Eye Problems, Skin Itching

[Booghead]

Hey again.

For about 3 years I have gotten "lesions" or bumps at the corners of my eye and up on the sides of my nose. This is "normal" for me. I have both of them back since I have started gluten free. One is very itchy and both my eyes burn and itch and water non-stop. Now this symptom is new: The insides of my eyelids are white and the corners of my eyes (medical term Caruncle). I read this could be from anemia. I have been eating plenty of meat (including roast last night and ground beef for lunch). I have gotten my mothers cold which is why I'm not at school right now. Seems I can't catch a break. I'm going in for a half day. I was wondering if any of you ever had eye problems from your celiacs? Now to the thing I know is from celiacs. Skin itching. Both my shampoo and conditioner have wheat in them and my body lotion has wheat in it. Every time I wash my hair my hands itch like crazy. And all last night while I was trying to sleep my scalp was driving me crazy and my body was itching very bad. I shower before bed because I have to be to school too early for me to shower before school. We are getting new shampoos and lotions this next grocery trip (probably friday). I was just wondering how you guys deal with it? And if you guys think this is from my shampoo and lotion. Also I am very freaked out about the eye stuff as its never been so itchy. My eyes are usually (the past 2 weeks) pink and red. You can see the veins. Today I woke up and they are perfectly white. The eyelids white and everything. This is not usual for me. The bumps that I get are not as big as they have been but they aren't slowing down either. I went to an eye doctor for the bumps about 1 1/2 years ago. He tried to "milk" them and nothing came out. He wanted to go in to drain them but my tear ducts were so small he couldn't get in very far (he even used the tools they use on newborns and my tearducts were smaller). I ended up fainting (it's kinda my thing, I fainted both times I got an IV last week ). He gave me eye drops and told me to put vaseline on them. They went away after 3 more weeks. I don't know if the eye drops helped or if they just went away. We always thought they were from allergies, because I get them in May and they last until near August (then they kinda scap over and go away, but not like a blood scap). And I get them around December. What do you guys think?

[Takala]

I think you're a classic example of why I tell people to stop using lotion, soap and shampoo with wheat in it, if they are are getting drastic physical symptoms from it.

Okay, to get you to friday if you cannot go shopping sooner - which I would recommend.... At least get a bar of soap that doesn't have that &&^%$#@ garbage in it!

Take ANY and ALL towels and washcloths you have used with the old shampoos and lotions, and throw them in the laundry hamper or washing machine, and get new, clean ones.

Change your pillowcases to clean ones.

Find a box of baking soda. Mix a handful of this into a plastic cup of warm water. Wet your hair with water in the shower, rinsing it out thoroughly, then apply the baking soda/water mixture to it and massage it in gently. Now rinse it out really well, again. That's your shampoo for this week, it's called "co- rinsing" and it will get your hair just as clean without soap.

Towel dry hair with CLEAN towel.

For the conditioner. Take PURE apple cider vinegar. Mix 1 part vinegar with 7 parts water. Use this as a final rinse on hair, to detangle and make shinier. This may be also mixed up in a spray bottle and spritzed on clean hair afterwards. If you don't have pure apple cider vinegar, do not use a grain vinegar, try something like pure rice vinegar or pure wine vinegar, or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice in water.

If your hair is very curly, brittle, or dry. Take a tiny amount of a pure food oil that you are NOT allergic to, that you can eat without a problem, such as coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, or pure palm oil shortening, and put a pea sized amount into your palm, rub hands lightly together to warm it, then rub hands thru hair to spread it out. (I am assuming that you don't have any pure shea butter in the house, if you can find some of this, it's also good for conditioning.)

Yes, some of these exotic oils are expensive, but a jar of them, used in this way, lasts for over a year. I have a 2 year old jar of shea butter that's only half gone, because I need to only scrape off a little bit with my fingernail to do my hair. For coconut oil, so you don't contaminate the jar, dip a clean spoon into it, then take the oil off the spoon. Coconut oil also works as a very good moisturizer, a little bit goes a LONG way on your skin.

Make a conscious effort to never touch your hands to your eyes during the day, unless your hands are clean and it is with a clean tissue. Try purchasing a new, fresh, uncontaminated bottle of moisturizing eye drops. To put the eye drops in, make SURE your hands are freshly washed, lay down on bed, rest bottle of drops sideways on the bridge of your nose with one hand, pull down eyelid gently by placing index finger on cheek muscles and pulling downward with other hand, and squeeze bottle to have eyedrop land in eye. THIS IS WHY YOU MUST HAVE SOAP WITHOUT ALLERGENS, to wash your hands with before doing things like touching your face.

[YoloGx]

Takala gave you very good advice.

I also suggest you take dandelion root capsules or tea for the hives. It will help your liver which in turn should help out your skin and eyes. Eyebright tea is also excellent, both to drink and to use as a compress. If you can handle cleavers tea, make some up too as a tea. It is an excellent purifier of the lymphatic system--which in turn helps out your eyes and skin as well as liver. Nettle tea is also quite excellent. Do not use herbal tinctures since they are usually made with grain alcohol, and that most often is at least cross contaminated with gluten, if not made with out and out glutenous grains.

I suggest you look up online how to improve your liver and gallbladder health. Often liver/gallbladder congestion increases one's chance of getting hives exponentially plus it can have a huge effect on the skin and eyes. Going off the gluten of course is key!! Though it is often not mentioned. I have a thread here on celiac.com you might want to watch concerning the liver/gallbladder connection too.

Eating less fat from meat products as well as eggs is very important initially for liver and gallbladder health (and again thus skin and eyes). Lentils are a good choice as a source of protein for now, as is plain nonfat organic yogurt -- unless you are sensitive to the lactose or casein. If it is just the lactose, you can make your own yogurt and ferment it for 24 hours--thus all the lactose will be fermented out of it. If you like it, you can make a lot at once. It is much cheaper and better tasting than store bought.

Eat more greens!! Fresh green smoothies are excellent. I often make mine in my blender with chopped up lettuce, celery and parsley and a bit of water.

Get a clean coffee grinder and grind a tablespoon of flax seed you then put in a tall glass of spring water. Do this once or twice a day. It helps you get needed Omega 3's (excellent for the eyes and skin) and pulls out toxins from the intestines. It is a great bulking agent. If you have constipation, the flax seed really helps. Plus take 1/2 teaspoon of magnesium citrate twice a day. I get the powder. Or get the capsules. Again make sure they are gluten free...

Also, start the day with a drink made from pure spring water and fresh lemon juice a half hour before you eat. This gets your liver and gallbladder more active and ready for breakfast and helps purify your system. Be sure to brush your teeth with baking soda. It is gluten free plus helps your body be less reactive as well as protects your teeth enamel from the lemon juice. In fact taking a teaspoon of baking soda in water then chased with more water might help against some of your hives (don't take it right after having the lemon juice however since your system will get all fizzy!!).

Trader Joe's tea tree oil soap is gluten free. Another good soap is the plain unscented Dove soap. In a pinch, I have at times used these products on my hair. I have also used gluten free dishwashing soap to wash my hair. I think Trader Joe's is OK. I used to use both the lavender and the orange kind. I don't use it now since I don't do well with the coconut products anymore, plus for me now fragrance free is better, so I avoid fragrances where I can. Instead what I now use is the plain, original green Palmolive dishwashing detergent. It has no coconut or fragrance. Speakiang of which, its best to use a laundry detergent that is fragrance free too.

A very good hair shampoo is Desert Essence Organics Fragrance Free Shampoo. It has coconut however it otherwise is quite good.

Taking epsom salt baths can be a lifesaver for your skin by the way. Start with a small amount of epsom salts and work your way up. I started with one handful. I now use 5. The two cups they recommend isn't necessary for the likes of me, and just might cause me nausea. Certainly I would get woozy. I recommend taking your bath at night. Helps for sleeping too as well as detoxification. Plus it gives your body often much needed absorbable sulpher as well as magnesium.

Hope some of this helps...

Bea

[Di2011]

Don't forget to check you clothes washing detergent too. Use liquid instead of powder