Q I'm an office worker in my 20s, and the blisters on my hands seem to get worse the day after drinking or on days I eat spicy food. Does food affect dyshidrotic eczema too?
A Alcohol and spicy, greasy food are representative triggers that raise the body's inflammatory response and burden the stomach, worsening dyshidrotic eczema. There are also reports that foods high in nickel (canned goods, nuts, chocolate, etc.) aggravate symptoms in some patients. Food is rarely a direct cause, but aggravating foods differ from person to person, so it is best to keep a food diary to find your own pattern.
Detailed Answer
Food and dyshidrotic eczema are connected in two ways. One is indirect aggravation, in which alcohol and spicy, greasy food dilate blood vessels and raise the body's inflammatory state; the other is the path by which foods high in nickel (canned goods, nuts, cocoa, etc.) stimulate symptoms in some patients sensitive to metal. Conventional medicine also recommends reducing alcohol and irritating food when managing dyshidrotic eczema.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
Dongjedang emphasizes eating habits that ease the burden on the stomach so that damp-heat does not form. Spicy, greasy food, flour, and alcohol are the chief culprits that build waste products and heat in the Spleen-Stomach to create damp-heat, so it is best to reduce them during treatment. When less damp-heat forms, the very source of the blisters bursting out through the skin of the hands and feet is reduced as well.
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