Yakult on skin cured eczema

Legacy_user

Hi everyone

My awful eczema is 95% gone after a week and retreating every day, old scars are healing and I'm hoping to stop my oral steroids and antihistamines

People with eczema, 90% of the time are colonised with staphylococcus aureus, which causes inflammation and undermines the skin barrier. I previously tried bleach baths to kill it but I read that they are too dilute to kill staph and actually just work as an oxidizing agent, interrupting the inflammatory pathway. After my bleach baths (or topical steroids) i still flared, so if anything I was suppressing my body's own attempt at fighting the staph, thus allowing it to spread. Bleach baths also might have killed good bacteria even if they didn't kill bad.

So I thought, introduce some good bacteria! This way I replace the bad so it's less likely to come back and I don't get problems with antibiotic resistance

I think this is the cure!
Live yoghurt would probably work too, but it's more messy, something liquid like yakult or actual (if that works) you can just apply and get on with your day

I don't bother drinking these however, as that would 't deliver bacteria to the skin

pogofish

You do know where Yakult bacteria comes from......?

Why not take the moneysaving approach, cut-out the dairy and just smear yourself with the smelly stuff?

MrsStepford

My mother had sunburn in Greece and the doctor told her to slap yogurt on it. Not only was it cooling, it was also live Greek yogurt (Fage Total) and sorted her out, so I'm actually not surprised by this.

phryne

I'd think dairy products on the person would start to smell a bit unpleasant after a while.

System

Phyrne - i have baths, and i used to smell sick from the immune system, now i dont. Eventually you can reduce the frequency and stop

P.s. ive had to stop steroids in order to get properly better - my immune system isbt the bad guy, its fighting the staph bacteria.

I couldve used antibiotics but i didnt want to kill the good bacteria, and frankly i havent needed them

Its taken about a month to get 90% better from quite a dire state i started in, but flaking off bad skin is part of the healing process.

Also the staph theory explains why scratching is bad - it spreads it, so if you do scratch i would follow up with more yakult or sudocrem if I knew an area was infected

When i first started looking into bacteria i was applying hand sanitiser onto infected areas, it was painful and killed good bacteria as well as bad

coffeehound

Interesting, and good to hear that you are getting improvements. It might pay to start making live yogurt at home with one of those kits?

jenniewb

Probiotics are in quite a few skincare products now, I know the Yakult may look like a cheaper option, but be wary of the sugar added to it which could cause a growth in bacteria and then cause spots meaning in the longer term you need to then buy more products (or struggle with the consequences). If you search for probiotics in skincare items there are quite a few around now as it's quite a recent addition (started to hit the high street ranges maybe 2-3 years ago).


https://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/skincare-advice/anti-aging-wrinkles/everything-you-need-know-about-probiotics-skin.html (don't select the country, just tick the corner cross if you get the pop up or the article vanishes)


https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/beauty-news/probiotic-skincare-tried-and-tested-29392


https://www.lookfantastic.com/blog/advice/7-probiotic-skincare-products/


https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/skin/a35623/probiotics-in-skincare-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-work/

System

Thank you especially jennie, it will be more appropriate to use one of those instead, I can't believe the doctors never suggested anything like this before, they told me a deficient skin barrier is genetic, that I was born with this problem and will die with it, I responded that I was fine before 2013 and ought to get back to how I used to be, and that that is why I go down the bacteria route and that I think I picked up an infection at some point, all he said to that was yes

I'm finding with yakult that I am no longer inflamed but immediately shed a skin layer so can be flaky and a little itchy, so I know if does something and is definitely an improvement on staph but I think that more skin orientated bacteria like jennie suggests will be the full ticket

Stoke

I've always thought Yakult, Actimel etc, were all a bit of a con tbh.

jenniewb

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

Thank you especially jennie, it will be more appropriate to use one of those instead, I can't believe the doctors never suggested anything like this before, they told me a deficient skin barrier is genetic, that I was born with this problem and will die with it, I responded that I was fine before 2013 and ought to get back to how I used to be, and that that is why I go down the bacteria route and that I think I picked up an infection at some point, all he said to that was yes

I'm finding with yakult that I am no longer inflamed but immediately shed a skin layer so can be flaky and a little itchy, so I know if does something and is definitely an improvement on staph but I think that more skin orientated bacteria like jennie suggests will be the full ticket

Glad it's helpful What I will say- having struggled with eczema before (mine was related to dairy so drinks like Yakult and similar are not options for me) but I don't know if it's part of the issue, or linked to it, my skin is very very dry- naturally rather than solely or as part of my nutrition (bad diet low in good fats etc or just due to the hard water area- hard water = dried out skin).


Whilst my eczema when I had it was managed initially by steroid and itch relief creams before I found by accident the dairy link, I do find that as I have dry skin, if I don't deal with that through both moisturising and then a protection barrier, I can end up causing my skin to dry out and become itchy as a result. This is not the same as eczema at all, but if I had eczema in the first place, this on top of it would easily make the itching worse and would worsen the eczema.


What I then would suggest, if you are struggling with eczema is to be aware you may also additionally have dry skin and that both need to be treated- don't just whack on a Yakult or probiotic cream or even just an emollient and assume this is all you need. You need to manage both the dry skin AND the eczema to manage the itching and scratching makes it worse. If you can use a moisturiser and then a layer of emollient to protect from the elements and reapply as the day goes on and before bed it is going to help.

jenniewb

Stoke wrote: »

I've always thought Yakult, Actimel etc, were all a bit of a con tbh.

If it helps people, it's by far the most expensive con if it is one (and FWIW I don't think it is but I do think there are differences in what is on offer) if people manage to solve what can be a life changing and life limiting experience with a cheaper option than surgery, a full lifestyle change and multiple visits to dermatologists, nutritional therapists and various other alternative therapies, who is anyone to argue with that. You do what works for you, if it's not your thing, that's fine but assuming it's all a con because it doesn't work for you personally seems a bit short sighted.:cool: