Why did my eczema go away?

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RenRenRen
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Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:30 pm
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by RenRenRen on Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:14 pm

Why did my eczema go away?

I've been suffering from what was diagnosed as eczema for most of my adult life (over 15 years). I get this dry, itchy, irregularly shaped patches primarily on my lower legs and my forearms. It is rare for these patches to show up anywhere else. For years I've been using hypoallergenic, dye and perfume free body soaps, lotions, and laundry soap. It has not seemed to make a marked difference. Moisturizing consistently seems to be the only thing that has helped. Occasionally I would use a cream from the doctor when it got really bad. I'm so used to dealing with it that I've gotten used to itching all the time and learned how to mostly ignore it.

Until recently I lived in the Midwest and my skin condition would get worse in the winter time. I attributed this to a dryer indoor climate from the use of central heat. A couple of months ago I moved to Arizona. I anticipated that my condition might get worse because of the extreme dryness of the region. To my surprise I've discovered that my eczema has practically gone away. This is fantastic and I'd love to figure out why so that I can help determine my personal triggers.

I'm using the same soaps and lotions. I was using more lotion when I first moved here but I developed heat rash the first week and stopped using it regularly at all. (Oily lotions can clog up pores and cause heat rash.)

I've been wondering if the extreme dry climate of this area is actually helping instead of hurting. One of the things I've considered is that my skin problems were an allergic reaction to dust mites. I am definitely allergic to dust mites and have had horrible coughing fits when cleaning. Packing for my move was absolutely miserable. Dust mites thrive in humid climates. Since this area is so dry I don't believe they can survive.

It is a bit confusing because it seems like if I have eczema the problem gets worse if it is dry (or is it the coldness of winter making it worse). Maybe it is so dry here that the real trigger for my eczema has been destroyed. To clarify I have been experiencing something like eczema and not hives. This is why I didn't directly attribute it to allergies.

I have to admit that I've learned to cope with my skin problems by mostly trying to ignore them so I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about eczema. Has anyone had similar experiences? Is it possible my real trigger was allergies?

I would really appreciate any help, comments, or insights others have. I've been stoically suffering with this condition for years and I want to know how to combat it if it comes back.

Thank you in advance!

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Marcie Mom
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by Marcie Mom on Mon Oct 07, 2013 12:50 pm

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

Hi!

Good to hear that your eczema got better :) It's hard to tell the triggers though, could be pollen, dust mites, humidity, have you had allergy test?

Take care and all the best in your new place!
Mei
Mei
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Mei - Founder of http://www.EczemaBlues.com and Mom to Marcie
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a_jordania
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Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:08 pm
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by a_jordania on Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:22 pm

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

Hi Ren, I'm happy to hear that someone else is experiencing the same thing.

My home base is Canada, and the Spring, Summer, and Fall are the absolute worst times for my eczema (hands, arms, and face). It's so brutal that it leads me to a debilitating depression.

HOWEVER, in the dead Canadian winter my eczema clears up about 80%, and it goes away 100% completely in dry-heat (not humid; it gets very humid where I live) climates. For example, my eczema would go away in the South-West part of the USA (like you), Central-South America, and the Middle East (places I've been fortunate enough to visit).

My Doc says that my skin has difficulty producing a protective layer and that Staph bacteria produces colonies under my skin which causes irritation. If this is the case, then why do the symptoms go away in such extreme climates? especially in dry-heat and freezing weather. Does Staph die or have difficulty living in such temperatures?

My only solution is to move at this point.

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Marcie Mom
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by Marcie Mom on Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:20 am

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

a_jordania,

Interesting point you raised about staph bacteria, it does colonize eczema skin and for my daughter, I bring her swimming/ chlorhexidine her. I couldn't find anywhere on conditions where staph flourish, as opposed to dust mites which conditions such as humidity aids its growth - I'll have to bear in mind to check!

Take care,
Mei
Mei
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Mei - Founder of http://www.EczemaBlues.com and Mom to Marcie
Visit Mei on her talkhealth blog all about eczema http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/blog/author/mei_m/

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Marcie Mom
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by Marcie Mom on Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:48 am

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

On the sun, I'm not sure if there's conclusive study on it - on one hand, we have light therapy for eczema, on the other, eczema flare-ups can be worsened by the sun... I'd think go easy on the sun exposure..

take care!
Mei
Mei
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Mei - Founder of http://www.EczemaBlues.com and Mom to Marcie
Visit Mei on her talkhealth blog all about eczema http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/blog/author/mei_m/

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Sorehands
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by Sorehands on Thu Mar 27, 2014 9:17 pm

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

One thing I'd like to add to this discussion (and it's not always the case) is that when people go to other countries, they often greatly change their diet.

People talk about going to hot and humid places or dry and cold or sunny and assume it is the weather. One person on here talked about going to Africa. Well I can say that the African diet is also alot different and often times countries have different foodtypes AND different ways of manufacturing the food.
For example:
Some countries put milk powder in bread, some don't have any milk powder in bread.

But that's just a mild example.

Compare the processed HFCS-filled, preservative-laden food that fills U.S. supermarket shelves, compared to organic, fresh grown root vegetables and freshly-killed meat that you would eat in Africa (outside the largest cities that is.)
This has been my experience when travelling to Subsaharan Africa versus, say.... Brazil. In Rio my skin sucked because all the food I ate was junk just like in U.S.

laurasmith
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Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:29 am
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by laurasmith on Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:37 am

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

Marcie Mom wrote:Hi!

Good to hear that your eczema got better :) It's hard to tell the triggers though, could be pollen, dust mites, humidity, have you had allergy test?

Take care and all the best in your new place!
Mei

I totally agree with this. It's best to understand what really triggered your condition in the first place so you will know what to avoid. I am happy you recovered! :)

danakerr
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Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:00 am
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by danakerr on Sat Oct 31, 2015 4:08 am

Re: Why did my eczema go away?

I am very happy to hear about your story. It is a depressing condituon and it's good to hear that you've found your treatment. You are an inspiration to people to people who are also suffering from eczema

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