* Forwarded (from: HERBS-N-SUCH)
* Originally from Alex Vasauskas (1:17/75) to Linda Miller.
* Original dated: Mon Nov 03, 08:52
Linda Miller wrote in a message to All:
 LM> Can any one give me an herbal solution they have used to clear up
 LM> eczema?
 LM> At one time I hit on the right combination and maintained eczema
 LM> free hands for a number of years. I am now wearing topcort &
 LM> bandaids trying to settle it down some.
Assuming that you are eating a healthy, balanced diet and that
your skin is not just reflecting some internal imbalance or
stress, calendula (Calendula officinalis) is certainly worth
a try.  It has been used for over 1,000 years as a completely
safe general skin treatment.  Although it heals the skin a little
slower than steroids, unlike steroids, it won't impair your immune
system.  According to ethnobotanist Douglas Schar (whom I have
put to the test and never found to be wrong about herbs), calendula
extracts have been found in the laboratory to be anti-inflammatory,
antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiprotozoal, antiulcerous,
immunostimulating, and promoting of epithelization.  Here is what
he says about eczema:
"Another common skin complaint today is eczema, and as with many
chronic conditions, there aren't always easy answers to the problem.
Many herbalists have discovered that getting patients off dairy
products eliminates the condition.  Others have found that eczema
sufferers are allergic to aluminum, and replacing all aluminum
cooking utensils with stainless steel makes a huge difference.
Even with these two known causes of the disorder out of the
way, some people still suffer from eczema, and for many of them,
calendula creme works to keep the condition under control.  Part
of the syndrome is terrible itching which leads to scratching which
leads to scabs which lead to scratching, and so on.  Calendula creme
both soothes the itching and speeds the healing of the broken
tissue, thus ending the itch cycle."
_The Backyard Medicine Chest_, by Douglas Schar.
I personally know one woman whose eczema was not decreased
by her dermatologist's treatments but eliminated by stopping
drinking milk.  I know another person who started using
calendula creme on his eczema patches -- he had started using
the steroid creme from his dermatologist, and this worked.
But, then he replaced the steroids with calendula, and this
had the same effect -- the eczema went away, and it continues
to stay away with daily use of the creme.
You can buy the creme in the store, but it is expensive.
I follow Schar's formula and make a calendula tincture and lotion
from plants that I grow (he doesn't do the part with clipping and
saving the flowers all summer -- he just pulls the plants when
they are in full bloom):
I start one group of plants first thing in the spring, and I clip
the flowers from these just before they come to full bloom and
dry them on a screen during the summer.  (These plants produce
new flowers every 2-4 days!)  I start a second group
of plants so that they will just start to flower near the end
of summer.  From this second group, I pull ten of the plants
just before they begin to flower.  I divide my harvest into two
batches of calendula consisting of five plants each and half
of the flowers for each batch.  Chop and shred these batches
separately.
Put one batch in a large container and pour 10 cups boiling water
over it, let it stand until cool, and then strain it (I use women's
socks from pantyhose material) into a large jar.  Cover the jar and
put it into the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
Put the second batch into another large jar, put 10 cups of vodka
(the higher the proof the better) over it, cover it, and store it
in a dark place for 2 weeks.  Shake it well daily.  After 2 weeks,
strain this batch and combine it with the water-extract batch to
make your final tincture.  I store it in large olive jars and wine
bottles in a dark place.
The reason for the two different extractions is to get as much
as possible of both the water soluble and alcohol soluble parts
of the calendula into solution.  Water soluble chemicals in the
plant treat viral conditions while the alcohol soluble ingredients
are anti-bacterial.
You can vary the proportions and try different thicknesses of cremes
and lotions as a base, but I find that mixing 1/2 tincture and 1/2
skin lotion works well as a (very thin) calendula skin lotion.
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