Childhood eczema treatment options can get confusing fast, especially if you don’t know what’s driving your child’s itchy skin rash in the first place.If your child is scratching constantly, it’s easy to blame histamine (and think it’s a histamine intolerance issue). Or if they have scaly eczema skin, it’s easy to blame food and start to cut more and more out.Couple all this with the stress of watching your child suffer, and childhood rashes can be devastating for the whole family while tryin...

Ever wonder what insights could be gained from small intestine bacterial overgrowth testing when you’ve got IBS gut symptoms?Last week, Dr. Ken Brown and I discussed various reasons why Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a problematic diagnosis that has become a “catch-all” for any digestive symptoms. We also spoke about how SIBO inflammation can spread to other body systems including skin rashes like rosacea.In today’s episode, we will dive into the reason why small bacterial overgrowth testi...

This is a 2-part interview coming next week so stay tuned!Did you know that many people diagnosed with IBS actually have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth)?SIBO is unfortunately a rather under-diagnosed condition impacting your gut that often leads people to struggle for very long periods (sometimes several years!) without a clear answer of what’s going on beyond just being told “you have IBS.”To be clear, digestive issues like bloating and diarrhea are not normal and can make you mi...

Adult hormonal acne can start to affect every facet of your life. It can cause self-esteem issues, stress, and anxiety. Especially if you have tried the usual conventional treatments (like birth control pills and antibiotics) and alternative options (like an acne diet) — and still, your acne persists (or gets worse over time).That’s why digging deeper is so important. Acne (and even hormonal acne) is usually a sign of a bigger problem lurking under the surface pointing towards issues like gut...

Have you tried using topical zinc for eczema, psoriasis, or other rashes yet? Because spoiler: when you use the correct form of zinc topically, it can be a game changer for your skin rash. Why? So many skin rash warriors are deficient in this crucial mineral. And taking zinc orally just doesn’t always cut it for most people, unfortunately.So if you haven’t yet explored the skin rash-zinc connection, let’s take a look at why topical zinc can be so helpful, things you need to watch out for when...

Night sweats, brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, irregular cycles…these are all symptoms of perimenopause.As you probably know by now, perimenopause is the hormonal transition period leading to menopause. Typically, this starts in a woman’s late 30s, continues through your 40s, and even into your early 50s – basically until you hit menopause. If you’re in this transition and noticing some extremely frustrating perimenopause symptoms, you’re not alone!Unlike different periods of a woman’s hormona...

I’ve discussed topical steroid withdrawal symptoms and TSW skin concerns extensively on the Healthy Skin Show, but there is still so much about this condition that isn’t well understood.Partly because we don’t yet have much research on TSW.So when I heard that Dr. Ian Myles was looking into topical steroid withdrawal symptoms, I had to get him on the show to break it down for you in layman’s terms (because his paper is complex).Topical Steroid Withdrawal (aka. TSW and also sometimes called re...

A couple of months ago, I discussed black seed oil benefits on the podcast and was taken aback by the response I received! So many listeners were eager to learn more about black cumin oil and whether it would be a good fit to help support their chronic skin condition.If you’re dealing with rashed, itchy skin or even hair shedding, black cumin seed oil might just be the skincare ingredient to provide some relief.Black seed oil has a long history of efficacy across various different cultur...

Did you know that what’s living up in your nose could be a trigger for what causes sinusitis? The nasal microbiome is a vast new frontier and when things are out of balance, there is a ripple effect that can drive inflammation not just in the sinuses, but also in your body.So yes, a dysbiotic or imbalanced nasal microbiome can be a trigger for chronic nose rash, sinus yeast infection symptoms, and even chronic skin rashes like eczema and psoriasis!Now, I want to reiterate that it is normal to...

If you’re serious about figuring out what type of diet is best for you – your answer is nutrient dense foods. Let me explain…Food fear is rampant right now, with social media demonizing different common foods/ingredients as well as promoting “healthy” diets that lack necessary nutrient dense foods.Nutrients are the raw materials that the human body needs to survive and thrive. If you are not consuming nutrient dense foods, you may have nutrient insufficiencies, which puts a strain on various ...

Unless you’re a skincare aficionado, you may not be familiar with moringa oil. It’s a traditional skincare ingredient that’s been used for centuries and is currently soaring in popularity. There’s good reason for that — the moringa oil benefits for skin are impressive. It's chock full of monounsaturated fatty acids which are fantastic skin barrier support, and it’s widely regarded as a gentle, soothing oil ideal for sensitive skin.But the moringa oil benefits for skin go beyond its fantastic ...

If you’ve ever wondered the best way to test for food allergy sensitivity, this episode is for you!What do I mean by food allergy sensitivity?Many people think that you’re either allergic (and thus highly reactive) to specific foods or you’re not. And that’s not actually true as there’s a scale of reactivity or sensitivity that you could be on for IgE food allergies.Making this even more complex is that your level of reactivity can change with time (this is especially true for children) which...

Finding a hidradenitis suppurativa treatment that works can be frustrating and difficult, especially with certain symptoms like intense pain.Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) pain can severely impact your day to day quality of life — I speak from experience here!When I first discovered a swollen, painful lump in my armpit, I panicked, and immediately worried about getting checked for breast cancer. Fortunately, the lump wasn’t cancer – it was hidradenitis suppurativa.For me, laser hair...

If you’ve found it frustrating that no one can tell you why you have chronic urticaria hives (including chronic spontaneous urticaria, dermatographia, and even angioedema), I feel you.Especially when IgE allergies are ruled out (testing is negative) or even avoiding what you’re allergic to isn’t helpful. At that point, most doctors will say that there is no answer or clear trigger to what causes urticaria, basically leaving you with an increasing number of medications that may or may not help...

If you have psoriasis, you have a 30% chance of developing psoriatic arthritis symptoms! This type of psoriasis is notoriously difficult to diagnose because, unlike rheumatoid arthritis, there are no blood tests to easily confirm it. Psoriatic arthritis can be triggered at any age, but its onset is most commonly between 35 and 55 years old. One of the early signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis is joint pain that gets worse over time until the joints become swollen and inflamed. It might...

When you’re dealing with rashed skin, you can’t just slather on any moisturizer, cream, or the latest miracle potion promoted by beauty influencers. You’ve got to make sure the ingredients in your skincare formulas are clean, free of questionable ingredients, promote a healthy skin barrier, and soothe instead of potentially irritate your skin. And that’s why today I want to talk about one of my favorite skincare ingredients: black cumin seed oil. Black cumin seed oil’s skin benefits run deep...

Did you know that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common type of liver disease? (And it absolutely is tied to skin issues too!) Fatty liver disease, also now referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease, is the result of inflammation. It is associated with other common health issues like high lipids, high blood sugar, metabolic syndrome, and autoimmune disease. The good news is, in the early stages, when you’re just starting to show fatty liver signs...

If you’ve ever wondered if it’s possible to unravel the frustrating symptoms of scalp psoriasis with a more natural or integrative approach, you’re in for a treat. I’m sharing a case study from one of my real-life psoriasis clients who has lived with both scalp psoriasis and guttate psoriasis on her body for nearly 30 years. When my client first found me, she was pretty sick – struggling with more than just her skin. And I find that many psoriasis warriors don’t know about the deep...

Struggling with SIBO symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, gas, and diarrhea, can be very frustrating. SIBO (short for small intestine bacterial overgrowth) is basically what it sounds like: Bacteria overgrow in the small intestine leading to many symptoms that impact the gut and other body systems. The presence of SIBO can trigger IBS, SIBO malabsorption (where you don’t absorb the nutrients from food and end up with nutrient deficiencies), and even anxiety due to...

Did you know that the severity of eczema symptoms + skin color have a unique relationship? That certain eczema symptoms can be WORSE for skin of color versus white or lighter skin tones? While practitioners are typically taught about the “classic eczema patient” who has itchy eczema, there is huge variation in how atopic dermatitis (eczema) manifests on different skin tones. Eczema on black skin, for instance, often presents as itchy skin bumps in areas not usually associated with atopic...

If you have a dairy allergy, it probably doesn’t surprise you that it’s one of the more complex common food allergies. While there are 25 proteins in milk (yes, you read that right!), only a handful have been shown to trigger antibody production against them. Now, remember that a dairy allergy is different from being lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is considered a non-allergic reaction to milk products that can lead to uncomfortable GI symptoms like bloating, gas, and diarrhea. ...

If you struggle with eyelid inflammation (aka. blepharitis), crusty eyes in the AM or ocular rosacea, Demodex mites treatment might be in your future thanks to an overgrowth of these little critters! Demodex mites are a common, naturally-occurring commensal skin parasite that live, feed, poop, and die on your skin and on eyelashes and eyebrow hairs. While that may sound (really) gross, they are usually not an issue…unless the Demodex mites overgrow. Eyelid inflammation, irritated eyes,...

If you’ve ever wanted a sneak peak behind some of the eczema cases that I work on, I’m sharing a fascinating healing journey of a client with severe eczema on feet + her body! This client was excited to be a part of this new case study series I’m bringing to the podcast to help inspire other eczema warriors out there. It’s easy to give up especially if you start to feel like there are no answers or causes of eczema – that it’s just a mystery! But I hope that this journey for my real-life...

Spotting food allergy signs quickly can be tricky, especially since they don’t manifest in everyone in the same way. But it’s so important to be able to identify the symptoms of food allergies, because a whopping 1 in 13 kids have at least ONE food allergy. And that number is surprisingly high for adults, too. Food allergies are an IgE immune-mediated reaction. Essentially, your body sees a particular food as an invader, so it goes on attack by releasing chemicals like histamine. So if...