Based on an article by Colette Park, England

Eczema (neurodermatitis) is an inflammatory skin disease that affects about 5% of the population in Europe. It is characterised by itching, dryness, redness and soreness of the skin. There may also be redness, small raised nodules, swollen or thickened skin and, in more severe cases, oozing of the skin.

Eczema can be equated with the skin disease "vicharchika" described in the classical texts. It is considered a disease associated with an imbalance of all three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha). Interestingly, two of the most important authors of classical Ayurvedic texts disagree on which of the three doshas is predominant in this disease. Charaka says that Kapha predominates, while Sushruta says that Pitta dominates. This difference of opinion does not matter, however, because in practice each patient is treated as an individual and thus the therapy will address the personally predominant dosha.

The involvement of the doshas

The presence of all 3 doshas can be recognised by the following symptoms of eczema:
- Kapha (with its moist and heavy qualities) is responsible for itching and raised or swollen skin.
- Pitta (with its hot and pungent qualities) is responsible for inflammation, redness and burning.
- When pitta combines with kapha, it leads to discharge or oozing eczema.
- Vata (with its light and dry qualities) is responsible for dryness, cracking, pain and discolouration or dark pigmentation.

Involvement of the dhatus

• The dhatus are the seven tissues that make up the body. These dhatus include plasma/lymph, blood, muscle, adipose tissue, bone, bone marrow/nerve tissue and reproductive tissue/genetic information. In diseased conditions, the imbalanced doshas affect one or more of the dhatus.
  In eczema, disturbances occur in the following dhatus:
  - "Rakta" (blood tissue) - results in symptoms such as burning, itching, inflammation and redness.
  - "Mamsa" (muscle tissue) - causes symptoms such as inflammation, redness and pain.
  - "Rasa" (plasma, lymph and interstitial fluid) - causes discharge or oozing of the eczema.
  - In addition to these "dhatus", there is also contamination of the skin ("tvak") leading to dryness, cracking and discolouration.

Ayurvedic treatments for eczema: Correcting digestion

According to Ayurveda, all diseases begin with an unbalanced digestive system. Therapy begins with strengthening agni (digestive fire) to reduce ama. Ama consists of undigested food particles in the body due to impaired digestion. As a result, subtle channels are blocked. Furthermore, problems such as constipation or excessively soft stools must be eliminated if the causes of eczema are to be treated.

Food and eczema

Many eczema patients find that certain foods such as dairy products, gluten-containing grains, sugar, alcohol and nightshade vegetables can aggravate their symptoms due to intolerances or by triggering inflammation.
In Ayurveda, foods are used therapeutically with a focus on flavours that help balance a particular dosha. A Pitta-balancing diet is often very helpful in reducing eczema. This diet focuses on counteracting the hot and pungent properties of Pitta (which is responsible for inflammation and redness) by giving foods that are cooling and soothing in potency. The tastes that soothe pitta are bitter and astringent/tart (e.g. leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables) and sweet (e.g. naturally sweet fruits and vegetables). Tastes that increase pitta and should therefore be reduced are pungent, salty and sour.