Stool testing for eczema

Stool testing probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you’re dealing with eczema - and that’s completely understandable. When a skin condition shows up on the outside, it feels logical to treat it on the surface.

If you’ve lived with eczema for any length of time, though, you’ll know how limited the options can feel.

For many people, the standard route offered by their GP is steroid creams or medications. These can calm symptoms short-term, but they rarely address why the skin is inflamed in the first place - and for some, repeated use can actually drive flare-ups to return stronger.

In functional nutrition, we see the skin as a reflection of what’s happening inside the body - particularly in the gut.

Your gut and your immune system are in constant conversation, and when that balance is off, the skin often speaks up.

One of the most effective ways to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface is through comprehensive stool testing, which gives us insight into digestion, gut bacteria, inflammation, and immune activity.

Below are two real case studies exploring the link between gut health and chronic eczema.

I’ve shared these cases with GPs and fellow practitioners over the years as part of a wider effort to encourage a more root-cause-led approach to skin conditions - one that looks beyond suppressing symptoms and instead asks the more important question: why is the skin reacting at all?

FREYA'S STORY

Freya came to me as a 20-year-old student who had lived with mild eczema since she was around three years old. For most of her life it was manageable - irritating, but something she felt she could live with.

That changed when her skin suddenly flared and became relentless. The itching was so intense that she stopped wanting to leave the house, and the only time she felt any real relief was when she was in the bath.

Like many people with chronic eczema, Freya had already done “all the right things”: she had seen multiple doctors, dermatologists, and specialists, and had tried numerous steroid creams and courses of antibiotics. Instead of helping, these treatments left her skin feeling thinner, angrier, and more reactive.

Freya initially came to me asking about allergy testing, which made sense given how reactive her skin had become. However, based on her history and symptoms, I recommended looking deeper - combining advanced blood analysis with comprehensive stool testing to understand what was happening in her gut and immune system.

Her blood results showed significant nutrient deficiencies, including vitamin D, B12, and folate. This was despite eating a very good diet. The issue wasn’t what she was eating - it was that her gut wasn’t absorbing the nutrients properly. Poor absorption was also contributing to muscle wastage and an immune system that was both overstimulated and exhausted.

The stool test revealed a key missing piece: Freya had three strains of Candida (yeast) present in her gut.

Considering that around 80% of the immune system is housed in the gut, it’s no surprise her body was stuck in a constant state of inflammation and overreaction and that her skin was paying the price.

Once we understood what we were dealing with, we were able to take a targeted, root-cause approach.

We focused first on gently removing the excess yeast using safe, natural antimicrobials, then moved on to repairing and replenishing the gut with beneficial bacteria to properly support her immune system.

Some temporary dietary changes were made, but the real shift happened when we addressed the gut environment itself.

Within 16 weeks, Freya saw a 100% improvement in her skin - and, just as importantly, got her confidence and quality of life back.

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OLIVIA'S STORY

Olivia came to me as a 20-year-old student who had dealt with mild eczema on and off since childhood. Like many people, she’d learned how to manage it - or at least contain it - using steroid creams and antihistamines. They would calm the redness and itching for a while, but the relief never lasted. Just as she’d start to relax, the flare-ups would return.

What made Olivia’s situation particularly frustrating was how unpredictable her eczema was. There were no obvious triggers. She had already switched to chemical-free skincare and household products, was careful with what she used on her skin, and was doing everything she’d been told to do. Yet the red, itchy patches kept coming back, often at the worst possible times.

At 20, this had a real impact. Olivia was a social butterfly - busy with friends, university life, nights out, and all the things that should feel carefree at that age. Instead, her confidence would dip during flare-ups, leaving her feeling self-conscious, uncomfortable in her own skin, and constantly on edge, waiting for the next reaction.

We initially tried an elimination diet, which helped uncover that soya was a trigger for her. That was useful information, but it quickly became clear that food alone wasn’t the full story. Something deeper was driving the inflammation.

A comprehensive stool test gave us the missing piece. The results showed that Olivia had a parasite in her gut, along with signs that she wasn’t absorbing or utilising key nutrients properly. This explained why her skin was so reactive and why topical treatments were only ever a temporary fix - the root cause was internal.

Once we knew what we were dealing with, we put a clear, targeted gut-focused plan in place.

Olivia was incredibly committed to the process, sticking closely to the protocol even alongside the pressures of student life.

We worked on removing the parasite, supporting digestion, and restoring gut balance so her immune system could finally calm down.

The change was rapid. Within just five weeks, Olivia’s skin had almost completely cleared. The itching settled, the redness faded, and she felt like herself again. No longer held back by unpredictable flare-ups, she was able to get back to fully enjoying life, without constantly worrying about what her skin might do next.

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What Freya Says..

My skin consistently flared up despite the steroid creams I was using that were given by my GP. My mom was worried about the damage the steroid creams were doing to my skin and I started to research into them and discovered how bad they are for you.  I decided to take an alternative route and see a dermatologist in hope she would help in a different way other than cream and potentially give an allergy test.

However, once meeting with the dermatologist she said she has a protocol with all patients to lather steroid creams on the skin very thickly for 6 weeks and that this will ‘cure’ most people and she rarely gets returning patients with the same issues.

The dermatologist also suggested eating more iron rich foods. After 6 weeks she said to slowly start cutting down on the steroid creams and only use it when I felt itchy. So I did what she suggested and went around a year doing this, just using the steroid creams when I felt itchy in certain spots.

After having no luck with my GP or a dermatologist, my skin was still itchy and I didn’t want to keep using steroid creams. I started watching youtube videos on how people with eczema had started seeking nutritional help and showing their skin transformations. This lead me to do a lot of online reading and researching about eczema and diet and resulted in me reaching out to Karen once I found the Meraki website.

Once I quit the steroid creams altogether my skin flared up worse than ever as my body wasn’t used to being without the cream, therefore it was quite stressful to begin with as I was sceptical the protocol was going to work.

However, I found the food recommendations easy to follow and combined with Karen's personalised support it made the journey a lot smoother. Once I got into a routine of the foods I could and couldn’t eat I found it easy to adapt and enjoyed eating a range of healthy foods.

It took a while but after my skin started to calm down I felt more hopeful that the diet and supplements were working, and the changes can be seen in the photos that I took.

After having been through the stool test and following the protocol Karen gave me, I feel really happy that I decided to stop using steroid creams and took this alternative route as this is more of a long term lifestyle compared to the damaging steroid creams.

It has been really interesting taking the tests and learning about the balances and imbalances in my body and made me become a lot more aware of what I’m putting into my body. My skin is completely clear for the first time in years and although I am still avoiding dairy and gluten, for the most part, it has become apart of my routine and I don’t miss them!

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with eczema and would like to explore stool testing combined with nutrition - you can book a chat with Karen here