Mediterrean Diet Pyramid for Children

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Olive oil benefits for skin: how to treat eczema in children naturally -

November 25, 2009

There are many olive oil benefits to your skin but in this article I am going to talk about how olive oil can help in treating eczema.

Eczema is quite widespread and affects mainly Children. Many chemical treatments are available to treat eczema but in this article I am going to talk on how to use olive oil for skin care and in particular to treat this annoying condition.

In 2008 it was reported that 10% of children develops eczema (see the website www.kidshealth.com). Subsequently other sources reported about an increase of eczema figures to up to 1/3 of children, mainly due to the quality of air in large cities. This phenomena is set to increase over the next few years that is why it is important to understand how to treat it naturally.

What is eczema and how does it manifest itself

To understand whether or not your skin is affected by eczema you need to look to one of the following signs: extremely dry, itchy, patchy, swelling, red and inflamed, crusting, flaking, cracking, oozing, or bleeding.

A key trigger of eczema is a dry skin. For this reason, a key remedy would be to keep it well moisturized, daily and intensely. This would help a lot preventing eczema to affect your skin.

On the market many moisturisers can be found but when choosing one of these from the supermarket shelf you need to take into account a number of things. For instance, there are synthetic and natural ones. No need to say what my suggestion would be, after all your skin deserves natural treatments!

Benefits of using olive oil as moisturiser

Since the time of Romans, Egyptians and Ancient Greeks, olive oil has been (and is sill) widely used as a natural moisturiser. For instance, Egyptians used olive oil to rub their bodies after bathing – which served to protect the exposed skin from the intense rays of the sun and contributed toward keeping the skin smooth and supple.

Today the effectiveness of olive oil on the skin has become widely known. In addition to cosmetics, olive oil has been added to lotions and soaps to increase their moisturizing levels. In one of my previous articles I have talked about clinical trials that have clearly shown the benefits of olive oil to the health of skin and many other parts of our body.

The key benefits of using olive oil over other treatments stand into the antioxidant capacity of olive oil’s minor components, such as vitamin E and polyphenols (which have been found to have antioxidant characteristics that play a major role in human health)

How to use olive oil to treat child eczema

Extra virgin olive oil will help with eczema both topically and internally. Regular use of olive oil in your child diet and topical application have shown to reduce, not remove, eczema.

A few treatments found on several health and skin related sources can be followed to take advantage of olive oil in the treatment of skin issues such as eczema and dry skin:

1. Long baths or showers can rob the skin of its moisture. Place a capful of olive oil in your child’s bathwater to keep the skin moisturized during bath time.
2. Add one tablespoon full of olive oil to the child diet.
3. Massage your child’s entire body with olive oil at least twice a day (after bath time in the morning and once before bedtime).
4. Make a thick paste to achieve a deeper moisturizing effect following this recipe found at www.oliveoilsource.com/oliveoildr-skin.htm: (“make an emulsion of water and oil “like mayonnaise” which would thicken and hydrate. Waxes such as beeswax [which you can find in the candle section of your local arts and craft stores] can be added to make more of a liniment or ointment, heat one pint of olive oil with 1 1/2 ounces of beeswax until melted, cool, add more wax if necessary and repeat. Other ingredients used to thicken emollients are agar, a seaweed extract, methyl cellulose or xanthum gums, both plant extracts, and glycerin. They are all edible and used to thicken everything from ice cream to pancake syrup”). *as a side-note, please ensure that the mixture has cooled completely before use.

Note that these suggestions should only be followed if your child does not suffer of allergy to olives.
This article has shown as thanks to its natural properties, olive oil can be used for the skin care and in particular for the treatment of eczema in children as a natural treatment.

SOURCE: www.allaboutoliveoil.com