
Your rash won’t go away… Horrible reddish patches of itchy, flaky skin just looking to be triggered any moment now are wrecking your life.
Beach or pool time? Nope.
Exercise? Sorry… sweat probably makes it worse (and then you’ll have to shower sooner which dries it out even more).
Summer heat? Save me!
I get it.
Skin rashes are a form of personal torture. I’m not sure what level of Hell they qualify as, but they’re life wreckers. Skin rashes leave you itching in your sleep and wanting to hide every affected part of your body from the light of day. No one needs to see it and you certainly have no interest in their stares.
The oozing… the nonstop itching… the flaking, red skin. Lovely, right?
If your rash won’t go away, you may have already realized that they’re pretty much like an undiagnosed form of cooties.
So yeah… rashes that won’t go away really stink.
And unfortunately, conventional dermatologists don’t really know how to crack the ever elusive skin rash code. If they had, then you wouldn’t be reading this.
Because I’ve personally overcome chronic eczema, I wanted to share what key nuggets of wisdom that were completely (and repetitively) overlooked by dermatologists.
This way, you can stop the flares and finally heal your skin.
Bottom line? When your rash won’t go away, it’s time to ask yourself what else could be triggering your rashes that doctors aren’t telling you.
5 Reasons Why Your Rash Won’t Go Away
Before we go into the five reasons why your rash won’t go away, you probably have what’s known as “leaky skin.”
Ongoing, chronic skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, and other “mystery” rashes are signs that your skin barrier may be permeable.
Ongoing, chronic skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, and other “mystery” rashes are signs that your skin barrier may be permeable.
I first heard the term “leaky skin” several years ago on a post about overcoming struggles with eczema.
You could certainly equate “leaky skin” to “leaky gut”.
It implies that your skin is struggling to keep things out of your body similarly to leaky gut syndrome. In the case of leaky gut syndrome, the gut barrier becomes permeable. This state allows various foreign items (food particles, bacteria, yeast, viruses, etc.) to enter your body in ways that aren’t appropriate that end up triggering your immune system.
Your skin is similar to your gut in that it is also a barrier meant to protect you from outside objects and organisms.
But when its ability to stay sealed tight is compromised, then you can end up with easily triggered skin rash flares.
So if you’re wondering how you can stop eczema (or psoriasis or any other rash) from spreading, you’re not asking the right question.
And that’s an important point.
The questions that you ask about how to get better mean either managing symptoms or actually resolving them.
If getting better is important to you, then maintaining some sort of semi-sick state via a slew of “band-aids” isn’t going to heal your skin. That might be the way of conventional medicine and pharmaceutical drugs, but not that of a functional nutrition approach that more often gets better results.
That’s why it’s time to look at the pieces of your skin mystery that are being overlooked so you finally live rash-free.
[Got an Eczema Diagnosis? Check out my DEFINITIVE GUIDE OF ECZEMA TREATMENT]
Looking At Your Skin From The Inside Out
While this concept flies in the face of everything you’ve experienced with your skin so far, it’s true. That’s why all those creams and ointments don’t seem to work.
It’s why treating the way the skin looks and the symptoms you hate barely manages to tame them.
At some point out of itchy desperation, I thought to myself — but is there a way to actually resolve this?
I was tired of masking the unending eczema symptoms I had. My dermatologist didn’t seem to think that there were any other options even though my rash won’t go away whatever we tried.
“There’s no cure. You just have to live with it. We can try different things to see if we can get it under control.”
Seriously?
It’s 2017 and this is the best we can do?!?!?
Frankly, I think that’s rubbish.
It’s time to look at resolving chronic rashes from eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis (and others) from a different perspective.
You deserve it after everything you’ve put up with.
In my own case, I addressed gut issues and have witnessed a 90% resolution of my chronic dyshidrotic eczema.
Yes… 90%.
No amount of steroid creams and vaseline would fix it.
To be entirely forthright, going gluten free and dairy free just wasn’t enough to even make a dent.
In the process of figuring out how to heal eczema on my hands, I discovered five terribly overlooked (yet game-changing) spots that dermatologists miss.
They follow the “inside-out” concept and address the missing pieces often ignored by conventional approaches to skin rashes and problems.
#1 – Leaky Gut Syndrome
If you really want to follow the theory of “inside-out”, then the first place to look is your gut.
The gut is the main area of your body responsible for absorbing nutrition from food. However, it’s also the spot that’s susceptible to certain foods and agents that can increase how “leaky” the intestinal wall is.
To be clear, you do not want your gut wall to be leaky.
Items like NSAID drugs and gluten both increase the leakiness or permeability for everyone. You do not have to be gluten sensitive or have celiac disease to be at risk of increased leaky gut as one ground-breaking study demonstrates.
If you find the whole topic Leaky Gut confusing, you’re not alone. There’s a great explanation of leaky gut from a non-medical perspective HERE that will break it down for you.
When your gut lining no longer has the capacity to maintain strong, fortified walls, chronic rashes are one of the common symptoms that can result. (source)
Leaky gut also has the capacity to trigger autoimmune diseases that directly impact the skin such as dermatitis herpetiformis, vitiligo, psoriasis, dermatomyositis, lupus, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and even eczema (which is sometimes categorized as an autoimmune disease). (source, source)
To resolve Leaky Gut Syndrome, you’ve got to determine your unique triggers. Then a customized plan is devised to remove them and work to reseal your gut so that your body is less reactive and inflamed.
#2 – Nickel (In Your Food)
“Do you wear any jewelry or watches?” asked the dermatologist.
“Nope.”
The doctor looked surprised. She assumed that I wear some sort of cheap metal that was triggering my rash that won’t go away.
To be fair, it’s the first question most non-medical people will ask you as well because it’s pretty common that nickel in that cheaper jewelry to irritate skin.
But what you might not realize is that there is also nickel in certain foods.
So if you are sensitive to nickel, ingesting it could cause similar problems as when you wear a $5 watch. But that said, the number of people who truly react to dietary nickel is likely very small making a low nickel diet not necessarily appropriate for everyone.
Some very common foods in the gluten-free diet are rather high in nickel. This could be another reason why going gluten free (and even Paleo) isn’t enough to resolve the problem. (source)
Foods high in nickel include chocolate, millet, rice, almonds, buckwheat, gluten free oats, peanuts, various nuts, dates, raspberries, and pineapple. (source)
If you’ve reacted in the past to cheaper jewelry and want to know what metals in your diet could be a problem, check out the MELISA test. It looks for reactions to metals that could show up as skin rashes.
#3 – Filaggrin Gene SNPs
Though it would take some serious googling to find this out, you might have “leaky skin” due to an issue with your gene that dictates the production of Filaggrin.
Filaggrin is a protein that’s necessary to maintain a healthy skin barrier. But when Filaggrin isn’t properly produced… well… “Houston, we have a problem.”
Namely, a rash that won’t go away.
This is important to talk about here because “twenty to thirty percent of people with atopic dermatitis have an FLG gene mutation.” Currently, 36 different genetic SNPs have been identified that directly impact those us wondering why the rash won’t go away.
In case you didn’t know, a SNP (pronounced “snip”) in the gene that produces Filaggrin (noted in scientific papers as FLG) means that the outer layer of your skin will have structural challenges. (source)
If this seems complex, allow me to share an analogy that will simplify what’s happening.
Imagine the roof of your house.
The shingles are critical to keeping water and rot from entering your home. The cells on the outermost layer of skin are like your shingles.
If the 30-year shingles you had installed were defective and started to disintegrate after 6 months, it would be a major catastrophe, right?
You’d end up with leaks and damage to your ceilings and walls. Mold grows through the drywall.Â
It’s bad news all around.
The bottom line here is that one of the main barriers to your home from the elements has been compromised.
And that’s what happens to the outermost layer of your skin called the epidermis. Those cells are defective in some way due to the way Filaggrin is being made.
This critical layers of your skin can’t protect the tissue underneath from pathogens like bacteria and yeast. Allergenic substances like pollen or dust mites become a chronic problem. It can’t maintain proper hydration which contributes to drying. Nor can this layer keep the pH of the skin where it should be.
Forget about maintaining soft, balanced, moisturized skin!
Your outermost layer can’t maintain proper hydration that leads to dry skin. Nor can this layer keep the pH of the skin where it should be.
Wanna get tested? Here’s the genetic test that can help you determine if you have any Filaggrin SNPs and if so, how many. Â
Oh and by the way — this totally shouldn’t come as a surprise…
If you have SNPs in the genes that determine your Filaggrin production, you’re more likely to be sensitive to nickel and have food allergies. (source)
#4 – Food Sensitivities
Since I just mentioned a nickel sensitivity and food allergies, I have to add that food sensitivities can trigger rashes.
Eczema and rosacea can both have triggers based on food. (source)
I had round rashes on my arms and legs that were red, itchy, dry and scaly before removing gluten, dairy, and eggs from my diet in 2008. They popped up as moderate and severe food sensitivities on a blood panel that I had run.
After three months of staying 100% compliant, the rashes disappeared on their own as did my need of creams that barely made a dent on them.
{Here’s the best Eczema-Soothing Smoothies –> Grab my eGuide!}
If I get glutened, I develop a very distinct red, scaly, dry rash across my cheeks and nose that appears overnight. Even though it’s quick to appear, it takes nearly a week to subside.
These types of reactions that we call food sensitivities are known as IgG reactions and differ in many ways from IgE reactions. IgE reactions are truly allergic in nature that result in symptoms such as hives, itching, swelling and even anaphylaxis.
IgG reactions can sometimes take days to appear and can be difficult to pinpoint. IgE reactions are typically pretty immediate and much easier to determine the culprit.
Though IgG food sensitivities (or intolerances) are not root causes to gut and skin issues, they certainly are triggers.
That’s why knowing what foods you react to is critical to healing your rashes (as well as your gut). (source) And thankfully it’s much easier (and much less expensive) to find out what they are.
#5 – Gut Infections
Though most people searching for answers often think that food sensitivities and food allergies are to blame, I’ve found this to short-sighted.
When removing food triggers don’t work, the next step is to look for gut infections.
Before you jump off the deep end, let’s qualify something.
Even minor gut infections can cause chronic skin rashes like eczema and psoriasis.Â
Minor infections from bacteria, yeast, parasites or viruses can all impact the inflammation in your gut. This action contributes to Leaky Gut Syndrome (which you’ve probably heard of before).
The toxins and irritation produced from these infections can contribute to rashes and flares.
And they have the capacity to trigger other symptoms like GI complaints (diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating), brain fog, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, congestion, and low immunity (to name a few).
In this instance, you are the landlord over your gut.
Like any good landlord, you’ve got to know what is living in your gut.
When you discover that there’s an imbalance (or dysbiosis) OR unfriendly residents, addressing them can stop the never-ending flares and rash that won’t go away.
And finally… with a deep sigh of relief… heal your skin.
Don’t worry if you’d like to avoid antibiotics!
You don’t need to necessarily rely on them to deal with the bad gut bugs. Many pharmaceutical anti-microbial drugs are based on naturally occurring herbs. There are plenty of formulations available that have anti-microbial properties that can be used in their place.
I use them successfully as a clinical nutritionist with clients who come to me with chronic complaints that are blown off by doctors.Â
Here’s what to do next
Use the hidden triggers I just listed off as a guide to help you get to your unique combination of skin rash root causes.
But if this is overwhelming and you’ve already spent tons of time trying to figure this out without success, it’s time to ask for help.
You don’t have to continue to suffer alone.
I know because I’ve been there… suffering with what seemed like unending hand eczema that I finally solved!
And I work with a lot of other chronic skin rash sufferers who are fed up with the ineffective treatments offered to them. If that’s you, I invite you to schedule a Skin Repair Strategy Session with me.
During this private time, we’ll drill down to identify root causes you’re at risk for and what to do next.
And the greatest part is that it doesn’t matter where you live since my practice is virtual and there’s no need to travel!
my daughter had had a rash for 2 months and it disappeared in a day. So if vaseline was the last thing you tried when you’ve already changed the wipes and the diapers and you left your baby undiapered for periods of time. Talk to the pediatrician or a pharmacist and see if you can use ANTI-FUNGAL CREAM for Atheletes Foot and Jock Itch. It could be fungus. My Mother-in-law told me that her mom used to do that and so I tried it.
Hi Elizabeth, just so you are aware, the outward expressions of fungal infections can be significant markers that there is an internal fungal infection within the gut. Those creams only treat it topically. If it doesn’t go away and they continue, then you’ve got to consider looking within for answers.
Thank you for sharing this very helpful info! NSAIDs for pain management may be contributing to a rash on my hand.
I forgot to add that I really like your house analogy! It brought the whole post together for me and changed how I view myself.
Awesome! I’m glad that was helpful! I always try to find ways to simplify complex issues. I think it’s important that if you’re going to feel empowered in your health that you understand the basic concepts 🙂
Hi Rose, yes that’s definitely a possibility. I’m not sure what type of pain you’re experiencing, but it would be good to figure out why you have that pain and address it so you no longer need the NSAID.
I found your website when looking for help. I have had these small rashes that are starting to spread thru my body. I’m going to try your gluten, eggs and dairy break for a while and see if it helps. At this point like you said no creams work at all. I’m going to do the blood panel and I’m also getting an allergy test.
Thanks for giving me hope and help as this is wrecking my life. I think it’s the biggest challenge I’ve faced so far.
Kevin
Hi Kevin! I too am glad you found the site. If you give this food elimination a try for about 3 weeks and don’t see a significant difference, I’d recommend reaching out to set up time for us to talk. There’s often overlapping factors that may need additional support and I can help you identify those and create a targeted plan 🙂
Sounds great! Thank You!
My whole life I’ve been suffering from terrible rashes that appear on my arms and legs randomly. I have been wanting to get it checked, but it is so expensive to do allergy tests and who knows if that’ll help?? I’ve gotten these rashes so many times while travelling that I was starting to think it was the detergent I was allergic to, but now I get them randomly at home too. Hydrocortisone cream just numbs the itching for an hour but doesn’t do anything for the rash itself which continues spreading. The only thing that helps each time is going to a doctor and getting a cortisone shot. This rash is so frustrating and mysterious. I have it again now. I have been researching it for years and this is the first article I’ve read that has helped shed light on some real solutions. THANK YOU. G-d bless you!
Yuval, you’re very welcome! Like you, I got tired of having no other answers which is why I’ve been doing so much research about this. Solving chronic rashes is unfortunately more complex than using steroid creams. It’s possible that an allergy test could help, but you may be better off working with someone who can help you decide what’s most important to spend your money on so you’re not just testing random things hoping for answers.
To be fair… tests coming back negative are answers and always provide insight. But when money is limited, you want to get the most bang for your buck. I like to use symptoms, client history, and other testing already done to help my clients figure out where we need to look next.
I hope you’ll take a look at some of the other articles on the site that ALSO are about rashes… I think they’ll be very enlightening!
I got poison ivy at the golf course last year went away but keeps coming back is that possible or have I got something else
I’d highly recommend that you go to a dermatologist at this point and have it looked at. It could be something else and it would be good to know what it is so that you can effectively treat it.
What would you tell someone who did the Autoimmune Paleo diet for 5 months, got worse not better, reacts to chlorine, epsom salts, allergy shot injections (hives), was treated for SIBO and SIFO, treated for Hashimoto’s, eats organic, grass fed, dealt with snp problems (supplements)? I feel so stuck.
Hi Jennifer! The general rule is that if AIP doesn’t work after 60 to 90 days (and you feel worse), it’s not the right protocol for you. I think you’ve got a lot going on and it’s important to keep on looking. I can tell you that you should have felt better after being treated for SIBO and SIFO… if you didn’t, then it may not be gone. People can often struggle with that for years going on and off different treatments. Additionally, treating gut issues can also cause other bugs in the gut to see an opportunity to thrive. I have had clients in the past where we addressed one issue only to see a completely new GI bug issue arise.
That said, there are 15 root cause triggers of skin rashes and while you’ve done a lot with diet and supplements and GI dysbiosis, there could certainly be other issues that you’ve not considered that now need addressing. I’m not trying to make things at all sound grim as I KNOW you want a resolution here. But you know something still isn’t right and it’s important to drill down deeper to make sure that all the bases are covered. Hopefully you’ll tune into my upcoming Eczema & Psoriasis Awareness Week so that you can learn more about them (https://www.jenniferfugo.com/skin-event)
I had a severe skin rash all over my arms, neck, face and part of my chest for 2 years. It was covering large areas of skin and was bright red. I felt very unwell and for a short time thought I was actually going to die. After 16 doctors of all specualties, i saw a functional doctor who diagnosed me with systemic candida, which my primary doctor refused to test for because he said I would have been “deathly ill !” – which i tried to tell him i was! After 2 months on a powerful antifungal, I got better and only have a small patch of rash on my forearm that wont go away now. Ive been gluten, dairy and egg free fir many years.
Hi, I developed rashes on my legs after using foot massage machine 8 months ago. I have seem several doctors and specialists but no one can help me.
Few days ago, I start taking chlorpheniramine maleate 2 caps per day 4mg each. it seem help little. Should I increase the dose the 3 or 4 caps a day? Or any other solution for my problem?
I think the foot massage machine trigger my skin to release histamine.
Hi Shan, I cannot advise you on how to take medication. You would need to see a physician to discuss that since it’s out of my scope of practice and it’s not a great idea to ask for advice like when the person you’re asking doesn’t know your case. I certainly would hate to see your symptoms worsen.
That said, I have no idea if the machine is what caused that. It’s best to consider all of your health symptoms and a thorough history to understand why you now have this rash rather than just pin it on one thing. And I recognize that you’re trying to manage the rash (and I assume itching since you mention histamine release), but ultimately you need to figure out what’s driving the rash in the first place.
I’d encourage you to listen to the Healthy Skin Show podcast if you haven’t checked it out yet (www.healthyskinshow.com) to get better acquainted with other reasons that could be driving your symptoms. And you need to keep an open mind that this could be related to gut issues, hormone shifts, liver detoxification challenges, etc.
Can i ask a question on here?
I’ve had a rash itchy as heck, ndr my knees and my scalp and my belly, since December. It’s not scabies. I know for sure. It’s not healing and the only thing helping with the itch is CBD oil that I rub on the rash. I have a picture of my legs in December 11th, and now that almost look the same, the oil IS helping.
What is happening to my skin. Oh I also have a yello tinge on the skin of my face now too. Not from the sun either.
Hi Julie, I’d recommend that you seek out help from a doctor to rule out that something more serious isn’t going on. Rashes can certainly just be a reaction to something in your environment, but they can also be due to infections or other more serious internal issues. Also if your skin is becoming more yellow in its complexion, it can point towards more serious health concerns (especially with regards to your liver). Again, I’d see your doctor and get assessed to make sure that what’s going on isn’t something more serious.