Homeopathy & atopic dermatitis (eczema)
for 200 years physician homeopaths have encouraged consideration of the therapeutic similitude principle without prejudice...
Atopic dermatitis (eczema) affects over 20% of children and sadly is often an indicator for future allergic conditions such as food allergy, asthma, and hay-fever.
Conventional treatment can achieve symptom control at best, there is a strong need to identify alternatives to resolve this condition with researchers agreeing that atopic dermatitis is the result of an allergic constitution and it is this tendency to allergy which needs to be addressed.1
Although there is evidence of people with atopic dermatitis (AD) being sensitized to allergens, studies show that over 20% of sufferers are not, implying varied phenotypes and necessitating the need for treatment tailored to each individual’s genetic and phenotypic make up.2
Research findings have shown that increased maternal consumption of vegetables and yogurt are associated with the prevention of allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, and food allergy in their offspring.3 However, don’t forget animal foods and please ensure your food is certified organic where possible!, the WAPF are an excellent source of wise nutrition.4 5
Research investigating gut flora imbalance (aka dysbiosis) and AD is increasingly common6 - see also dysbiosis and homeopathic theory;7 and an eight case dysbiosis series (mine).8
Two Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials (DBRCT) have studied individualized homeopathy in the treatment of AD.910 Six childhood AD cases, with stable improvement for at least one year after homeopathic treatment, have been published as a case series.11
The homeopathic treatment of skin conditions including Impetigo,12 Vitiligo,13 and Psoriasis14 (DBRCT15) have also been published.
It is important to state here that for more than two hundred years physician homeopaths have encouraged researchers to consider the therapeutic similitude principle without prejudice, to challenge dogmatic medical paradigms, even when these ideas are difficult for their peers to accept.
Gentle (& non-suppressive!) tips for inflamed skin. Oats. An old home remedy for AD in people who do not have an oat allergy!, is to place a tied off thin cotton sock containing a cup of organic oats while a tepid bath is running. In fact, an over the counter AD cream (suppressive!) with just 1% oatmeal was associated with lower Staphylococcus spp. and higher microbiome diversity at lesion sites, and significantly improved skin pH, hydration and barrier repair.16 Topical chamomile has been shown as moderately effective in the topical soothing of inflamed skin due to AD.17
We need to talk about essential oils… Why? Because starting a decade ago I began seeing an exponential rise in injury from incorrect use and application of essential oils in both children and adults…
Essential oils have been used for over 6000 years18 but its ingestion has only been ‘a thing’ since the very recent rise of multi-level marketing companies…
Why do people accept health advice for chronic and complex medical conditions such as eczema from a sales person with perhaps the best intentions but no formal training, qualifications or even a basic understanding of organic volatile compounds, contraindications and the cytotoxicity of essential oils?!
Did you know that just 2ml of eucalyptus oil is enough to cause significant poisoning in a child?19
Essential oils are rapidly absorbed orally, and poisoning symptoms can develop as quickly as 30 minutes after ingestion (some individuals experience delayed symptoms up to 4 hours after exposure) with the severity of toxicity dependent on the type of oil and the amount ingested. Children are particularly susceptible, symptoms of toxicity which include:20
drowsiness, slow/shallow breathing, coma (after large ingestion)
seizures
persistent cough, gagging/choking, shortness of breath, wheezing
nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
skin irritation (skin exposure)
eye redness, irritation or pain (eye exposures).
!EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT MUST BE SOUGHT!
More information on the safe use of essential oils can be found courtesy of the not-for-profit International Aromatherapy and Aromatic Medicine Association21
It is vital to again reiterate here that the whole system of homoeopathy is based mainly upon the principle that overcoming disease is accomplished via a drug (or sequence of) capable of producing, in a healthy individual, similar symptoms to those of the disease to be treated - this is the therapeutic similitude principle aka like with like.22
Established theoretical concepts are fundamental to individualised homeopathy, which as a science is evolving the understanding of health and disease.
Happily, I can announce here that after a request to submit a case report for the Summer 2025 American Homeopath ‘Excellence in Practice’ edition, my submission Thanatophobia, Periorificial dermatitis and Aconite was accepted - here is the abstract;
‘ Thanatophobia, an anxiety disorder, is the intense fear of death or dying. This case report outlines reversal of thanatophobia in an Australasian woman with concomitant periorificial dermatitis during treatment with individualized homeopathy, in alignment with the insightful Levels of Health theory. Controlled studies are required to establish the extent to which individualized homeopathy may be considered a potential therapeutic modality in anxiety disorders. ’
If you are a North American Society of Homeopaths registrant and have read this case report, I will value your feedback! Thank you!
‘In contrast to frequent claims, the available Meta Analyses of homoeopathy in placebo-controlled randomised trials for any indication show significant positive effects beyond placebo. Compared to other medical interventions, the quality of evidence for efficacy of homoeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. Accordingly, the efficacy evidence from placebo-controlled randomised trials provides no justification for regulatory or political actions against homoeopathy in health-care systems.’ (Hamre et al., 2023).23
Nutten S, 2015. Atopic dermatitis: global epidemiology and risk factors. Ann Nutr Metab. 66 Suppl 1:8-16. Epub 2015 Apr 24. doi: 10.1159/000370220.
Cabanillas et al., 2017. Atopic dermatitis phenotypes and the need for personalized medicine. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. Aug;17(4):309-315. doi:10.1097/ACI.0000000000000376
Venter et al., 2020. Dietary factors during pregnancy and atopic outcomes in childhood: A systematic review from the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. Nov;31(8):889-912. doi: 10.1111/pai.13303
Fallon, S. 2004. Diet for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers. Weston A Price Foundation. https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/diet-for-pregnant-and-nursing-mothers/#gsc.tab=0
The Weston A Price Foundation ‘Healthy Pregnancy’ PDF. Free & comprehensive download. https://www.westonaprice.org/wp-content/uploads/HealthyPregnancy.pdf
Venter et al., 2020. Dietary factors during pregnancy and atopic outcomes in childhood: A systematic review from the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. Nov;31(8):889-912. doi: 10.1111/pai.13303
Vithoulkas, G. 2021. An integrated perspective on transmutation of acute inflammation into chronic and the role of the microbiome. J Med Life. Nov-Dec;14(6):740-747. doi:10.25122/jml-2021-0375
Drugs, Dysbiosis and The Bowel Nosodes
In using the bowel nosodes it must always be remembered that they are deep acting remedies and cover the totality from the highest level of the ‘mentals’ to the lowest level of ‘gross pathology’ and that they also cover the life history of a patient from earliest childhood to adult life or old age. The taking of the case is therefore of great importance in the choice of the nosode for a particular case, and attention must be given to the past as well as the present symptoms.’ Dr. John Paterson M.B., Ch. B., D.P.H. (Camb), FF. Hom. 1949
Dey, S., Shaikh, A., Saha, S., et al., 2022. Efficacy of Individualized Homeopathic Medicines in the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis in Adults: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Preliminary Trial. Complement Med Res. 29(1):17-26. doi: 10.1159/000516026.
Mandal, S., Ghosh, S., Das, A., et al., 2023. Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Individualized Homeopathic Medicines in Atopic Dermatitis in Adults: A Replication Trial with 6 Months' Follow-up. Homeopathy. Nov;112(4):251-261. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1760339.
Mahesh, S., Mallapa, M., Habchi, H., et al., 2021. Appearance of Acute Inflammatory State Indicates Improvement in Atopic Dermatitis Cases Under Classical Homeopathic Treatment: A Case Series. Clinical Medicine Insights, Case Reports. 11;14:1179547621994103. doi: 10.1177/1179547621994103
Mahesh, S., Kozymenko, T., Kolomiiets, N., et al. 2020. Antimonium crudum in pediatric skin conditions: A classical homeopathic case series. Clin Case Rep. Dec 16;9(2):818-824. doi.org/10.1002/ccr3.3674
Mahesh, S., Mallappa, M., Tsintzas, D., et al. 2017. Vithoulkas G. Homeopathic Treatment of Vitiligo: A Report of Fourteen Cases. Am J Case Rep. Dec 2;18:1276-1283. doi:10.12659/ajcr.905340.
Mahesh, S., Shah, V., Mallappa, M., Vithoulkas, G. 2019. Psoriasis cases of same diagnosis but different phenotypes-Management through individualized homeopathic therapy. Clin Case Rep. Jun 25;7(8):1499-1507. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.2197
Balamurugan, D., Nayak, C., Chattopadhyay, A., et al. 2023. Individualized Homeopathic Medicines in the Treatment of Psoriasis Vulgaris: Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. 30(4):317-331. English. doi: 10.1159/000530180
Capone et al., 2020. Effects of Colloidal Oatmeal Topical Atopic Dermatitis Cream on Skin Microbiome and Skin Barrier Properties. J Drugs Dermatol. May 1;19(5):524-531. PMID:32484623
Srivastava et al., 2010. Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Mol Med Rep. Nov 1;3(6):895-901. PMC:2995283
Australian Traditional Medicine Society. 2025. Aromatherapy. http://www.atms.com.au/aromatherapy/
HealthyWA. 2025. Essential Oils - health warning. http://healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Essential-oils
Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. 2025. Eucalyptus Oil Poisoning. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Eucalyptus_Oil_Poisoning/
https://iaama.org.au/
Homeopathy & theory in practice
To know validated theory provides understanding and expectation of outcomes !
Hamre, HJ., Glockmann, A., von Ammon, K et al. (2023). Efficacy of homoeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homoeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Rev. Oct 7;12(1):191. doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2
So informative as usual! Excellent point that 20% of people cannot link their eczema to any specific sensitivity. And I would like to add, that even if you can control your eczema by avoiding certain foods or other environmental triggers -- this is not optimal health. Quality food is nourishment, and ideally should not be causing inflammation. If it is, we have an organism that is restricted in its freedom and flexibility -- which as homeopaths is our primary measure of health! So in any case...I'd say, go see a homeopath :-)