355: Is It Just Bad Genes? (What Are The...

What are the causes of eczema? Can you get eczema genes? Is psoriasis genetic? These are common questions especially since many doctors still blame skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis on genetics.

Many people have been told “Oh, you just got bad genes!”

So is it true that the genes are the reason explaining WHY you got the skin condition that you have? Or does this attitude overlook and ignore other possible triggers.

With the ability to sequence the genetic code (and even get your own DNA report), genes have essentially become the convenient excuse according to my guest today. And that leaning on them as THE reason you have skin problems (and other health concerns) is something of a flawed approach.

In reality, there are a multitude of reasons or triggers that can cause skin problems that include the environment, your microbiome, chemical exposures, nutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and even what fabrics you wear. But if we ONLY point to genes, it becomes really easy to see how these important factors are overlooked.

So if you’ve been told that eczema is genetic or what causes psoriasis on the skin is because of your genes, this conversation will blow your mind. My returning guest Dr. Ian Myles is head of the Epithelial Therapeutics Unit at the National Institute of Health tasked with evaluating the efficacy and safety of a topical, live bacterial treatment for eczema.

He did his undergrad at Colorado State University, received his medical degree from the University of Colorado, then trained in internal medicine at The Ohio State University prior to beginning fellowship training in allergy and clinical immunology at NIH. He became a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and has supported several US and international missions. Also, Dr. Myles received his master’s in public health from George Washington University.

And he’s the author of a fantastic book called Gattaca Has Fallen: How Population Genetics Failed the Populace now available that seeks to answer the question about how genetics research has led care for chronic health conditions (like skin problems) very astray.

In This Episode:

• True or false: Is eczema is genetic?
• How genetic research has changed the way medicine views chronic health conditions
• The dark history behind using genes to guide treatment
• Is there an eczema gene (or even a dyshidrotic eczema gene) or is psoriasis genetic?
• How does your environment (and chemical exposures) influence your genetic code?
• Can different fabrics INCREASE Staph aureus on the skin?
• New research on topical eczema treatments using the skin microbiome

Quotes

“It is an easy excuse and it comes from a dark history, but comes from a long time ago where it was just an assumption as to, why would one person get a disease and one person not? And particularly within siblings, right, why would one of your children have eczema and the other one never suffer a second of the disease? And it was just this assumption that there's got to be something innately wrong with the individual.”

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