Eczema usually responds best to a combination of internal and external treatment. We hear a lot about the "pH factor". Some medical and health professionals think it is so basic to health that remedying it could cure all disease. That may or may not be true, but there is no question that it is vital to good health, and could be considered basic to an effective eczema treatment program.

When our body metabolizes food, it leaves a residue which, when mixed with bodily fluids, has either acid or alkaline properties. Most foods high in protein and carbohydrates are acid-forming, and most fruits and vegetables are alkaline-forming.

In a healthy body, the acid and alkaline are approximately equal. The scale on which this is measured goes from 0 to 14, with 0 being acid and 14 being alkaline. The optimum position on the scale is between 7.3 and 7.4. Movement on the scale by a unit of 1 represents a tenfold increase or decrease – for example, pH 1 represents 1,000,000 and pH 2 represents 100,000 – so small changes are dramatic. When the body is acidic, there is a higher level of hydrogen than oxygen. If it is alkaline, there is more oxygen than hydrogen. pH is an abbreviation for 'power of hydrogen.'

The various acids in the body are needed for many vital functions, but when they get too high the body treats them as toxins. And, indeed, they are toxic, like any other acid. Imagine the damage that can be done by an acid traveling through 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries to every cell in the body.

To avoid this damage, the body stores excess acid in fat tissues. But it can only store so much. The body then resorts to other remedies such as leaching acid-neutralizing nutrients like calcium from other parts of the body – which can cause osteoporosis – or holding onto fat cells, so the toxins won't be released into the rest of the body. If you are overweight or are having trouble losing weight, this might be a factor.

When all attempts to neutralize the acid fail, the acid penetrates vital organs and is excreted through the skin causing eruptions and rashes. This is how eczema relates to pH.

This acidic condition is accompanied by a low level of oxygen, causing a slow and general degeneration. It is not as dramatic and acute as lack of oxygen when you breathe, such as in high altitude climbing where a person can die within hours from lack of sufficient oxygen, but the process is the same nevertheless and is dangerous.

You can test your pH with kits available at every drug store and, if you find the balance is off, increasing the alkaline-forming foods in your diet will help. Supplements are also available. pH balance is also affected by environmental toxins.

Changing or supplementing your diet will handle the internal factors. The eruptions already formed on your skin can be healed by using a shielding lotion to protect your skin from external factors. This combination could help control eczema flare ups, or could eliminate eczema altogether.

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Author, Gloria MacTaggart, is a freelance writer who contributes articles on skin care for Gloves In A Bottle, Inc. For more information, visit www.glovesinabottle.com.