NSAIDs and eczema!

Do popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen cause or contribute to eczema?

Can NSAIDs cause Eczema?

What about other pain medications, such as the common everyday aspirin tablet?

I ran across disturbing information on NSAIDs and gut inflammation in the Kindle version of Doctor Tom O’Bryan’s book titled Autoimmune Fix.

NSAIDS and Eczema

Doctor O’Brian writes in his book:- It is now well known that NSAIDs increase intestinal permeability, leading to inflammation, erosion, ulcers, bleeding, perforation, and obstruction. Ironically, these medications, which are designed to be anti-inflammatory, can cause inflammatory damage in the gut.

So, I wanted to find out more about NSAIDs and eczema related topics.

Googling key words such as:
●  NSAID and eczema returned about 492,000 results
●  NSAID and leaky gut returned about 55,000 results
●  NSAID and autoimmune returned about 1,930,000 results

These results were as of the latest revision of this page.

NSAIDS and Eczema – Mixed Messages

Many of these results included products such as topical creams with NSAIDs included as an ingredient. These creams or ointments are advertised to treat mild skin rashes.

Many other results, included studies, such as this one titled, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and their skin side effects painted a different picture. This study included results of both oral and topical uses.

This study provides that: NSAIDs are one of the commonest drug groups to cause skin side effects. The gastrointestinal tract and the skin are the two body systems most likely suffer a side effect with NSAIDs.

[ … omitted text … ]

As with most drug-induced skin reactions, withdrawal of the trigger medication results in resolution of the rash, although this may take some months and is not universal.

Take some time to check it out and read through the contents.

My takeaway, I needed to significantly reduce or eliminate NSAID use. No more popping an ibuprofen at the first twinge of an ache or pain trying to get ahead of it.

With results all over the map, it is might be hard to make a determination on if NSAIDs and eczema are linked. Do NSAIDs cause eczema? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. But it’s clear that NSAIDs can damage the gut lining, leading to leaky gut.

Can NSAIDs Cause Leaky Gut

One of the first posts I found was a Beyond Health News reprint titled The Hazards of Painkillers (NSAIDS).

This is an excerpt from that reprint: Here’s one mechanism by which NSAIDS damage gut tissue. NSAIDS work by blocking the action of messenger molecules called prostaglandins. Some prostaglandins cause inflammation and pain while others stimulate healing and repair. NSAIDS block both. Because the intestinal lining has to be replaced about every three days, blocking the repair process over time results in a gut that is weak, inflamed, and leaky.

[ … omitted text … ]

NSAIDs also destabilize the normal composition of the bacteria living in the gut, especially when combined with antibiotics. The resulting abnormal gut flora inhibits proper digestion and assimilation of food. This causes malnutrition. Undigested food results in putrefaction in the lower intestines, which produces toxins. These toxins damage the immune system and poison cells throughout the body.

Take some time to read the entire reprint; it’s just over two pages long.

Again, my conclusion was that I needed to significantly reduce NSAID usage.

Do NSAIDS cause eczema? Perhaps they might be a contributing factor? Frequent and prolonged usage of NSAIDS might cause leaky gut. A leaky gut is the cause of autoimmune and inflammation leading to eczema.

I had read enough and I’m convinced that my hypothesis is correct. My immune system was attacking my body. This autoimmune condition was a result of a leaky gut. Moreover, the leaky gut was probably months or years in the making, a result of diet, nutrition, medication, or something else I may have been exposed to.

Alternatives for NSAID

There are hundreds of other similar articles and blog posts. I spent hours and hours clicking links and reading through pages and pages of material.

I was taking an ibuprofen or two at the first twinge of a headache or muscle ache from this-or-that.

Since I learned this significant tidbit, I hardly touch the stuff.

Every time I reach for one of these over-the-counter painkillers, I’ll think about all these articles and the damage to my gut lining I might be doing. Definitely, no daily use. It takes three to five days to just begin the repair the damage from just one tablet.

I’ll now think twice before popping one.

So what is an alternative, for say that deadline-induced tension headache?

Since I have cut back on crappy food and started my other anti-eczema protocols, it seems that don’t get those tension headaches as much.

But, when I do, I’ll use this natural alternative headache reliever, — peppermint oil.

Just Google these key words:
●  peppermint oil for headaches returned about 3,130,000 results
●  peppermint oil for eczema returned about 3,110,000 results

I’ll just rub a bit on my temples and soon, — no more headache. Most of the time.

Peppermint Oil for Eczema

I also rubbed a bit of diluted peppermint oil on the itchy eczema patches.

Peppermint oil helps moisturize the skin. I continued to use the diluted peppermint oil after the eczema itching stopped and the patchy areas began to heal. It’s all around good stuff.

I ordered my peppermint oil from Amazon, since it is really hard to find in my area.

But …

Full strength peppermint oil can easily irritate your skin. This is potent stuff.

You might need to thin it down with another oil.

Look in your food pantry. I’ll use avocado oil since it has a neutral smell and it’s also a food product.

Avocado oil is something you can eat! Safety and quality is what I’m looking for. I’m an avocado fan. They are great on just about everything. Avocado oil is a regular staple around here.

Peppermint Oil for Headaches

I can tolerate a 3 to 1 ratio of avocado oil to peppermint oil mix with no skin irritation. I’ll mix 3 parts avocado oil to 1 part peppermint oil into a smaller amber bottle.

You might need to find smaller bottles and maybe droppers as well. We like these convenient 10 mL (.33 ounce) amber bottles for our diluted peppermint oil headache reliever. We get them from Amazon and this brand does come with droppers. Though there are no measurements on the droppers, you can estimate ratios easy enough. These droppers do not come apart for cleaning.

This 12-pack of amber bottles will last a good long time.

I have no desire to spend several hours hitting the local and nearby mega-marts for the household products that can easily be drop-shipped to my front door. Your choice, convenience or not!

So, I’ll get this organic peppermint oil from Amazon. This bottle goes a long way, a long long way.

Especially when you dilute with another oil. A food quality oil!

I like to use these smaller amber bottles marketed for essential oils for my diluted peppermint oil.

These smaller amber bottles also a reducer top, so you get s smaller amount on your fingertips to massage into your skin as needed. Also, the contents won’t spill out should the peppermint oil bottle be toppled over.

These particular bottles include droppers.

NSAIDS and Eczema References:

The Hazards of Painkillers (NSAIDS)
http://beyondhealth.com/media/wysiwyg/kadro/articles/Painkillers_NSAIDS.pdf

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug-Induced Leaky Gut Modeled Using Polarized Monolayers of Primary Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29094594

5 Steps to Heal a Leaky Gut Caused By Ibuprofen
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-steps-to-heal-a-leaky-g_b_5617109

The Dangers of NSAIDs
https://draxe.com/dangers-of-nsaids/

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and their skin side effects
https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory-drugs-and-their-skin-side-effects/

Consensus Development Conference on the Use of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Including Cyclooxygenase-2 Enzyme Inhibitors and Aspirin
https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(06)00428-9/fulltext#sec1.2.2.1

Seven Steps to the Diagnosis of NSAIDs Hypersensitivity: How to Apply a New Classification in Real Practice?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446629/

Research Shows Link Between NSAID Use and Gut Disease
https://www.thedailybeast.com/research-shows-link-between-nsaid-use-and-gut-disease

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