July 03, 2019
In this Q&A session, Dr. Michele Burklund, Puriya’s Chief Science Officer, talks about skin inflammation and eczema.
The questions in this session include…
- Is all inflammation bad?
- What are some symptoms I might experience if I have inflammation?
- How do I know if I have chronic inflammation?
- What are some common treatments for skin inflammation?
- What are some products’ ingredients that I should avoid?
- What products should I use?
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Right below, you will find the transcript of this video.
Transcript:
(00:00) – Hey, everyone. Welcome. My name is Dr. Michele Burklund. I’m the Chief Science Officer here at Puriya. And every week on Fridays at 10AM Pacific Standard Time, we have our regular question and answer session. So my role, besides formulating new products, doing a lot of the education, research, is to be here with you and to answer your questions. So if you’re new and you’re joining in, every week we focus on a specific condition. So it can be different skin conditions, it can be arthritis, it can be joint pain, so many different things, but we choose each condition so if you’re interested in this topic, you can join in. So if you are watching, feel free to let me know where you are watching from anywhere in the world. Say hello and let me know if you have any questions. Though I also want to remind everyone, if you do have questions, be sure to follow us here on Facebook Live so you can get updates when our next session is just in case you forget when, it’s every Friday. And, also, we have amazing interviews scheduled each week with different people in the health field. So lots of great information, lots of inspiring people we’re talking to, so it’s worth to get the notifications, ’cause it’s hard to keep up each week, you might easily forget when our next Q&A session is.
(01:25) – Now I also want all of you to know that our e-book is finally finished, and it’s a great book. I wrote it. It’s very practical, too. You’re going to get a lot of tips that help you with daily living, help you just improve your life easy simple ways, and they can have profound changes in your health. So I highly recommend you sign up for our newsletter so you can get a copy of our free new e-book that I am very excited about. And the link is also in the description of this video as well (https://www.puriya.com/pages/e-book). So as I’m waiting for people to sign up, we have a lot of great people on our interview list this month and also the next month, which is coming up very soon in July. We have Dr. Michael Murray, who’s going to be talking about natural medicine and also all the evidence and research behind it. We also have a doctor of pharmacy, Summer Kramer, who owns a clothing company focused on sun protection. And she’s amazing, she’s gonna teach you a lot of great things on how to protect your skin for the summer, natural non-toxic sunscreens, and a lot about her company and the importance of clothing that has a specific tight weave to prevent all of those UVA and UVB rays from coming in too.
(02:51) – So this week our topic is eczema and inflammation, and we’re going to be talking about the skin. Your skin is a mirror for your overall health. What’s going on outside is just a reflection of what can be going on inside. And it’s your largest organ, it’s over 20 square feet in size. And so we have a lot to talk about, and so we’re just gonna cover some basics here today on eczema and inflammation. And I like starting off with the first question because it’s, “Is all inflammation bad?” And no, not all inflammation is bad. A lot of people hear that word and they think, “Oh my goodness, I have inflammation, this is a horrible thing.” But inflammation is a natural response in the body. It’s a response to injury, so it’s part of the body’s immune response and healing response, though in different infections and wounds and trauma and injuries to the tissue, it’s a response to initiate healing. And so in acute situations, inflammation is a very good thing. It’s part of the body’s natural response to initiate healing.
(03:57) – But we are talking about in eczema, and there’s a lot of different types of eczema. One of the most common ones is atopic dermatitis, and if you aren’t familiar with the word dermatitis the itis means inflammation. So we’re going to be talking about eczema in general, but a lot of the different types have the common component of inflammation. And it’s not the great inflammation that helps healing, it’s the chronic inflammation, it’s an abnormal response from your body’s immune system, and that’s what we really wanna address. Though eczema causes the immune system to overreact or be stuck on the on position, and that inflammation isn’t going to help healing, it’s actually going to be doing the opposite. So we’re gonna be talking about different ways that we can help balance out the immune response, especially in eczema.
(04:57) – So the next question is, “What are some symptoms I might experience if I have inflammation?” So we’re gonna discuss the two types of inflammation. In acute inflammation, the one you have when you have a tissue injury, the one that we like, there’s some basics, which is pain, redness, heat, swelling, and even immobility if you injured a joint. All of these things are the body’s natural immune response during the acute phase. So what happens is the small branches of the arteries enlarge when they’re supplying blood to the damaged region, and this results in increased blood flow. So all that increased blood flow, that’s kinda where you get the heat too, you have all of those nutrients, and that’s one of the reasons you can have swelling. Then the body, then the capillaries become easier for the fluid to move inside and out, and that means they can move between the blood and the cells. And so after that, the body releases neutrophils, it’s a type of white blood cell, and it contains different enzymes and helps digest microorganisms. So this whole process helps clear the body, help to bring nutrients, helps bring attention to that area of the body to promote healing.
(06:13) – This process is very beneficial in acute healing, but not in chronic healing, which we’re gonna be discussing, and that’s actually a little more tricky too. So leading to the next question it’s, “How do I know if I have chronic inflammation?” So chronic inflammation is a little more tricky. It can be sneaky in how it shows up, and it can mask itself in a lot of different conditions. So just some of the symptoms of chronic inflammation can be tiredness, it can be rashes or changes in your skin, it can we joint pain, and there’s so many others. One key indication too can be that, if you do get blood work, you might have a raised CRP, because of chronic inflammation, and that stands for C-Reactive Protein. A small chronic inflammation, it can be very tricky to spot. And so what we wanna do here is discover the root cause of eczema and help reduce that chronic inflammation on whatever might be triggering it as well.
(07:18) – Some different things can trigger it, and of course, everyone is individualized, but it could be allergies, it could be specific products that you’re using too, it could be stress, it could be the lack of sleep, and emotions as well, stress, anxiety, depression, poor diet, lack of exercise, all these things can contribute and can trigger and make the inflammatory process worse. But I also, all of you guys know that besides the release of our new e-book, we will be releasing guidebooks on our most common conditions. So these will just be information guides on common topics like eczema and we’re gonna get a little deeper into the guide and talk about natural ways to help and how to look deeper into your body to see what’s really going on, and if there are triggers and cleaning out your house and removing them as well.
(08:18) – So one thing that can be contributing to inflammation, and a lot of people don’t think about this that have eczema, but I think it is very important, so we’ll answer this question. What types of clothing should I wear when my eczema is acting up? And this is what I thought was really interesting. I was reading this journal article the other day, and the yearly production of synthetic clothing fibers made out of plastics in 1950 was 1.2 million. And then today, it’s over 50 million tons of synthetic fibers for clothing are produced yearly. So this is a huge change in what to we were used to wearing, natural breathable fabrics to cheaper, faster made plastic fibers that don’t allow your skin to breathe. And on top of that, they’re made of toxic chemicals and plastic. So I think it’s very important to think about the type of clothing you’re wearing as well as what you’re putting on your skin too.
(09:23) – So what are natural fibers? We have cotton, linen, silk, there’s bamboo, there’s hemp, there’s wool. But wool can be itchy, so I would stick more to the cotton side. Things that come straight from nature. That’s what I want you to focus on for different clothes that help with your eczema, because your skin needs to breathe. So when you are shopping for clothing, ideally, look for something that’s 100% cotton or 100% of some sort of natural fiber instead of mixed with different synthetic elements, because that could be triggering and making your eczema worse. Okay, next question, “What are some common treatments for skin inflammation?” Well, the most common one for people with eczema is topical corticosteroid cream, and this can be very helpful too. It will drop the inflammation, and it can help with the symptoms.
(10:22) – Now, the issue with this is the long-term side effects, and this is where thinning of the skin comes in. When you put on topical corticosteroid cream for a long period of time, it can actually thin your skin. And then having thinner skin, can create more side effects. So that’s one of the most common treatments and our goal here at Puriya is to find other ways, natural ways to not only get to the root cause and find the trigger, but also help reduce your inflammation from the inside out. Interestingly, one of the best ways to help with skin inflammation when you have eczema is hydration. So in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, they discovered that moisturizing the skin helps protect the skin barrier and consequently decrease the inflammatory response. So both of those things are disrupted when you have eczema. The skin barrier is disrupted. And your skin can be itchy and red, and then the inflammatory response increases the itching and the cycle goes on.
(11:29) – So hydration is actually a very powerful way to prevent inflammation and finding the root cause of course. So the Mother of All Creams is what we use here at Puriya for different conditions that are related to inflammation, itching, and uncomfortable skin. And so we formulated the product with moisturizing and nourishing oils. Hydration was a key foundation for us when we were developing it, and we incorporated jojoba oil and carrot seed oil, avocado oil, and emerite oil. And then nourishing botanicals like alum and rosemary as well as vitamin C to help support the skin structure and also vitamin E for the soothing effect. So all of these different things we decided to formulate, help in a different way to soothe the skin and also hydration, because we understand how important that is for eczema and prevention as well.
(12:30) – So of course, if you are joining in at any time, let me know where you’re joining in from. And for those of you who are watching right now, we’re talking about skin inflammation and eczema. I have just a couple more questions to go. This question is, “What are some products’ ingredients that I should avoid?” Well, synthetic fragrances can be quite a big trigger if you have eczema and this also includes not only what you wear, but also what you have in your home too. So evaluate what you put on your body and also what can be around your environment, even in your car. A lot of people can use synthetic fragrances there too. And I thought this was interesting in a recent published article. Did you know that people who have eczema have a 10% chance of reaction, 10% chance of higher reaction than a 1 to 4% chance of the general public. So the sensitivities and the allergies are actually quite a bit higher for people who suffer from eczema, so it’s important to make sure that there are no triggers in your environment.
(13:41) – So I would say, stay away from harsh chemicals, parabens and interestingly, different antibacterial ointments like neomycin can cause sensitivities with people with eczema. So, pay attention to your laundry detergents too, the fragrances you put on, the lotions you put on, all of those things can contribute to inflammation or trigger that inflammation and that allergy. And the last question I have today is, “What products should I use?” And my simplest answer to this is always something that’s closest to nature. Closest to nature, your body is less apt to experience a sensitivity too than something that’s very full of chemicals. Also, look at the type of laundry detergent you’re using, make sure it’s hypoallergenic. Use natural fibers, focus on plant-based ingredients as well. So the goal is closest to the source.
(14:43) – Today, I’ll give you a brief over-cap of what we decided to talk about, and not all inflammation is bad. Inflammation is a natural part of the body’s healing process and that part is great. It’s chronic inflammation in eczema, it’s the immune system that just won’t turn off that’s creating that response over and over, and that’s the problem that we have. So we wanted to talk today too about triggers, what could be triggering it in your house, in your body, different things like the laundry detergent you could be using, the clothing you could be wearing, synthetic fragrances, all those little things. I think it’s going to remove and see, evaluate what’s going on and how you can remove them from your life, all those hidden things. And in our eczema guide, which we’ll be having soon, we’re gonna go deeper into that and there will be a guide on the elimination diet and how to write a food diary.
(15:48) – So when you are eating throughout the day, you might have some sensitivities to food but you might not have realized it ’cause it can show up in the other ways too. You might feel tired, you might have some brain fog, you might have more anxiety or more stress. All these little things, I think it’s very important to pay attention to, to see what you might have sensitivities to. I hope this answered your question on inflammation, on the times we want it and the times we don’t want it, and to look deeper into the body and think, “What could be triggering this and help remove those as well.” So I’m here every week, Friday, 10 AM Pacific Standard Time to answer your questions, so be sure to tune in, let me know as well if you do have any questions. You can write it in the comments, you can send us an email, and we will get back to you. You can always follow our Facebook Lives too so you won’t forget our next session. You’ll get alerted and our newsletter which has our awesome e-book that I would love for all of you to check out. So have an amazing weekend and I will see you next week. Take care.
