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By Dr. Rebecca Grant | Rejuvenair
For many people, eczema isn’t “just a skin condition” it’s a full-body signal that something deeper is out of balance. The redness, itching, and inflammation are messages from the immune system, not random irritation. And one of the most overlooked drivers of eczema today is histamine overload a silent biochemical storm that links the gut, the liver, hormones, and the skin.
Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is an inflammatory condition where the skin barrier becomes impaired, the immune system becomes over-reactive, and the body struggles to regulate inflammation effectively.
The skin flares are the symptom, not the cause.
Modern medicine often treats eczema from the outside-in with creams, steroids, and antihistamines but true healing begins from the inside-out. The skin, gut, and immune system are deeply intertwined, and when one is inflamed, the others often are too.
Around 70% of the immune system lives in the gut. If the gut lining becomes “leaky” or the microbiome is imbalanced (a condition known as dysbiosis), toxins and antigens can enter the bloodstream and trigger immune reactions that appear on the skin.
This is why eczema so often follows:
When the body can’t process and clear histamine effectively, it builds up in the bloodstream —and eczema, rashes, and flushing become the body’s cry for help.
Histamine is a natural chemical produced by immune cells called mast cells.
It helps defend against pathogens, regulate digestion, and support brain function but in excess, it becomes inflammatory.
When histamine builds up faster than it can be broken down, it leads to histamine intolerance.
This isn’t an allergy, but an imbalance between histamine load and histamine clearance.
| Root Cause | What Happens in the Body |
|---|---|
| Gut Inflammation or Leaky Gut | DAO enzyme (which breaks down histamine) is made in the intestinal lining; if the gut is damaged, DAO drops and histamine accumulates. |
| Dysbiosis (Candida, Bacteria, Parasites) | Certain gut microbes produce histamine as a byproduct. |
| Hormonal Imbalance | Oestrogen increases histamine, while progesterone and cortisol help regulate it — this is why flares often worsen premenstrually or in peri-menopause. |
| Stress & Cortisol Surges | Stress activates mast cells and increases histamine release. |
| Nutrient Deficiencies | DAO requires cofactors like vitamin C, B6, copper, and magnesium. |
| Environmental or Food Exposures | Fragrances, mould, pollution, and high-histamine foods add to the body’s overall load. |
Imagine your body as a bucket.
Every day, histamine enters from food, stress, hormones, infections, and toxins.
When the bucket fills faster than it can be emptied, symptoms spill over itching, redness, flushing, eczema, hives, migraines, anxiety, or sinus issues.
The key to healing isn’t to remove all histamine but to reduce the overflow by:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Aged & Fermented | Cheese, kefir, yoghurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, soy sauce |
| Processed or Cured Proteins | Smoked meats, bacon, tinned fish, leftovers |
| Alcohol & Vinegars | Wine, beer, cider, balsamic, apple cider vinegar |
| Certain Fruits & Veg | Tomatoes, citrus, spinach, aubergine, avocado |
| Other Triggers | Chocolate, shellfish, nuts, dried fruit |
Even healthy foods like avocado and fermented products can cause flares when your histamine bucket is already full.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Low-Histamine Proteins | Freshly cooked chicken, turkey, white fish, eggs (if tolerated) |
| Soothing Fruits | Apples, pears, blueberries, watermelon |
| Anti-Inflammatory Veggies | Courgette, cucumber, carrots, sweet potato, greens |
| DAO & Antihistamine Nutrients | Vitamin C (kiwi, peppers), B6 (bananas, poultry), magnesium (greens), zinc (pumpkin seeds) |
| Herbal Support | Nettle, chamomile, peppermint, holy basil, quercetin-rich foods (onions, apples) |
For those who want to go beyond guesswork, testing can identify the root drivers:
| Test Type | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| Blood Tests | Vitamin D, zinc, B6, DAO enzyme, histamine levels, liver function (ALT, GGT), cortisol pattern |
| Gut Tests | Dysbiosis, candida, parasites, leaky gut (zonulin), digestive function |
| Hormone Tests | Oestrogen/progesterone ratio, cortisol curve |
| Allergy / Immune Tests | IgE, eosinophils, CRP, or bioresonance scans for energetic insight |
Eczema healing is about restoring regulation teaching the body to stop reacting and start repairing.
At Rejuvenair, we focus on these core pillars:
Some people are born with weaker skin or immune barriers.
The key gene often linked to eczema is FLG (filaggrin) — it controls how well the skin holds onto water and lipids.
If this gene is mutated or under-expressed:
Think of it like having “thin armor” you can still live well, but you must strengthen your defences through nutrition, barrier care, and inflammation control.
Early life shapes the immune system for life.
Babies exposed to antibiotics, C-sections, sterile environments, or lack of breastfeeding often miss out on key bacteria (like Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium infantis) that train the immune system to tolerate the outside world.
Without this “training,” the immune system becomes hypersensitive reacting to foods, pollen, and even harmless skin microbes.
So, two people might eat the same meal or touch the same chemical, but the one with a compromised gut or microbiome will flare while the other stays calm.
Eczema-prone individuals often show Th2-dominant immunity.
That means their immune system produces more of the cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 — the “allergy and histamine” side — and less of the calming, anti-inflammatory cytokines.
This explains why eczema, asthma, and hay fever often appear in the same family (the atopic triad). It’s a shared immune pattern, not just a skin condition.
Some people naturally detoxify and eliminate histamine, toxins, and hormones more efficiently due to stronger liver enzymes (COMT, DAO, GST genes).
Others, due to genetics or lifestyle, have “slower pathways,” leading to:
This creates a body that’s internally inflamed and externally reactive.
We live in a chemical soup:
Each of these adds to the inflammatory load and those already genetically or gut-vulnerable simply overflow first.
One person might handle stress or junk food fine, while another’s body says “no more” through the skin.
This piece is often missed but deeply important.
People with eczema are often highly sensitive, intuitive, empathic — their nervous systems feel more.
Chronic stress, trauma, or emotional repression keeps the body in fight-or-flight mode → high cortisol → mast cell activation → inflammation → eczema flares.
That’s why nervous system regulation (breathwork, journaling, grounding, magnesium, adaptogens) can sometimes calm eczema faster than any cream.
| Factor | Eczema-Prone Individuals | Non-Eczema Individuals |
|---|---|---|
| Genetics | FLG mutations, weaker barrier | Normal barrier proteins |
| Gut | Dysbiosis, leaky gut, low beneficial flora | Balanced microbiome |
| Immune | Th2-dominant, over-reactive | Regulated, tolerant |
| Detox | Slow DAO, COMT, GST enzymes | Efficient detox capacity |
| Environment | Sensitive to triggers | Higher threshold |
| Nervous System | Easily stressed, overactive mast cells | Stable regulation |
Eczema isn’t random it’s the result of a body that’s been made more sensitive, overloaded, or under-supported.
Some people are born with a smaller “margin for error,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t heal.
When you rebalance the gut, regulate the immune response, calm the nervous system, and nourish the skin barrier the expression of eczema can completely change.
