If you’ve been dealing with eczema recently or most of your life, you may be wondering if is eczema hereditary? But what does hereditary even mean?
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it means genetically transmitted or transmittable from parent to offspring.
This is where genes come into play.
Our parents and grandparents have genes that give them unique characteristics from appearance to personality.
They pass this on to their children as well. That’s why people always say, “you look like your grandpa” or “you remind me of your aunt”.
But this also means we get their “healthy” and “faulty” genes.
So, is eczema hereditary?
That’s the million-dollar question but we don’t have a single answer.
Research says that eczema appears to be caused by a combination of genetics and environmental factors.
The Environment in this case means your lifestyle, what you eat, how you were raised, where you live, and the unique experiences you’ve faced.
So it’s not a single gene that is controlling the outcome of you getting eczema.
There are multiple genes involved at play along with environmental factors.
However, not everyone that gets eczema has a family history of the condition.
But having a parent or sibling who has eczema increases the chances that the child may develop eczema.
A 2015 study found that there is a 75% chance of inheriting eczema if it’s in the family.
Research has found that there are several genes that significantly alter the composition and function of the skin in people with eczema.
Some of which impact the skin specifically. At the same time, others affect the immune system causing allergic or inflammatory skin responses.
The most interesting take away though is that a person may have a gene that increases their likelihood but that gene may not be active until they become exposed to an environmental factor.
What this tells us is that something in the way in which we live or experienced life, activated these genes for the body to express itself through eczema.
In most cases, this is a combination of things. The water we drink, the foods we eat, the geographic location we live, and traumatic events that left a mark.
If hereditary is not a factor, what other factors can cause eczema?
Eczema for most people may start off as genetics but a combination of different factors is what sets it off.
However, for individuals who never had it in their lineage, there are multiple factors that can cause someone to develop it.
- Diet
- Water
- Air pollutants
- Tobacco smoke
- Alcohol consumption
- Severe chronic or dry skin
- Having an overactive immune system
- Having certain endocrine disorders, such as thyroid
- Being exposed as an infant to maternal cigarette smoking
- Skin barrier dysfunction due to immune system dysregulation
- High levels of maternal psychological stress during pregnancy
- Living in an urban city (air/noise pollution, quality of food/water)
- Stress from traumatic events such as bullying, discrimination, racism, family/marital/financial issues, loss of a loved one
So if someone can develop eczema without it being hereditary, is eczema hereditary then?
This is hard to answer but I believe it should be answered on a case-by-case basis.
This information is definitely needed in order to help someone start addressing their skin issues.
It helps us to work backward and figure out the root cause.
What can I do whether or not eczema is hereditary or not?
I’m glad you asked this question!
This is the right mindset to have.
We shouldn’t let our genes or current situation stop us from helping our bodies heal.
There are three simple rules you can follow:
- Focus on the foods you chose to nourish your body
- Be selective on the type of content, thoughts, and ideas you consume.
- Listen to your inner voice, thoughts, and mental chatter and see what it’s saying.
- Slow down your lifestyle
These rules may seem basic in nature but can be hard to implement at first.
Because this is a new way of living and thinking, you will face resistance within yourself and most cases the people around you.
You basically want to eat whole foods, slow down your lifestyle and start believing you can heal your eczema.
Believe that you can live in harmony with your eczema rather than trying to “fix” yourself.
If you can focus on these three rules, you won’t even have to ask is eczema hereditary?
You don’t need to waste time going through your family tree.
You’ll be busy helping and healing your mind and body.
Another thing you could do is work with a Health Coach or a Certified Nutritional Practitioner like me.
I’ve been living with eczema for the last 20 years and went through topical steroid withdrawal.
I understand what you are going through on a physical, mental, and emotional level.
I’ve walked your painful journey and healed myself. I want to help you too.
So if you are embarking on the journey to heal your eczema naturally or going through topical steroid withdrawal, please Book a 30min Free Consultation with me to learn more about the XZMA Healing Program.