Recovering From Eczema & TSW Naturally

This is very much a work-in-progress, as I am still recovering myself from eczema and TSW. The story is not finished yet but I am feeling well enough to start sharing what I’ve been doing in case it helps others. I make NO claims or promises that my protocols will work for anyone else – this information is for educational purposes only and is not meant to be medical advice!

Background

I was diagnosed with nummular eczema on my hands at age 45, for the first time in my life, in February 2026 after suffering since December 2025. I was given a topical steroid (clobetasol) from the dermatologist and told to stop using after two weeks. It produced immediate relief but the eczema came back in less than a week. That created a vicious cycle of waiting until I couldn’t stand the itch and inflammation to use the steroid again. Eventually, the eczema spread to my forearms and I was just miserable. I knew I was on a road to Dupixent if I kept up the steroid cycle, so I stopped using it in May 2026. It only makes eczema worse by suppressing immune function, and it has many side effects, including skin thinning and skin barrier weakening. Based on the incredible advice from Savannah Gee at Erasing Eczema, I developed my own natural strategies to recover my health using the divine provisions God has provided us in creation (along with supplements and red light therapy) to support my body’s innate healing capacity.. Yes, these protocols are time consuming and expensive, but I consider them better than the alternative and they’re working slowly. Take from it what works for you and leave the rest!

Diet

Because gut health is highly correlated with eczema, I went on a drastic elimination diet. Three months later as of this writing, I am still eating this way, though I am looking forward to adding foods back in and eating out eventually! I eat all organic, whenever possible. I absolutely think that these changes have been foundational in my journey. The happy side effect of eating this way is that I dropped the 15 pounds of Covid weight I was holding onto!

I eliminated:

• wheat
• dairy
• eggs
• soy
• nuts
• corn
• refined sugar
• seed oils
• tomatoes
• citrus
• strawberries
• coconut
• avocado
• banana
• chocolate
• oatmeal
• high-histamine foods & cooking practices
• all leftovers (except for what I flash freeze)

I am eating plenty of:

• flash frozen pastured chicken (source = Butcher Box)
• flash frozen 100% grass-fed ground beef (source = Northstar Bison)
• flash frozen wild-caught fish (salmon & halibut) (source = Wild for Salmon)
• low-histamine veggies (my personal favorites are sweet potatoes, cauliflower (Cascadian Farms frozen riced cauliflower from the grocery store has been a lifesaver), broccoli, broccolini, kale (cooked only), asparagus, spaghetti squash (substitute for pasta), carrots, celery, arugula, lettuce, broccoli sprouts, purple cabbage, beets (variety of root veggies is helpful because they are prebiotics)
• homemade apple sauce (pectin is excellent for significantly increasing instestinal alkaline phosphotase (IAP) which is an important protein for gut barrier function – make your applesauce with the skins!)
• blueberries
• Liberal amounts of low-histamine culinary herbs and sea salt for flavor
  • All-purpose seasoning that’s been great for grilling chicken (for 1 pound of chicken, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp sage)
  • DF, nut-free homemade pesto sauce frozen into cubes that’s seriously life-changing (2 cups fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt blended together)
• Unfortified nutritional yeast (to replace the cheese flavor I love)
• Liberal amounts of extra virgin olive oil
• Homemade flax crackers
• Quinoa occasionally but not often
• Marshmallow root cold infusion made in the evening, refrigerated, then drank first thing in the morning (slippery elm bark is another option to consider)
• Chamomile + Calendula tea for gut + inflammation support
• Tulsi (Holy Basil) added to food for its immune-modulating support
• Filtered water (I use Clearly Filtered)
• Lifeboost DECAF black coffee (I switched to decaf to lower my cortisol level, which was slightly elevated – this company is amazing btw – organic, clean, low-acid, small-batch, single-origin, and tested for mold + toxins)
• Fermented foods – I added in a spoonful of the JUICE only per day of several types of fermented veggies at about 10 weeks, and am now eating one forkful a day – I’ll continue adding a little more at a time to build up my good gut bacteria but I am taking it very slowly

The Instant Pot has been my best friend. I flash freeze all fresh veggies and then steam what I want to eat each meal. It’s been helpful to do it this way because I am still preparing separate meals for the rest of my family. I also keep a stash of flash-frozen, pre-cooked ground beef and grilled chicken so I can pull out what I need for each meal.

Skin Care

My skin care routines are a bit involved, but I think it’s important to restore skin barrier function. I patch tested all of these separately to make sure they wouldn’t make my symptoms worse. I don’t use all of the products at once – I rotate and seem to go in waves, but I want to share everything in case it’s helpful to you!

The longer I’ve been on this journey, the less I am moisturizing. I now moisturize only in the morning and before bed. It can get uncomfortable during the day but it supports my body’s innate ability to moisturize the skin and is a compromise to the NMT (no moisture therapy) a lot of people use. Also, I keep my nails cut as short as humanly possible. I am used to having longer nails but my skin is more protected when I just use my fingertips to “scratch.”

• Dead Sea Salt soaks 3x/day (backed down to 2x/day at 3 months) with filtered or well water to avoid the fluoride + chlorine (soak 20-25 minutes with 1/2 cup salt in a dish basin, allow salt water to air dry after and do not wipe off – this has given me a lot of relief!)
• Active Skin Repair spray after salt water dries
• Colloidal Silver healing salve or gel after Active Skin Repair dries (must wait at least 15 seconds)
• Tallowed Truth Tallow on top of silver salve when needed during the day and a thick layer at night (many people disagree with using tallow but it provides immense relief for me – I moved more toward the next product at about the 3 months mark)
• Sven’s Island Manuka Balm after Active Skin Repair dries has been extremely soothing for the itch and is very moisturizing for my skin – I’ve come to really love this product and will probably keep it in my toolbox even after I recover
• Cotton sleeves, cotton gloves, and whatever other clothing is needed at night to cover the affected areas, minimize itching, and lock in moisture (along with a cool temperature in the house given all the layers!)
• Red light therapy – I use the face mask I already had and wrap it around my arms/hands for 20 minutes each, as many days a week as time allows to promote healing (update 3 months in – I caved and bought a second red light belt so I could do my whole arm at the same time)
• Morning light has become an essential part of my journey, but it took me awhile to realize it was supportive – the sun is SO healing and the morning light is gentle – I try to eat breakfast, read my Bible, pray, read, etc. while sitting outside facing the sun for as long as my schedule allows
• Pool soaks – it took me awhile to get over my fear of doing this, but we are blessed with a saltwater pool and it’s been lovely to take soaks in it (several TSW warriors were convinced that being in saltwater AND chlorine pools had a positive effect on their skin, so I finally started doing it and I’m so glad I did!!) – lots of other people say the ocean has a hugely positive effect
• UV clothing protection was a must for me early on when my skin was super reactive and I was out in the middle of the day, as the high UV exacerbated the inflammation, heat, and itchiness
• Showers – I take very quick showers in lukewarm water and I stopped using soap on the affected areas (I can fortunately do this given the locations on my body)
• Not exactly skin care related, but I am also doing castor oil packs a few nights a week to support gut repair
• If you’re up for it, look into coffee enemas as well

Supplements

I am hesitant to share the supplements I take just because they are so specific to personal needs, but I will share the ones that are meant to support the eczema/TSW. I tested each one of these supplements by adding one at a time, only adding more once I knew my body handled it well. YES, this is a lot, but so is Dupixent, which I want to avoid!

• Ollois Sulphur 30C homeopathic remedy (4x/day in between meals, this has provided SO much itch relief for me personally, although I know homeopathy does not work for everyone)
• Ollois Histaminium Hydrochloricum 30C homeopathic remedy (4x/day taken at same time as Sulfur to support histamine response naturally)
• Rosita Cod Liver Oil for the food-based Vitamin A + D that are supportive for skin (this is truly an amazing supplement – I have been taking it for years and truly love it)
• Organic Ocean Better Black Seed Oil for inflammation support
• Chinese Skullcap Root (Scutellaria baicalensis) ground up and put in capsules, for immune, detox, and antimicrobial support
• BodyBio Sodium Butyrate for gut barrier support (I’m going to try switching to Beekeeper’s Naturals 3-in-1 Complete Gut Health after the bottle is finished because it has the more stable triglyceride form of butyrate that is delivered straight to the colon)
• Mega IgG2000 DF colostrum for gut support
• Designs for Health Aloe 200x for gut support
• Skinesa Probiotics (I confirmed with the company they use NO milk/dairy products but I waited to start this until about 10 weeks to promote gut healing first)
• Pure Encapsulations Zinc for collagen formation, skin health, and wound healing
• Xymogen Magnesium Complex for overall support
• Designs for Health B Supreme for skin support
• Seeking Health DAO enzyme when needed but I rarely take this because my diet is so controlled right now

Other Products I’ve considered but Haven’t used yet:

• Designs for Health Oil of Oregano for gut + microbial support
• Lauricidin Monolaurin for gut support + maintaining healthy bacterial balance
• Drought Secret Zinc Magic and Rescue Butter Balm
• Silver Fern products
• Berberine supplement (I never settled on one I liked but a lot of the TSW community is convinced this played a role in their recovery)
• Amperna Soothing Duo

Prayer

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget all his benefits,
who forgives all my iniquity,
    who heals all my diseases.
Psalm 103:2-3

My journey isn’t over yet!

But I am so encouraged by my results and, God willing, I will be well again! Although using topical steroids led to TSW and I certainly have more work to do, my skin is less angry and slowly recovering. I believe our bodies have been perfectly designed by God for optimal wellness with a remarkable potential for restoration when given the right conditions. It’s important be good stewards of our holy temple and I am living proof that when you give your body what it needs, it innately knows how to be well.