“I have tried every cream, lotion, and oil out there and nothing works!”

Sound familiar? I hear this complaint all of the time from those suffering with skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and dry cracking skin, especially from parents about their children. There is nothing more frustrating than irritating skin problems that just do not seem to go away no matter what you do. Time after time I hear stories of children being teased about it in school and adults too embarrassed to go to work.

I distinctly recall a 9-year-old boy in my practice with eczema that covered 75% of his hands, forearms and elbows. His mom struggled to get him to wear anything other than long sleeved shirts, even in the summer time. He was extremely embarrassed about his eczema, and it did not help that kids at school teased him about it. After trying everything well meaning family members and their family physician had suggested, they finally decided to see a naturopath as a last hope. After 4 months of naturopathic treatment, his skin had completely cleared up.

When it comes to the treatment of skin problems, most people turn to their family physicians who more often than not prescribe cortisone cream. After weeks, if not months of applying this messy cream, which can lead to thinning of the skin, most people are still left suffering. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the ability of naturopathic doctors to successfully treat many different kinds of skin conditions. Our approach is quite different.

We treat skin conditions from the inside out, as opposed to using a topical band-aid.

Would you be surprised to hear that in about 80% of the skin problems I see in my office, food intolerances are a major contributing factor? That’s right!!! The foods you are eating are likely contributing to your stubborn itchy, red, and dry skin.

Although there seems to be greater awareness and media attention given to common food intolerances such as dairy, gluten, and eggs, there are so many other foods that people can be intolerant to. Sadly, many people are struggling with the symptoms of undiagnosed food sensitiveness. So, if you suffer from eczema, psoriasis, or dry cracking skin you may have food intolerances like 30% of the population. This is particularly true in cases of children with chronic skin problems. The challenging piece is that food intolerances are most often to foods we eat on a regular basis.

Thus, getting the appropriate blood test to diagnose your food intolerances is essential to your health.

If you think you or somebody you know may be suffering from food intolerances, the first step is to get tested and find out what foods are leading to these health concerns. The second step is to know what to do about food intolerances if they are present. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I provide this testing and have many treatment options for those individuals with positive blood test results for food intolerances.

Stop suffering unnecessarily, check out my website www.aspiremedicine.ca to sign up for my free weekly health tips and to get more information on food intolerance testing.