Moisturizer Withdrawal

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Leslie Chua
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:51 am
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by Leslie Chua on Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:58 am

Moisturizer Withdrawal

Hello all,

I'd like to share my experience of moisturizer withdrawal for those who are interested.

For close to 2 years, I listened to conventional wisdom from all skin doctors as well as regular people that I need to constantly moisturize my skin because of the skin barrier defect (eczema). So I did. I tried all sorts of moisturizers, natural, unnatural, aqueous BP, QV, physiogel, niks cream, virgin coconut oil, petroleum etc. One thing was constant, my wounds are always red, wet, sore and open. I'll be able to control my scratch in the day, but at night I'd scratch alot (I posit that it is because partly of TSW recovery as well as there is no one to moisturize my skin when I'm asleep as the skin dries out and causes a natural itch reaction).

About 3 months or so back, I came across some interesting articles from skinofrose blog on this Dr.Sato in Japan recommending MW. So I did, on a hunch, as I had nothing to lose since I was constantly in pain and not really recovering.

First 3 weeks was horrible. I had to sleep away from my gf on a sofa because my scratching at night was annoying her. There was alot of skin flaking, oozing, scratching, peeling, drying. The drying was significant. These cycle of skin breaking/healing continued for 3 plus weeks. (I have come to believe this is a very natural healing process).

The break came when visually, my dead skin flares reduced significantly (i sweep them everyday). Then, I realised, my skin is less susceptible to skin breaks and oozing when I scratch them. Also, my scratching has decreased significantly after 3 weeks. There is a certain dryness and leatheryness in my skin, one that I feel is stronger compared to when I was constantly using moisturizers.

Thanks to Dr Sato, I was able to start running about 2 months back, and started playing soccer last month. My skin is still no where as healed, as there are patches of dry elephant skin. Today, I sleep well, scratch minimally, and only flare up if I have a bad diet (tim ho wan dimsum makes me suffer! but their dimsum is so goooood).

I hope sharing this information provide you guys with a new perspective, an alternative method to recover.

----------------------
I have more information about MW in my blog, so do take the time to read them and ask me any questions!

Rgds,
Leslie

Denise08
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:06 am
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by Denise08 on Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:50 am

Re: Moisturizer Withdrawal

Eczema is commonly found in families with a history of other allergies or asthma. It is itchy and irritating. Sometimes the itching will start before the rash appears. There is also appearance of skin inflammation and redness. I have eczema on my lower legs that’s why I can relate to you. This skin irritation attacks me on very cold or hot weather so that’s true I need to moisturizer my skin regularly to avoid dryness and flaking. I also avoid eating eggs, processed foods and nuts.

Leslie Chua
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:51 am
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by Leslie Chua on Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:37 am

Re: Moisturizer Withdrawal

Ever tried stopping usage of moisturizers?

There is alot of research done in Japan and Dr Sato is a big advocate of MW to treat AD patients, most with good results.

Leslie Chua
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:51 am
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by Leslie Chua on Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:42 pm

Re: Moisturizer Withdrawal

Hi Helen,

I update regularly on my own blog and would love to share in your portal.
Is there an easy way to do this, linking my new post to your portal?

Cheers

sunny81
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:46 pm
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by sunny81 on Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:20 pm

Re: Moisturizer Withdrawal

As an eczema sufferer, mw scares me. We rely almost entirely on moisturisers, even in the absence of steroids
Sunny81

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Marcie Mom
Posts: 857
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:30 pm
Location: Singapore
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by Marcie Mom on Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:52 am

Re: Moisturizer Withdrawal

Hi there,

Glad to know of skin improvement.. however, I'd caution that this is not normal. Moisturizers have various functions - to trap moisture on the skin, to attract moisture to the skin and to lubricate the defective skin barrier. If it's certain ingredients within the moisturizer that irritate the skin, it's best to do a patch test and find out which ingredient. This is far better than advocating stopping moisturizer use, which has been studied to improve skin condition, reduce use of prescription steroid and possibly, preventive effect for allergic march.

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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