First Holiday abroad helped me rid my eczema

[pauldoug]

Ive had atopic eczema for 31 years (since birth). I feel like I live with a constant flare up, I generally wake up with dry broken skin (mostly face, hands ankles and legs). Even after all this time ive yet to be able to break the itch scratch cycle so these areas are usually bleeding with scratching, mostly at night. I also suffer from reddened areas where the skin is warm, itchy and generally aggravated on most parts of my body.
I recently took my first trip abroad. I went to France with my wife and kids. For a week we lived in a caravan park. I went with my skin in its usual sore cut form and was surprised that by the end of the week to be almost completely cleared up. I'm absolutely racking my brain as to what the difference was that's made my skin so much better. By the end of the week my skin seemed to hold moisture itself, I could have probably went out in the morning without my usual application of moisturizing cream, which I never do (or cant). I had no areas of redness anywhere, my cuts had healed by the day I was leaving and I looked and felt like a new person.
Now that im back home in Scotland, on only the second day my skin is worse than ever, my skin appears red and sore over 80% of my body. My scratched cuts are gradually coming back, and im back to feeling terrible in a lot of pain.
I wish I knew if it was a change in diet (which wasn't so different from here), shower water, climate, environment, bedding, the fact that I went in a swimming pool (which I haven't done as a kid). Only god knows.
I just wanted to post this to show that even although we have this nightmare of a condition, there is light at the end of a tunnel. Its just hard to find. I will figure this out somehow

[Marcie Mom]

Hols is almost a mystery for eczema skin! Most got better, could be lack of stress and humidity. I would think swimming is good, kills staph bacteria, should go if no active flare-up, be sure to moisturize after. Humidity as well - not below 50. Water is a lot harder to control and so far no firm studies confirming it affect, so maybe try out the other two first?

Take care and thanks for sharing!
Mei