My story…
When I look back and wonder where my holistic journey began, it was probably when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was at my grandparents house and I was stung on my ear by we think a wasp. The pain was horrible for me, My grandfather jumped up and sliced a potato and put a slice on my ear. It took the pain away. I didn’t want to take the potato off and even slept with it.
That was my first introduction to holistic health. My amazement was short lived, to maybe it wasn’t really known back then when I was younger. I didn’t get re-introduced until years later as a young adult. I went to an acupuncturist. I was extremely skeptical. This man, looked me in my eyes and told me my whole medical history. I was freaked, and still skeptical. He was from Korea and did acupuncture only in the hand or ear. By this point in my life, my seasonal allergies were out of control, and so was my asthma. Plus, I was allergic to first, dust, animals…you name it. He put 100 needles in my hand. He also had me drinking some herbal tea for about 2 weeks. If I was a 10 with suffering, I was down to a 1, for all of my allergies. I remember the first spring, I was so excited to be able to be outdoors for extended periods of time!
This lasted for a little over a year, then I became pregnant with our first daughter. I gained a lot of weight. I started having trouble breathing again, so I would use my inhailer. Then it snowballed, allergies came back after a while. I tried to find this doctor I went to years before, but we couldn’t find him. I was now back to where I was before I found acupuncture.
I tried another place, but it didn’t help much with the allergies.
Fast forward to about 6 years ago. I was in a bad car accident. I suffered from back pain and nerve damage that affects my extremities. I was told basically there was nothing they could do. Well, they could do surgery on my neck, but that was risky in the outcome. I was even limited to pain medicines due to other medicines I am on. I was constantly in pain. Sitting for more than 10 minutes, my back would feel like it would lock up. Walking or standing was no better. Long outings meant a wheelchair or scooter sometimes.
This went on for a few years until I found another acupuncturist who helped drastically with the neck pain and relieved some of the issues I had with the extremities. He metioned to me Qi Qong, from there I found FST (Fascial Stretch Therapy). Qi Song opened my eyes to the world of energy. FST, GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK! I was able to bend and move in ways I couldn’t after the accident. Then I was introduced to Reiki. I was hooked and took classes to become attuned. I became a Usui Reiki Master, then a Lighterian Reiki Master. I learned other type of energetic healing modalities.
*Am I pain free, most days, on a scale of 1-10, I am a 1, and before I found all these modalities ZI was about an 8 most days and on a great day, a 6.
Talking with my husband, I told him I was thinking of getting certified in Integrative Health. He thought it would be better if instead I went for my master’s degree in it instead. I agreed. A few months later I was enrolled at a university not too far from my house. I was nervous about it, but so interested. BeforeI relalized it, I was 1/2 way through the program!
One of the classes I took was in Shamanism, which after that class, I began a year long apprenticeship with a shaman and I loved every minute of it. I will begin another year in the fall.
Another class that led me to pursue outside was my Coaching and Counseling class. After that class, I went one and found a very reputable course and after a few months, became a certified wellness coach!
So, here I am, only 2 classes away from graduating Kappa Omicron Nu with my master’s degree in Integrative Health! I love this holistic path I have been put on. I love helping others reach their potential, either through coaching or energy healing. Everything is infused with a holistic approach, caring for you as a whole.
Atopic Dermatitis
This is not medical advice. This was the first paper I wrote in my A&P Holistic Approach class.
I chose to focus my study for this paper on atopic dermatitis. I selected this topic to better help the overall health of my family. There are 7 types of eczema, but we will be focusing on the most common atopic dermatitis. What is atopic dermatitis? Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is an allergic reaction, that causes inflammation (Roiger & Bullock pg107) . Most of the definitions I’ve researched never mentioned an allergic reaction. Most will say it is dry, itchy skin, rashes, chapped skin, but never have I seen it listed as an allergic reaction. I found this interesting, especially since hearing from multiple allergists throughout the years that eczema, allergies and asthma go hand in hand and yet they have never said to me it was an allergic reaction.
Common areas on a body to find eczema is behind the legs and elbows, as well as areas of skin that can rub against each other such as inner thighs however, it can appear on the face or any other area on the body (National Eczema Association).
While eczema is not contagious, people seem to be leery about touching it or getting too close to someone who has it. This can be very hard emotionally and not just for children, but adults can feel this way too. This can give feelings of isolation, which in turn can cause the patient to become withdrawn and not wanting to participate. This can be especially hard for children who can get teased. Not only can self esteem suffer, but children are likely to miss at least one day of school due to eczema while adults tend to miss 11 days of work a year. Both adults and children tend to have a decreased productivity (NEA-Eczema Stats).
When suffering with eczema, there are times when there can be “flare ups” which would entail bigger areas of symptoms with possible increase of itchiness. These increases can be due to a filaggrin deficiency which is a higher than usual water loss, as well as allergens getting through the skin (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease), extreme exposure to heat or cold, clothing fabrics/detergents, as well as liquids from fruits, vegetables as well as meats to name a few (NEA).
Typical treatments include topical creams (over the counter or prescribed), if there is an infection, an antibiotic can be prescribed and anti-inflammatory pills are some ways to treat (Mayo Clinic). Children under the age of two may not be able to do these treatments. From personal knowledge, doctors will say to use a tiny amount of hydrocortisone 1%, lotion, and an oatmeal bath (however, do not bathe daily as that can add to drying of the skin). Other ‘home remedies’ may include applying diluted apple cider vinegar to the area. You can also use this as a wet wrap by soaking some gauze in it. Switching detergents to no fragrance or a gentle, less chemical alternative may cause some relief.
While these may help, do they really provide a long-term relief? These don’t seem to address the source of where eczema begins. When looking up eczema, I found multiple definitions of it, all really, they were all the same. Most triggers were listed were the same was well. However, natural liquids like the juice from fruit, vegetables and meats really stood out to me. I believe this would fall under food intolerance (NEA). Which, had no doctor ever mentioned this to myself or any family members before. Because of this, let’s look into probiotics, vitamin and mineral supplements and ‘leaky gut’.
The gut’s microbiome plays an essential part of our overall health. Poor diet and lack of nutrients can cause an unbalance in the gut. Leaky gut is starting to show in children with food allergies, autoimmune disease, and eczema to name a few (Appleford,S). If there is a change in the gut microbiome, this can greatly impact the health of the skin (Mahmud et al). Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are two bacteria that are can help against skin aliments. Adding lactobacillus has shown to decrease the size of acne while Bifidobacterium has shown to reduce water loss and skin erythema (Mahmud et al). As mentioned above, water loss can be a cause of eczema. Different strains of lactobacillus such as L.salivarius was studied in children who were reported show improvements in their eczema after 4 weeks (Goddard, Lio).
Vitamins and minerals are a key ingredient in not just for a healthy inside, but also, a healthy outside. A promising study came out showing children with eczema which was worsen by the cold winter temps, had a significant improvement after taking vitamin D (Goddard, Lio). This was later reproduced with a larger group and also showed an improvement. Natural sunlight is best (15-30 minutes daily depending on skin type), but pill form works.
Vitamin B is another vitamin worth looking into. B complex can help with digestion as well as hormones. This also can aid in cell health. Vitamin B12 helps with keeping your blood and nerve cells healthy. Those with unhealthy guts or those on certain gastric inhibitors may not be getting enough vitamin B12. B12 has shown to help with mood and depression (among other ailments) (U.S. Department of Health).
Magnesium can not only help the skin by boosting anti-inflammatory benefits, but could also help with better sleep, anti-anxiety and help with depression that a client may have due to having eczema. Magnesium Lcan help create and repair DNA and RNA (Ajmera, R).
Essentially in my findings during the research, it mainly comes down to leaky gut and the probiotics/vitamins/minerals that support the digestive system. These should help not just the eczema, but overall health of the patient. These vitamins will also help to boost mood, but I would suggest going to talk to a therapist as well while having isolation or other negative feelings. Not researched for this paper but used by personal experience, is to use in a short-term basis, I would recommend using UV light. Natural sun light works as well as does a tanning salon to help minimize the redness and appearance of eczema. This also seems to work within a few treatments. Again, this is short term only as exposed to too much is not good and can cause long term negative effects. I would test for food allergies. I would do the scratch test as well as bloodwork. Although I have found blood tests may not be 100%, avoiding foods that can cause a trigger will certainly help. While personally I haven’t tried apple cider vinegar (yet) on a human, it works very well on horses for fungus and other skin issues (personally can vouch for that).
This paper has sent me down an amazing maze of rabbit holes and is opening me up to so much. I was hard for me to write this paper and not just keep researching deeper and deeper. I am astonished by just how much a leaky gut influences so many other health conditions.
References
Ajmera, R. (2022, February 7). 12 magnesium health benefits. Healthline. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-benefits
Appleford, S. (2019, October 17). Symptoms of leaky gut in Kids. Nutrition For Kids. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.nutritionforkids.com.au/blog/symptoms-leaky-gut#:~:text=A%20baby%20is%20born%20with,leaky%20gut%20and%20microbiome%20imbalances.
Cronkleton, E. (2022, April 29). Vitamin B complex: Benefits, side effects, dosage, Foods & More. Healthline. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/vitamin-b-complex
Eczema stats. National Eczema Association. (2022, September 27). Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://nationaleczema.org/research/eczema-facts/
Goddard, A. L., & Lio, P. A. (2015). Alternative, complementary, and forgotten remedies for atopic dermatitis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4518179/
Karey. (2021, July 16). Leaky gut and atopic dermatitis: Does the concept hold water or is it full of holes? National Eczema Association. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://nationaleczema.org/blog/leaky-gut/
Mahmud, M. R., Akter, S., Tamanna, S. K., Mazumder, L., Esti, I. Z., Banerjee, S., Akter, S., Hasan, M. R., Acharjee, M., Hossain, M. S., & Pirttilä, A. M. (2022). Impact of gut microbiome on skin health: Gut-skin axis observed through the lenses of Therapeutics and skin diseases. Gut Microbes, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2022.2096995
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, October 28). Atopic dermatitis (eczema). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atopic-dermatitis-eczema/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353279
McLean, W. H. I. (2011, January 14). The allergy gene: How a mutation in a skin protein revealed a link between eczema and asthma. F1000 medicine reports. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3042307/#:~:text=Filaggrin%20deficiency%20leads%20to%20a,(atopic%20eczema%20and%20allergies).
MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Eczema (atopic dermatitis): Home treatment and remedies. Medical News Today. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324228
Roiger, D., & Bullock, N. (2023). Anatomy, physiology & disease: Foundations for the health professions. McGraw Hill.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of dietary supplements - vitamin B12. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-Consumer/
What is eczema? National Eczema Association. (2022, December 2). Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/
Welcome
It all begins with an idea.
I wanted to have a space where I could share some of what I have learned during my journey through my graduate program.
I am thinking of including some of the papers I have written for my classes.
These are just my papers and are no way suggestions or substitutions for seeking medical advice. Always consult a medical doctor when making health changes.
So, welcome to my journey and I hope my papers will give you an insight for integrative health and maybe adding some holistic approaches to your life.
Also, fun fact, I am not tech savvy, so I do not understand why I can not change the date on this post. It should read 4/17/2025. Wish me luck on this journey through websites and blogging, lol.