, broth). Doesn't sound so good.

The release of nickel, chromium and lead from electric kettles to water under conditions simulating regular household use was investigated. Ten out of 26 kettles sold on the Danish market released more than 50 micrograms/l nickel to water, whereas neither lead nor chromium was released in any significant amount. Fifty micrograms/l of nickel in water was chosen as the threshold of action, because concentrations below this value were considered unlikely to provide outbreaks of eczema for those consumers suffering from contact allergy to nickel, who are also sensitive to the content of nickel in the diet.

Source

As for gelatin being in the list of nickel-containing foods, I think it's because of the way it's processed (stainless steel, high heat), and probably varies from brand to brand. I don't buy gelatin anymore, but I make bone broth in a Visions glass pot.

 

[tara]

post 99877 Turnip cookie anyone?

I have white rice flour and tapioca starch in the cupboard for occasional baking. - I think if you mix a little tapioca with a larger amount of rice you might be able to make reasonable cookies with that.

I imagine that potato starch would have less of the possibly problematic nightshade chemicals than the whole potato, so you might get away with using some of it. Though testing avoiding it for a while might be worth it.

I didn't know about nickel in those foods.

I wonder if hard (high calcium) water helps protect water from leaching nickel from the kettle?

Yay for B vitamins.

 

[Nina]

Recovery is so slow. I'm usually extremely patient. Then again I didn't take my vitamins B yesterday. That'll teach me! Have to stay positive.

Yesterday, something new happened. I had less shortness of breath! I was yawning all afternoon (wasn't tired), like my rib cage or lungs wanted to expand. And my eczema was kind of under control.

However, I just had a sudden "scratch attack" this morning. It's like poison wants to get out of my skin. NOW! It really felt like an allergic reaction to something I just ingested. (bag breathing is the only solution to that)

So what I just had was commercial OJ from the bottom of the jar. (With some eggshell powder).
It's the Simply Orange pulp-free brand, the top part has absolutely no pulp, but the pulp sits in the bottom.
- Would that be fruit pectin allergy?
- Would that be sulfite allergy (pectin contains sulfites)? (list & info)

Sulfite is a preservative, mostly in processed food. This is interesting:
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables : Sulfite use banned (except for fresh potatoes). (link)
I always had trouble with anything not homemade. That's it, I'm moving to an amish community. Also my sister is allergic to sulfite.

I always had trouble with apples as well. (did not eat them for a while)

Fruit pectin commonly is found in the skin and flesh of fruit. Pectin is a fiber that can help aid in digestion, but for some people, an allergic reaction occurs, making pectin a substance to be avoided. After you ingest fruit pectin, your immune system overreacts to the substance and unleashes various chemicals to fight it off. When this occurs, tissues throughout your body become inflamed, leading to common allergic reaction symptoms, such as asthma, sinus congestion, skin rashes and digestive issues.

(link)

Also, would somebody help me understand this quote from a study? Are they saying OJ and coffee are good or not? English in not my mother tongue.

Other substances/physical states that interfere with nickel absorption from diet

1 - Vitamin C, orange juice, tea, coffee, milk inhibit nickel absorption in human[34]
2- Iron deficiency Anemia, Pregnancy and Lactation can enhance nickel absorption in human body[35]
3 - Adequate iron intake and status can reduce nickel absorption from diet in human.[36]

Gastrointestinal absorption of nickel is variable and depends on the composition of the diet. It is reported that nickel absorption may be suppressed by binding or chelating substances, competitive inhibitors, or redox reagents; on the other hand, absorption is often enhanced by substances that increase pH, solubility, or oxidation, or by chelating agents that are actively absorbed. Such compounds include: Ascorbic acid, citric acid, pectin (from orange juice), which affect trace mineral absorption; tannins (in tea and coffee), which inhibit absorption of iron and zinc; ascorbic acid which suppresses nickel absorption; and complexing agents, such as EDTA, wich depress plasma-nickel levels.

(source)

post 100196 I have white rice flour and tapioca starch in the cupboard for occasional baking. - I think if you mix a little tapioca with a larger amount of rice you might be able to make reasonable cookies with that.

Hmmmm I have a shortbread recipe in mind... At this point there might be nothing left I can eat! oh crap.

 

[bornamachine]

OP, have you done a fasting iron panel test?