When a husband or wife overreacts at home, the pot roast can end up in the petunias. When your immune system overreacts to an irritant, you get dermatitis. Dermatitis is simply your immune system flashing its message—“I’m irritated”—on your skin in the form of an itchy red rash. And it doesn’t take much to irritate some folks’ skin. Culprits include things such as nickel and latex and even certain foods. And such outbursts occur fairly often: 10 percent of all children suffer from dermatitis at one time or another.
Doctors are now aware, however, that immune system irritation and allergy are not the only causes of dermatitis. In rare cases, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can also help launch dermatological tirades. Deplete your body of vitamin A, biotin or any of the other B vitamins, vitamin E or zinc, and it won’t be long before a skin rash appears.
“We have known for years that minor deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals could produce skin, hair and nail problems in both children and adults,” says Wilma Bergfeld, M.D., dermatologist and director of the Section of Dermatopathology (the study of the causes and effects of skin diseases and abnormalities) and Dermatological Research at the Cleveland Clinic. “What’s far less clear is just how they cause them.”
Zero In on Zinc
Perhaps the best-understood deficiency-dermatitis connection is the link to zinc. Imagine your roof without shingles to protect against the elements, and you get a picture of your skin without zinc.
Take in less than the Daily Value of 15 milligrams of zinc for a few weeks, and the shingles of your skin—your top layer of skin cells—begin to dissolve, says Dr. Bergfeld. Without this protective layer, your skin becomes rough and crusted, opening up opportunities for bacteria, yeast and other infections to take hold, she says.
“In a zinc deficiency, your skin simply does not perform the normal barrier function that it otherwise would,” says Thomas Helm, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the State University of New York at Buffalo and director of the Buffalo Medical Group. “Zinc is important in regulating the production of proteins, fatty acids and DNA. Zinc deficiency causes skin rash, loss of appetite, loss of taste and impaired immunity.”
As a result, zinc deficiency can cause dermatitis around the mouths and rectums of young children. Such deficiencies aren’t exactly common, but they occur more frequently than other nutrient-related skin problems, says Jon Hanifin, M.D., professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
Other people who are most susceptible to this kind of dermatitis: those with irritable bowel syndrome (a distressing digestive disorder), those undergoing chemotherapy, alcohol-dependent people and some moms-to-be. “In all of these cases, their zinc levels may actually go below the normal range even if they are eating enough zinc,” says Dr. Helm. “It’s just not being absorbed properly.”
Fortunately, alleviating problems caused by a zinc deficiency is as simple as adding more zinc to your diet; you should aim for the Daily Value of 15 milligrams. Even when there is a problem with zinc absorption, zinc deficiency can usually be overcome by increasing dietary zinc, Dr. Helm says.
“When zinc replacement is given, most of these rashes clear right up,” agrees Dr. Bergfeld.
| Food Factors It's rare that a food will cause a case of dermatitis, but experts say certain foods are more likely than others to do so. Here are the most common culprits. Consider your moo. A great source of protein for young bodies, milk can occasionally worsen atopic dermatitis in allergic children, says Jon Hanifin, M.D., professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "This allergy to milk and dairy products seems to subside as the individuals grow older," he says. If you suspect that an allergy is the culprit behind your dermatitis and you want to try eliminating milk and dairy products from your diet, you have to learn to read food labels carefully. Milk can appear as an ingredient where you least expect it, says Dr. Hanifin. Go easy on the eggs. During a Japanese study of 27 people with dermatitis, researchers found that 11 had outbreaks within two hours of eating eggs. If you think eggs are causing your dermatitis or eczema, avoid them, and when your skin is clear, test yourself by eating eggs again. If your dermatitis returns, then it would be a good idea to avoid eggs, says Dr. Hanifin. Say good-bye to wheat. For an unfortunate few, an ingredient in wheat called gluten is enough to give them itchy red rashes on the arms, the legs and sometimes the scalp. But in this case at least, knowing the source of the problem is only part of the solution. "They have their work cut out for them. It's very hard to avoid wheat products," says Stephen Schleicher, M.D., co-director of the Dermatology Center in Philadelphia. Fortunately, more and more companies are making gluten-free products for people who are sensitive to wheat, he says. (Gluten is also found in rye, barley and oats, but in much smaller amounts.) Shy away from shellfish. Shrimp and squid provoke dermatitis in some people that's bad enough to scare Davy Jones back to his locker. Don't be surprised if lobster, clams, mussels and other shellfish also bring on the itchies, experts say. These often contain the same dermatitis-causing chemicals. Search out soy. This inexpensive protein source, which pops up in all kinds of prepared foods, is another trigger for atopic dermatitis in some people, says Dr. Hanifin. Note those nuts. Peanuts round out the list of foods that most often cause dermatitis or eczema, says Dr. Hanifin. Go fishing for fish oil. The scientific jury is still out, but some doctors have reported less itching and scaling in people with eczema after they took fish oil capsules containing omega-3 fatty acids. Some experts believe that fatty acids help regulate inflammation and the immune response responsible for dermatitis in some. The recommended dose is five grams twice daily, according to Melvyn Werbach, M.D., author of Healing through Nutrition, but it's important to check with your doctor before taking these supplements. You can also try eating more fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna. |
Give Vitamin E a Go
You probably won’t find a scientific study to confirm it, but clinical reports seem to show vitamin E’s effectiveness against some kinds of dermatitis.
One such case, published in the British medical journal Lancet, described an otherwise healthy 38-year-old man who suffered from dermatitis on his hands for four years. Under the supervision of his doctor, he tried all kinds of approaches to get rid of it, including changing soaps, watchbands and the wrap on his steering wheel, as well as wearing gloves to the gym and taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement. Then he began taking 400 international units of vitamin E a day.
Nine days after he started the supplement, the man’s dermatitis cleared, says Commander Patrick Olson, M.D., an epidemiologist and preventive medicine specialist at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Dr. Olson is the one who treated the man. Since writing about the case, Dr. Olson says, he has received no fewer than ten letters from people as far away as Britain reporting the same kind of success with vitamin E.
Although all of the letters sound credible, Dr. Olson says he was most intrigued by one from an infectious disease specialist in Florida who read the article and urged his sister to give it a try. “She started taking 400 international units of vitamin E a day in soft gel form, and it resolved her condition completely for the first time in the six or eight years that it had been diagnosed,” says Dr. Olson. “It was very gratifying to hear that.”
Dr. Olson theorizes that the antioxidant action of vitamin E prevents damage from free radicals; in this case, the damage is manifested as dermatitis. Free radicals, normal by-products of cell life, are unstable molecules that steal electrons from your body’s healthy molecules to balance themselves, damaging cells in the process. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by offering their own electrons and so protect healthy molecules from harm.
“It’s just a theory, but since vitamin E seems completely benign at these doses, there’s no reason why this area shouldn’t be explored further,” says Dr. Olson.
While the Daily Value for vitamin E is only 30 international units, doses of up to 400 international units daily are considered safe. To get that amount from food, you’d have to eat a pound of sunflower seeds, five pounds of wheat germ or two quarts of corn oil.
| Prescriptions for Healing Finding out what is irritating your skin and avoiding it are, of course, the keys to dealing with dermatitis. There are also a few nutrients that can help some people. Here's what some doctors recommend. Nutrient Daily Amount
Vitamin C 3,5005,000 milligrams Vitamin E 400 international units Zinc 15 milligrams
MEDICAL ALERT: Some people may experience diarrhea when taking doses of vitamin C exceeding 1,200 milligrams daily. If you are taking anticoagulant drugs, you should not take vitamin E supplements. |
Vitamin C Might Help
It’s no secret that a vitamin C deficiency can damage gums and skin. And at least one study showed that taking supplements helps people with severe eczema, according to Melvyn Werbach, M.D., author of Healing through Nutrition. (Eczema is a type of dermatitis characterized by weeping breaks in the skin that eventually form scales.) Dr. Werbach recommends taking 3,500 to 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C each day for three months. This is a lot of vitamin C, as some people experience diarrhea from only 1,200 milligrams. If you’d like to try this treatment, you should discuss it with your physician.
Most dermatologists don’t suggest vitamin C for dermatitis, but there are reasons that it might work, says Dr. Helm. For one thing, doctors are just learning that vitamin C seems to protect the skin from sun damage. Vitamin C speeds wound healing and prevents ultraviolet-induced free radical damage to the skin. Studies show decreased photoaging and susceptibility to sunburn in animals given vitamin C supplementation, Dr. Helm reports. “It’s not unreasonable to suspect that vitamin C can help the skin stay healthy when exposed to harmful stresses other than ultraviolet light,” he says.
