help and eczema knowlege required!

[abiprice27]

hi,

i really need some help and appreciate any one who takes the time to read my post. i am a 27 year old female living in the uk. i have suffered with eczema my whole life. when i was a child it was your typical atopic eczema behind the knees and inside elbows. it was severe but localised. as i got older i seemed to grow out of this but started to get very dry skin with flare ups and patches of eczema all over my body. i go through phases where this gets worse. between thr age of 19-22 it was pretty bad and now again aged 27. i use emollient in the shower, moisturise with epiderm cream 3 times a day. i also use steroid creams on patches of eczema. i have lost count of the different types of steroid creams the doctor has prescribed. so il get to the point... for the last six months my skin has become increasingly worse. there is no pattern to the flare ups and sometimes my skin doesmt even look particularly sore or patchy but it feels so uncomfortably dry. it is making me so miserable that even getting out of bed for work in the morning is a struggle. it feels like no matter how much moisturising i do my skin remains dry, itchy and irtitated. i take strong prescription antihistimines which dont seem to even touch the itch. i have also recently noticed that when i lightly scratch my foreams i get tiny red spots appear that bleed at the slightest touch. they look rash like. i have considered allergy to food and sm thinking possibly citric acid as i grt a sore itchy red rash around my mouth when i eat the fruit. i am considering trying sunbeds to relieve it. i am tsking vitamin c and d and evening primrose oil. i have also made enquuries to a doctor about homeopathic therapy. i eat healthily, exercise regularly and have also given up alcohol, there is no major stress in my life and i havent changed any routines.could someone please let me know if any of the above solutiond gave helped? also if you know whst the itchy red bumps are? help??!! thank you

[Marcie Mom]

Hi!

Sorry to hear of your skin's problem, hugs.

Moisturizing is good, keep it up! If you suspect that the lotion/cream/ointment that you're using is causing skin irritation, you can take a patch test to find out which ingredient you're sensitive to. The thicker the cream for the colder dry months, which is more lasting.

On steroid cream, always a good thing to doublecheck the potency to make sure that you won't be applying more of a high potency or at least remember to check back with doc when you should be expected to stop the high potency ones to a milder one.

Does using ointment help with the dry feeling?

Also do take an allergy test, so that you can better control your triggers rather than second-guessing..

Sun-ning isn't necessarily helpful for eczema, and definitely not when there's a flare-up that can get burned with the sun exposure.

Hope above helps, take care,
Mei

[Leslie Chua]

Its probably a withdrawal process from the topical steroids.

Google topical steroid withdrawal and you will get your answers.

Fellow TSW sufferer here too.

[artysue]

hi im sue im 53 and just read your letter i have suffered for 30 years with atopic eczema and had a pretty rough time i am now on immunesurpressants ..which my dermatologist suggested ... i find the itching un bearable at times i take atarax best taken a few hours before bed.. itchy bumps can be a allergy be aware of things you ate etc ..i get urticuria all over my body usually summer so it is airbourne stuff that triggers me ...i find aloe vera gel from holland and barratt very soothing when you are itching hope this helps sue

[mariarivers]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear! I know how you feel, I came from the exact same situation as you. I'm 30 now, but since I was 10, I used to have really bad eczema that would flare up in the summer time...and I would also get canker sores in my mouth which made it really hard to eat and talk. Sometimes my eczema would crust over and I would get red bumps that would be really itchy and have pus in them I can't say exactly what your red bumps are, but mine were a form of infected eczema. I also used lots of creams and was even taking medication, but I would have a really bad yo-yo effect...and as soon as I stopped using the creams my eczema would come back, or if I didn't use the cream I would experience withdrawals where my skin would look worse Does the same thing happen to you?

I recently started a 30-day home-based program to help clear my skin. I started the program because I was really desperate to get rid of my eczema, and just "eating healthy" and "exercising" didn't really help my problem!

The program focuses on finding out what your "eczema triggers" are. I found out what was causing my breakouts were dairy and gluten (wheat)! Do you have any food intolerances that you're aware of? Or do you notice that you started to break out after eating a certain thing? I'm 14 days in the program and so far I can see really big differences in my skin condition. My red bumps are drying over, and about 1/3 have started to disappear. Not completely finished the 30-day program yet, but so far I think it's the right path! My canker sores are also gone which is a plus that I didn't expect.

If you're interested, message me and I can let you know more

Good luck, and keep us updated!

Maria

[Denise08]

I also have eczema and it started when I gave birth to my first born. It aggravate during extreme weather and it is really itchy and flaky. My dermatologist prescribed me Diprogenta Cream. In one application I feel relieve and the eczema gets dry.