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    • Vitamin D could be a piece of COVID-19's 'complex puzzle,' Israeli scientists say, after a new study finds a link between deficiency and severe illness
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    • Vitamin D: Deficiency May Increase Coronavirus Infection Risk
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    • Breast cancer: Vitamin D could lower risk by 21% in Black and Hispanic women
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      • 9 things that could happen if you're not getting enough vitamin D
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      • All Scots advised to take vitamin D says new health guidance
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      • Study finds association between vitamin D, BMI and advanced cancer
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      • Vitamin D cuts colitis risk in cancer patients on immunotherapy by 65%
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      • Prompting leukemia cells to die
      • Everything You Need to Know About Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention
      • Obesity and Vitamin D Deficiency May Indicate Greater Risk for Breast Cancer
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      • Vitamin D During Pregnancy May Benefit Children’s Bones
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      • Vitamin D During Pregnancy May Improve Dental Health of Babies
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      • Vitamin D Supplements To Curb Rise In Rickets
      • High vitamin D levels linked to lower cholesterol in children
      • Study Links Low Vitamin D Levels with Fracture Susceptibility and Severity
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      • Taking Vitamin D During Pregnancy Shows Promise in Preventing Autism
      • Vitamin D deficiency found in children with digestive disorder, UMass study finds
      • Vitamin D deficiency in children exponentially increased in recent years, study finds
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      • October is Children’s Health Month
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      • VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY LEADS TO STRESS FRACTURES IN 15-YEAR-OLD
      • Breastfeeding Moms Aren't Getting Enough of This Essential Vitamin
      • Why children’s allergies are on the rise and how dirt may hold key to reducing cases
      • Babies born to mothers with lack of Vitamin D 'more likely to have learning difficulties'
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      • Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D
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      • How Optimizing Your Vitamin D Status Promotes Muscle Health & Function
      • Reevaluating Vitamin D as a Sports Supplement
      • The Risks of Being Vitamin D Deficient as an Athlete
      • Vitamin D levels in blood tied to cardiorespiratory fitness
      • What We Know About Vitamin D and Performance
      • Girls with high level of vitamin D have stronger muscles
      • Increased vitamin D intake improves muscle strength and athletic performance
      • Low vitamin D levels associated with higher risk of muscle strain among elite-level football players
      • Are athletes realizing the importance of vitamin D before the general public?
      • Why Vitamin D Is Extra Important for Athletes
      • Optimizing athletic performance through research
      • Nearly 60% Of College Football Athletes Don’t Get Enough D
      • A spotlight on vitamin D
      • High levels of vitamin D may improve muscle strength
      • Low levels of vitamin D may increase risk of fractures in active people
      • Why Vitamin D Is Extra Important for Athletes
      • Low Vitamin D weaker athlete
      • Vitamin D profile in National Football League players.
      • Endurance and D
      • Peak Athletic Performance and Vitamin D
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      • Vitamin D Supplements Linked to Slower Epigenetic Aging
      • Many of us have a vitamin D deficiency and don't know it
      • Vitamin D Helps Modulate Blood Sugar & Promotes Metabolic Health
      • Vitamin D and marine omega 3 fatty acid supplementation and incident autoimmune disease: VITAL randomized controlled trial
      • HEALTH AND WELLNESS The 4 vitamins and supplements this immunologist takes every day to strengthen her immune system: ‘Your body will thank you’
      • If You've Hit A Wall Combating Dry Skin, You May Be Lacking This Vitamin
      • Vitamin D supplements lower risk of autoimmune disease, researchers say
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      • Vitamin D and fish oil supplements reduce risk of autoimmune conditions
      • Vitamin D deficiency visible for the first time in teeth after cremation
      • Body pain and tiredness? Could be lack of vitamin D
      • This Little-Known Factor Doubles (Or More) Your Vitamin D Needs
      • 5 Vitamin D Benefits You Should Know About
      • Vitamin D Benefits
      • 7 Reasons to make sure you get enough Vitamin D Accoring to the Doctors
      • Very high dosages of vitamin D may delay frailty in old age
      • Vitamin D deficiency: Could a lack of the sunshine vitamin be causing your cold?
      • Hidden hunger: the crucial health role of Omega 3 and Vitamin D
      • Vitamin D: the superstar of prevention
      • Is Dry Skin A Sign Of Vitamin D Deficiency? Know How It Can Affect Your Skin
      • Coping with seasonal affective disorder
      • Skin Warning Signs That May Indicate You Have Vitamin D Deficiency
      • Vitamin D increases protection against infection, new model suggests
      • Vitamin D deficiency linked with increased risk of death, particularly from diabetes: study
      • People with diabetes, hypertension are Vitamin D deficit: Study
      • Intake of vitamin D supplementation may slow diabetes progression
      • New study sheds light on the role of vitamin D in muscle cells
      • Why you can't absorb vitamin D through a sunny window
      • Vitamin D Benefits That’ll Make You Take the Nutrient More Seriously
      • 5 tips to improve your cognitive functions
      • 5 Ways Women Can Keep Their Bones Healthy
      • Flu Prevention Tips
      • Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Disease Severity, Mortality Risk in IPF Patients
      • 6 Health Problems That Are Caused Due To Vitamin D Deficiency
      • Vitamin D deficiency - does your hair look like this? Warning signs of deficiency revealed
      • Winter Increases Risk Of High Blood Pressure
      • 4 smart tricks to overcome chronic fatigue syndrome without popping pills
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      • Vitamin D for Asthma
      • Researchers discover a new gear in life's clock: Vitamin D
      • Can vitamin D prevent the flu?
      • Vitamin D: It’s that time of the year
      • What's the link between cold weather and the common cold?
      • 11 Sneaky Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency
      • Are you smarter in summer? Brain health changes with the seasons
      • What's the link between vitamin D, gum health, and diabetes?
      • Infection Risk Lower in Dialysis Patients with High, Normal Vitamin D
      • Researchers Find Link Between Vitamin D and Asbestosis
      • We Can Thank Poor Evolutionary Design for Vitamin D Deficiencies
      • Vitamin D deficiency ups diabetes risk in women: Study
      • REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE TAKING VITAMIN D SERIOUSLY
      • Is vitamin D deficiency to blame for lung disease?
      • Many people lack Vitamin D — even in the Sunshine State
      • Vitamin D deficiency may up diabetes risk
      • Low Vitamin D Linked to Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women
      • Vitamin D deficiency: How to reverse a shortfall and stop painful symptoms
      • Vitamin D could provide psoriasis relief
      • Is vitamin D really a cure-all – and how should we get our fix?
      • Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu
      • The Benefits of Vitamin D – Why It’s the Sexiest Vitamin Around
      • Research finds vitamin D is important for respiratory health
      • Is Vitamin D Really Effective For Cold and Flu
      • Vitamin D deficiency: 6 symptoms
      • Vitamin D could help millions of people with irritable bowel syndrome
      • Frailty not ‘inevitable result of ageing’, can be reversed
      • Should ALL pregnant women take vitamin D?
      • Vitamin D supplementation may be more effective than sun exposure at raising vitamin D levels
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      • 7 Benefits of Vitamin D You Might Want to Know About
      • Could Fish Oil, Vitamin D Help Ease Lupus?
      • Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu
      • Are YOU vitamin D deficient? 6 signs even your doctor might miss
      • Top Myths of Vitamin D
      • Vitamin D May Lower Asthma Attack Risks
      • Vitamin D supplements may reduce asthma severity
      • The Shocking Truth About Vitamin D Deficiency And Its Repercussions
      • Vitamin D Might Be The Key Ingredient In Vitiligo Treatment
      • Vitamin D insufficiency linked to lower virologic response in HBV
      • BACK TO SCHOOL COLD PREVENTION
      • Too little vitamin D may hinder recovery of injured corneas
      • Gut reaction to a healthy life
      • Low Vitamin D Levels Increases the Risk for Chronic Headaches
      • Vitamin D Levels Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression
      • Study Links Certain Jobs to Vitamin D Deficiency
      • Can Vitamin D Improve Sunburn?
      • Vitamin D guidelines need to be updated – here’s why
      • Daily fruit smoothie helps couples trying to start a family
      • Vitamin D deficiency could cause deadly diseases, warn UAE doctors
      • Vitamin D Deficiency May Cause Early Menopause
      • Lactose intolerance linked to lower vitamin D levels
      • Vitamin D Helps Friendly Bacteria Repopulate The Gut, Making It The Perfect Campanion To Probiotic Supplements
      • Sunscreen ‘is making us vitamin D deficient’, controversial study claims
      • Widespread Vitamin D Deficiency Likely Due to Sunscreen Use, Increase of Chronic Diseases
      • Doctor’s Tip: The low-down on vitamin D
      • Pet vet: Understanding the importance of vitamin D for pets
      • Vitamin D could provide psoriasis relief
      • Can A Vitamin Deficiency Cause Depression?
      • Increased Fracture Risk: Seniors Not Taking Vitamin D Supplements
      • 11 surprising things you might not know about vitamin D
      • What is rickets, what causes the condition, is there a cure and how can I prevent Vitamin D deficiency?
      • Sunshine vitamin linked to fewer heart events: Meta­-analysis
      • Study finds link between vitamin D levels and severity of malabsorption issues
      • ‘Proof’ that Vitamin D can fight flu
      • Sunshine Is The Natural Treatment For Preventing Pre-diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and More In Children and Adults
      • Vitamin D is not just beneficial, it’s a necessity
      • Vitamin D pills 'could stop colds or flu'
      • Vitamin D Supplementation: Protection from Respiratory Infections?
      • Relapse Risk Up With Low Vitamin D Levels in Ulcerative Colitis
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      • We all need the Vitamin D
      • 7 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency People Often Ignore
      • 8 Surprising Things You Didn't Know Vitamin D Could Do For You
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      • Vitamin D study outlines impact of supplements in seniors
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      • Vitamin D Modestly Tied to Sex Hormones in Older Population
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      • Insufficient Sun Exposure Called Emerging Public Health Problem By World-renowned Researchers
      • Weight loss combined with vitamin D supplements can reduce inflammation linked to cancer and chronic diseases
      • Higher Doses of Vitamin D Can Lower Incidence of Respiratory Infection
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      • Men and the Power of Vitamin D
      • Vitamin D and Immune Function
      • High quality evidence suggests vitamin D can reduce asthma attacks
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      • The Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic … 40% World’s Population Low on D
      • Low Vitamin D Linked with All-Cause Death
      • Your Family Doesn't Have To Get Sick This Fall
      • Vitamin D is essential for the elderly living without sunshine in their lives
      • Taking THIS vitamin could protect you against cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s
      • Vitamin D tablets may help reduce asthma attacks, review finds
      • Vitamin D Proven More Effective Than Both Anti-Viral Drugs and Vaccines at Preventing the Flu
      • Bring me sunshine: How I beat eczema
      • Insulin Resistance and Vitamin D
      • Diverticulitis risk lower with higher vitamin D
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      • High Doses of Vitamin D Unlikely to Help MS Patients, But Daily Low Dose Good for All,
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      • Vitamin D deficiency could increase risk of diabetes related coronary heart disease
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      • Fight infection like an Olympic athlete
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      • Rayaldee Approved for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism Vitamin d Deficiency
      • Increase vitamin D levels to cut kidney problems
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      • Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Diabetic Retinopathy
      • UK sun not enough
      • morbidity and D
      • Macular and D
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    • Heart Health >
      • STUDY NAILS DOWN A LINK BETWEEN VITAMIN D AND HEART HEALTH
      • Vitamin D-3 could 'reverse' ​damage to heart
      • Vitamin D and the Heart
      • Vitamin D Can Mend a Broken Heart
      • D deficiency linked to high blood pressure
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      • Heart failure 12 times more likely in people with vitamin D deficiency
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      • Sunshine vitamin linked to fewer heart events: Meta­-analysis
      • Vitamin D levels could predict risk of poor cardiovascular health
    • Neurological health >
      • New Research Shows Vitamin D Deficiency Leads to Dementia
      • Vitamin D supplementation may reduce ADHD symptoms, finds study
      • low d linked to fall, sleep problems and depression
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      • SUNBATHE AND QUIT SMOKING TO REDUCE MS RISK IN SPAIN’S MALAGA SAY LEADING DOCTORS
      • At risk of getting, or have, multiple sclerosis? Load up on vitamin D: MS Society
      • 4 things you can do to prevent stroke
      • Vitamin D: The Only Dietary Supplement Showing Significant Benefit for MS
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      • Easing your winter blues this season
      • Reducing Vitamin D Levels in Women May Up the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
      • UNBC study shows vitamin D boosts brain function
      • Vitamin D Eases Depression, Fatigue in Spinal Cord Patients
      • Sharon Ní Chonchúir on having a baby despite her MS
      • Dutch study confirms link between certain psychiatric disorders and vitamin D deficiency
      • Vitamin D Deficiency and Depression
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      • Low Levels of Vitamin D in Patients With Bipolar Disorder
      • Vitamin D Supplements Improve Cognition in Patients With MS
      • Can vitamin D prevent Alzheimers?
      • The signs you might have seasonal affective disorder
      • A deficiency of THIS essential vitamin could lead to MEMORY loss
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      • Vitamin D and MS
      • Alzheimer's Q&A
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      • Vitamin D Reduces Need for Opioid Pain Relief in Cancer Patients
      • The association of calcium and vitamin D use with implant survival of total knee arthroplasty: A nationwide population-based cohort study
      • Vitamin D for Back Pain and Disc Degeneration in Postmenopausal Women
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      • How vitamin D inhibits inflammation
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      • Research links lower vitamin D levels to excess body fat
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Back to General Health

Bring me sunshine: How I beat eczema

Picture
September 2016
(Vol. 27 Issue 6)
 in Asthma, Depression, Eczema

As a child, Rahul Sharma’s eczema was so bad he had to be hospitalized for weeks at a time.
“Doctors couldn’t believe how much my skin was peeling,” said Rahul, now 38 and living in Surrey. “They had to wrap me in bandages from head to toe.”
Conventional treatments—a variety of creams, ointments and oral drugs—did little to help Rahul’s sore, itchy skin and his eczema, or ‘atopic dermatitis’ as it’s medically known, continued into Rahul’s teenage and adult years, along with asthma, which was also making his life a misery.
“The two conditions seemed to be connected,” said Rahul. “When one flared up, so did the other.”
He found himself suffering from depression too, which was similarly resistant to the medication prescribed for it.
Frustrated with constantly feeling “under the weather”, Rahul turned to alternative therapies although, at first, he didn’t have much success with
these either.

“I tried acupuncture, herbs and homeopathy,” he recalls. “They helped a bit, but not very much.”
But then a complementary therapist made a suggestion that would completely change Rahul’s life. “She recommended I get my vitamin D levels checked. It was something no one had considered before.”
D deficiency in Asian Brits
Following a blood test arranged through his GP, Rahul discovered he was severely deficient in vitamin D, and was prescribed supplements of the essential vitamin straight away.
“It turns out it’s a very common problem among British Asians like myself,” explains Rahul. “Something like 90 per cent of Asians in the UK are affected.”
But after four months on the supplements, Rahul’s vitamin D levels remained unhealthily low. So he decided to up his daily dosage.
“I started taking two or three times the amount my GP recommended,” said Rahul. “And that’s when I started to notice a difference.”
After six months on high-dose supplementation, Rahul experienced a dramatic turnaround in his health. “I felt so much better. The depression had lifted and my skin was starting to improve.”
Tests revealed that Rahul’s vitamin D had reached normal levels, but he continued to take the supplements, albeit at a lower dose, and continued to see improvements.
Culling other culprits
Buoyed by the success of vitamin D, Rahul started to look into other environmental factors that could be having an impact on his symptoms, like the type of washing powder he was using.
Although Rahul’s doctor told him that changing his washing powder would have no effect on his health whatsoever, Rahul did it anyway—and noticed a big difference in both his eczema and asthma after just a few weeks.
“I used to use the big brands like Ariel and Daz, but these are full of known irritants like artificial fragrances. Switching to a more natural, hypoallergenic formula has really helped.”
It especially helped with the night-time itching and scratching Rahul had put up with for years, suggesting that his bedding could have been making his eczema worse.
“I could finally get a good night’s sleep,” he said.
Rahul also swapped his regular cleaning products and toiletries for allergy-friendly ones. “You can’t just buy them from your local supermarket—you have to order them online or go to a health food store—but it’s worth it.”
Another important change Rahul made was cutting wheat and gluten from his diet. “According to tests I’d had in the past, I wasn’t allergic to any foods in particular,” Rahul said. “But to me there was a clear connection. I had fewer symptoms when I avoided wheat and gluten.”
Rahul gave up refined sugar and alcohol too, which he said had a positive effect on his asthma.
Instead, Rahul focused on eating fresh whole foods, mostly organic, including vegetables, fruit, corn, rice and meat.
Avoiding second-hand smoke also helped Rahul’s asthma. “I was so grateful for the smoking ban,” said Rahul. “But I still have to be careful. And I try to get out to the countryside for fresh air as much as I can.”
Under control
Rahul believes that all the changes he made had a synergistic effect on his health and have led him to where he is today—which, he says, is “90 per cent better”.
He still takes the vitamin D supplements and has to be careful of his diet and lifestyle—to the point of having to take his own bed linen and towels with him when he’s away from home—but as long as he does, his eczema and asthma are no longer a problem.
“More people need to know about these things,” says Rahul. “They really can make a difference.”
What dose of D?
Although we’re designed to get most of the vitamin D we need through our skin on exposure to sunlight, many factors affect our ability to make the vitamin—for instance, skin colour (darker skins make less), how much we cover ourselves up with clothes and sunblock, and how much sun exposure we get when it’s high in the sky, when the all-important ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are at their strongest.
This inevitably means that many of us may not be getting enough of it. Still, health authorities worldwide are rather conservative about their vitamin D recommendations. As Rob Verkerk, executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health International, points out, “if you follow the US, Australian, UK or any other government’s recommendations, the true vitamin D experts say you’ll be increasing your risk of serious disease later in life”—because they’re too low.
What ‘true experts’ like the Vitamin D Council recommend is a dose of 5,000 IU/day of vitamin D in the form of vitamin D3 supplements for the average adult. But, depending on your size and lifestyle, taking up to 10,000 IU/day would still be safe, they say.
For more information on vitamin D, visit www.vitamindcouncil.org.
Vitamin D: beyond bones
Vitamin D deficiency is probably most commonly associated with rickets, which causes soft and weak bones, but the latest research suggests that not getting enough D can also lead to a variety of other health problems, including the ones Rahul suffered from: eczema, asthma and depression.
Vitamin D and eczema
Vitamin D is known to have a regulatory influence on both the immune system and skin barrier function, both critical in the development of eczema. Indeed, several studies have suggested a link between low levels of the vitamin and an increased incidence and severity of eczema symptoms.
In one study of 73 children with eczema carried out in Turkey, among those who had allergic reactions to specific agents in skin tests, the lower the vitamin D levels, the worse the eczema.
Other findings show that taking vitamin D supplements can improve eczema. According to a recent pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials (considered the scientific gold standard for testing whether something works or not), vitamin D supplements significantly reduced the severity of eczema compared with a placebo—and were also “safe and tolerable”.
Vitamin D and asthma
Vitamin D has been linked to immune-system and lung development in the womb, and studies suggest that higher vitamin D intakes by pregnant mothers can reduce the risk of asthma by as much as 40 per cent in their children when they’re three to five years old.
In asthmatic children, low vitamin D levels are associated with poor asthma control, reduced lung function, increased medication use and asthma exacerbations while, in asthmatic adults, the lower the levels of vitamin D, the worse the asthma.
As for vitamin D supplements as a treatment, the evidence is conflicting. However, a review of all relevant published studies found significantly fewer emergency hospital visits for asthmatic children treated with vitamin D, plus a reduced risk of asthma exacerbations.
Vitamin D and depression
Vitamin D receptors are found in many parts of the brain, and mounting evidence indicates that not getting adequate amounts of the vitamin may be involved in the development of depression and other mental-health conditions.
In a pooled review of all the evidence on vitamin D and depression, involving more than 30,000 people, lower D levels were found in those with depression than in those without it.
And in one study that looked at only obese and overweight people, those with low blood levels of vitamin D had more symptoms of depression, but supplementing with high-dose vitamin D improved these symptoms after a year.

​https://www.wddty.com/magazine/2016/september/bring-me-sunshine-how-i-beat-eczema.html






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