Seeing a Naturopath for Eczema Treatment

Have I seen a naturopath for eczema? You bet.

I’ve seen three naturopaths, or “naturopathic doctors” in my life. Most MDs think they’re quacks, frankly, but many patients swear by them. I’ve found there’s a lot more variability in naturopaths than in MDs, at the very least. They make money by their visits with their patients, of course, but also by taking a cut of the supplements they sell you. This incentivizes the not so good ones to prescribe many, many supplements.

This was the case with the first naturopath I saw, just outside of Boston.

What is naturopathy and what does a naturopath for eczema do?

Naturopaths tap into nature’s remedies and embrace a holistic view on health. They’re all about trusting the body’s own healing powers and digging deep to uncover what’s really causing the problem, rather than just slapping a Band-Aid on the symptoms, which I certainly appreciate, since, all of the “Band-Aids” (steroids, lotions, etc.) aren’t cures.

Naturopathy is definitely not mainstream. People use them to “optimize” their health (e.g. biohackers), but frankly, their most frequent patients are folks like us: people who have tried nearly everything else and are on their last resorts, namely in the “alternative medicine” space.

Note: Naturopaths have varying levels of regulation and scope to practice. For example, where I am now, on the West Coast, naturopaths are fully reimbursed by most insurances and can serve as patient’s PCPs. They can do pretty much all of the minor in-office procedures an MD or DO Primary Care Provider would. In other states, they’re hardly recognized at all and are fully funded out-of-pocket. I think I paid close to $250 for just the first visit with the naturopath I saw in Boston. Eek.

With all of this background in mind, I figured it was worth a shot to see what a naturopath for eczema might suggest.

After my consultation, I was recommended a boatload of supplements and a few lifestyle changes, including:

Castor Oil Packs

Doing castor oil packs a few times a week at night. I actually found these super relaxing. They seemed to help with digestion and keep me “regular” as well as help with sleep. But, they were messy. I laid on my yoga mat without a towel and ended up getting oil on it. I would recommend these, but buy this kind instead, or layer whatever you’re laying on with a bunch of old towels, first.

Avoiding Dairy & Gluten

It was also recommended by my naturopath for eczema that I strictly avoid dairy and gluten for 8 weeks. Dairy and gluten are known triggers for eczema for a lot of people who are allergic or intolerant to these things. I knew I wasn’t allergic as I’ve had so many skin prick and blood tests with various allergists over the years for these allergens (fun fact: on my most recent skin prick test, I showed up as allergic to pork. Very strange).

I figured it could be possible (but unlikely) that I was intolerant, though, or at least intolerant for the moment given the current state of my likely very unhappy gut. I made it to week 7 but was seeing my skin worsen (more on that below), so the naturopath and I agreed I should slowly introduce both back into my diet.

Supplements

So many supplements: My naturopath recommended Thorne Multi AM and PM. This was a lot of pills each day. I actually like Thorne though. They seem to be one of the highest quality vitamin makers. I still take their multivitamins and fish oil, for what it’s worth.

I also was taking digestive enzymes, magnesium, melatonin (to sleep), Vitamin D (my blood tests showed I was just slightly deficient), skullcap and passion flower drops (in tea before bed, to sleep), probiotics, and generally following a suggestion to eat more fermented foods.

Various other lifestyle changes

It was recommended I have lemon in my water each morning, first thing. I also was supposed to eat a “meat pill” every night before bed – essentially a literal piece of meat or something high protein (e.g. a scoop of almond butter) before bed as she figured I was waking up in the middle of the night due to blood sugar imbalances. And when I woke up, I started to scratch, which kept me up.

I also generally had to increase my fiber intake (probably everyone with eczema should eat much more fiber), including lots of cruciferous vegetables. Lastly, I was largely vegetarian before I started working with her and she suggested I try to eat meat again and see if that resolved anything (it didn’t, but I definitely feel generally healthier now that I’ve worked meat into some of my meals each week, so I stuck with this).

My results with my naturopath for eczema?

All in all, none of these changes from this first naturopath were a silver bullet. Like I said, I did enjoy the castor oil packs and may get back into them; the warmth of the pack is nice and it’s just a good way to ensure you make yourself lay down and relax before bed. This may be why they seemed to help with sleep. I still eat meat, as mentioned, which was another of her ideas. I’m definitely eating gluten and dairy again, though, and didn’t see much improvement from any of the supplements either.

When I moved coasts, I saw a naturopath in Oregon who specialized in skincare – eczema, acne, and other conditions. I was so hopeful about her ideas. We didn’t really vibe though. She was a bit pushy and really recommended I do food sensitivity testing.

Given all of the diets I’d already tried at that point, I just didn’t think this was worth it and ultimately we stopped working together. Interestingly, she also recommended a few things that were completely opposite of what my Boston naturopath said, namely to avoid any probiotic-rich foods as these can “stir things up” in the gut too much and cause issues. This just didn’t seem right so me given how aware I am of the gut-eczema link.

After continued desperation and no success in curing or treating my eczema, I found another naturopath, again in Oregon, about a year later. She’s at the same wellness clinic as my acupuncturist, so if nothing else, seeing her is convenient.

How’s it going with my naturopath for eczema?

I like her so far, and she seems really sharp. The first thing we’re doing is some updated and very comprehensive blood tests as well as a stool test. Stool tests have been on my radar for a while given everything I know about the gut-eczema connection, as mentioned, but also because my aunt recently worked with a functional medicine MD who did a stool test on her which completely resolved all of the health issues she was facing. Even given the extreme price tag ($450!!), I figured after so many years of suffering I needed to bite the bullet and try this.

This test and the results are happening live. I’ll report back here on what the results are and what she recommended in light of these results.

Overall, my opinions of naturopaths are mixed. I think finding the right one for you and your condition is an art that takes time and, frankly, lots of money.

More to come on this one.

Again, as always, none of this is medical advice. I’m not a licensed medical professional.