Atopic Eczema/Autoimmune treatment HELP!?

[spittingpink]

Hi all, my boyfriend suffers from Atopic Eczema as a result of an autoimmune issue and is currently being treated with a selection of steroid creams, diprobase and immune suppressant drugs but the treatments arnt currently working.

He's had this since he was a teenager and in the 2 years I've known him he's had dry skin which seemed to follow the seasons, getting better or worse, but this summer its been horrendous, weeping and red, sore and making it hard for him to move (specifically his legs and food).

It took him years to get a specialist at our local hospital, but I'm not convinced they are doing the best for him. they did blood tests years ago that showed him as being allergic to dust, pollen, peanuts and wheat, but oddly in the time I've known him he's been able to eat that, this year though we've had him cut out nuts and gluten entirely and it seems to make no difference!

I told him to ask his specialist for a patch/skin prick test so we could try and figure out the route cause but the guy said no, that the drugs he was on would give a false reading and if he came off them it would be so bad that they couldnt do the test.

just feels to me these arm full of drugs (that do god knows what to the rest of his body, liver, etc...) are just a sticky plaster and without figuring out the root cause, these temporary measures will be permanent.

I want to know where to do to get the best support and help!? how do I find/contact specialists in the UK that could maybe help him better?!?!

[Marcie Mom]

Hi there,

Hugs, sorry to hear of the skin difficulties of your BF. I agree that the trigger has to be found, but for some, it can be quite elusive. The good news is that there are common allergens and avoiding them be a start. It is true that skin prick test requires at least patch of good skin in order to monitor the results and allergy testing is inaccurate if one is taking immunosuppresants.

I can think of avoiding the known triggers in previous tests, ask when the immunosuppresant course can be completed (if it's not effective, ask if it can be stopped but don't stop on your own, followup treatment can get tricky later on), seek second opinion on the skin's treatment. Check on possibility for bleach bath, wet wrap. Once there is clear skin/not on medication, take another allergy test (skin prick is more accurate).

Hugs,
Mei
p.s. more on side effects of immunosuppresants on my blog, be sure the doctor is doing regular liver/blood test