Eczema on the face

[nliedl]

I also sympathise at a 26 year old in the Communications department of a multi national so i have to dealw ith Directors/media/customers face to face. I have dark red circles around my eyes which go from my eyebrows to the top of my nose and my eyes are swollen and watering. Lovely.

So, i use Dr Haushka eye balm which is like vaseline but natural, hence limiting the amount of wrinkles i get around my eyes and treating me delicately with an emollient so i can flutter my lids more easily (without falking too badly). I no longer have large chinks of dry skin falling off my eyes and neck areas because of Dr Haushka. Try it!

[ironchef]

I'm 34 now but have had eczema for 32 or 33 years. Mostly on my hands and feet. Most of the years, my face was spared but in times of stress I would break out on my face significantly....red, itchy patches. I understand how it feels....like everyone is staring and is repulsed by you.

I haven't had a bad rash on my face since I started doing the following:

- Avoid all animal dairy. Drink rice milk instead.
- Minimize intake of sugar and alcohol. Alcohol really made my rash worse.
- Take fish oil (Ascenta is a good brand) and evening primrose oil. For me, my hair got really oily if I took one without the other.
- Acidopholis every morning. 40 billion organisms.
- For a facial moisturizer, I recently started using Kanebo. It is a Japanese brand but may be hard to find in North America. When I run out of what I have, I will try Shisheido. I find it really soothing and moisturizing without clogging the skin up.

I haven't had a skin breakout since summer 2008 by doing these things. But when I have a glass of wine or alcohol, I will get a red patch on my chin...so I avoid drinking as much as I can.

I had a bad experience with Protopic. At first it worked really well. But it lowered my immune system to the point where I got a herpetic infection on my hands...now I have the herpes virus for the rest of my life. It makes you more susceptible to viral infections. Also, there was a black box warning re: Protopic that it may cause cancer. Not sure if the warning is still in effect just make sure you read the fine print. I had been on Protopic for 1 year before getting the herpetic outbreak on my hands. Haven't been on it since.

Yeast infections had a big role to play in my facial rash. I noticed that every time I had a yeast infection, my face would breakout too. That's why avoiding sugar, alcohol is important. The acidopholis helps keep yeast at bay.

Hopefully some of this helps others as it did me. Good luck...

[ellesea]

I noticed that I got facial eczema when I drank too much red wine (French & Spanish in particular)....

It has trace elements of nickel which I am allergic to and caused havoc on my face/mouth....

Could this be yours too? If so stop drinking! ha ha easier said than done i know xx

seriously though - i have used so many prescription cremes and they are not effective in getting to the source of the problem - you need to clean your system, that is = EAT WELL, healthy, natural food and also these have helped tremendously:

3 tablets a day (its whats in yoghurt but in higher doses & doesn't affect your digestion/toilet habits so don't worry about the 'healthy intestinal flora' bit - it worked within days!!! i promise
http://www.nowfoods.com/index.php?actio ... m_id=10908

also a good creme, i use it on my hands mostly but this helps to calm itching = http://www.drugstore.com/qxp83730_33318 ... _creme.htm#

I also like to use AVENE TRIXERA - you can find this in most pharmacies: http://www.essentialslondon.com/product/1378.aspx
The Avene lines are excellent and have helped me soo much!

TEA TREE OIL!!! it stinks so use it at home unless you don't care (like me!), it kills germs naturally so its really good if you tend to use public transport and touch surfaces that are public domain. don't drink it though : ) i typically use a few drops and mix it into my skin so it doesn't get infected.

the makeup i use is: Clinique superbalance compact makeup, Physicians Formula (US) organic blush/bronzer, sometimes MAC foundation

http://www.physiciansformula.com/en-us/ ... -wear.html

Try to clean your skin as much as possible - I use Neal's Yard Remedy Orange Flower Facial Cleanser which is gentle

Hope this helps!!! xx

[fungusface]

It seems to me that if your facial eczema is caused by an allergy, as mine is (contact dermatitis), the best way to avoid flares is to avoid the allergen if you can. My allergen was identified after I was given patch tests by my dermatologist. It was clear that it had to be airborne as it affected my face and neck, especially the most sensitive parts, ie eyes and lips. An ingested allergen would cause a more generalised skin condition, while breathing it in tends to affect the respiratory tract, as in the case of hay fever. Another clue is if the onset of the reaction occurs "out of the blue" in someone who does not normally suffer with a skin condition. I was, it seems, very fortunate to have had the patch tests so soon after my first few episodes. I wonder why so many people are suffering so badly with what seems to be an avoidable allergy??
The chemical to which I am allergic is very difficult to avoid as it is an ingredient of so many products. However, I seem to be responding well to a regime I was given recently, namely:
Tacrolimus 0.1% morning and evening during a flare, reducing to evening only (when the greasiness doesn't matter) as I improve, then twice a week to maintain the remission. If I have a flare and cannot tolerate the greasiness of tacrolimus during the day, I can use Eumovate cream am and tacrolimus pm.
I recently had a very mild flare, which proved the efficacy of my new regime, as I later realised that I had been exposed to a strong concentration of the chemical, which would previously have reduced me to an itchy faced wreck!
I hope my experience will help other sufferers to get some relief from this awful condition. If you haven't been referred to a dermatologist who does patch testing, and think it may be appropriate for you, get your GP to make a referral. Good luck!

[andreajwu]

I have facial eczema this season .. its been the first time I've had it on my eyelids, cheeks, and lips in 20 years. I hate it!!!! I try everything from covering it up with makeup to sleeping with vaseline all over my face.. I still wake up dry and flaky.. and my eyeshadow flakes off half way through the day.. I look down and theres little dried pieces of skin all over my desk at work.. I've had eczema on almost every part of my body of the years but I've some how been able to cover it up .. but my face? this is just cruel.. so I recently decided to take it upon my self to try little changes in my diet.. I stopped dairy.. but I still use soy milk.. that seemed to help alittle.. I tried cutting caffeine.. it helped a little.. I tried changing my pillow*** because obviously my face is in it all night.. and on top of the the facial eczema I'm highly allergic to dustmites and mold.. so I figured change the pillow.. that seemed to help the most .. my eyelids are still dry but much more managable.. I'm crossing my fingers that once the winter is over my face will clear up .. also.. I'm an advocate of tanning.. it always helps my eczema.

[Vinto]

Hi there

Im new to the boards and although i sympathise with you all its nice to know that others are suffering it as well. I used to have it on my hands and it was really bad on my face and neck. I was allergic to certain washing powders so use Surcare and it cleared up. Now its back again and its bad today. I normally just put on some E45 cream and have to wait for a repeat prescription to get the Locoid cream or whatever it is for it to calm it down.

My friends and family are really good about it but being a sales assistant, you are more wary of people staring at you. It really gets me down and wish that it would just go away and stay away. kinda one of the reasons im single.

Sorry to put my troubles here but if it means other can help, im all for the help and good luck to you all

[Tresidder]

Hi All, I was wondering if fellow eczema sufferers who get eczema on their face would share with me their experiences with face creams. I'm especially interested in finding a sunscreen that I can wear on my face without it causing irritation. I've been trying products to help my skin for a few years now and have found some products by avene, kiehl's and a-derma to be great. What do you use to help your eczema and protect your face from the sun? If you know of new products released in the past year that would be fantastic. I also have an automated form on my skin care blog http://parkitweb.com/skinsavers where you can anonymously suggest products to review. I'm looking forward to hearing what you recommend!

[goldfinger]

La Roche Posay are really good i've found. I think they do one with an spf aswell!?

[King]

I am 35 years old and a long time sufferer of the most severe eczema possible. The eczema is on over 90% of my body with highest levels of inflammation. I recently found a treatment that provides a almost 100% recovery from eczema. I take DORYX( anti-biotic) which is a delayed time release pill that is designed to remove certain bacterias that causes inflammation on the skin. The bad news is DORYX at this moment is costing $1000 for 60 tablets. The good news is that there is a Generic brand ( Doxycycline Hyclate) which cost significantly less, I found one sight that sells the generic brand 20 tablets 100 mg for $13.99. Not sure how effective the generic brand is but it's definetely worth a shot. I take DORYX 150 mg for 7-9 days , 1 for each day and that's all you need. Once you are done with the 9 days, Stop using the DORYX. Eat a very minimalistic snack when taking DORYX, you don't want food to interfare with the absorption of the DORYX. The DORYX attacks the inflammation bacteria from the "inside of the body" which is the most important part in the success of this treatment. Then I use Triamcinolone acetonide ointment with Aquafor healing lotion. The triamcinolone acetonide is attacking the eczema from the outside and the Aquafor "healing ointment/ shielding lotion" is locking the triamcinolone medication in and shielding your skin from external pollutants that effect the healing of that area. You can use the Aquafor as many times as you want all over your body, the more you use it, the faster your skin will heal. This method is extremely effective. I first apply a wetter lotion( any good lotion ) on and then apply the Aquafor to lock that lotion into my skin. Your skin will be forced to hydrate and become healthy. The eczema being attacked from inside and outside is forced to heal and a newer, stronger skin recovers over that skin area very rapidly. Do those steps and I Guranteed a almost 100% recovery from eczema. You'll be extremely shocked how effective this works. Within 1 day you'll see dramatic results. Using the generic brand of DORYX (Doxycycline Hyclate) will be around $14 and the Aquafor at ( Walmart) is around $14 maybe the generic brand can even be cheaper. Add a lotion maybe $10. Total cost maybe around $38.The DORYX can last years, the Aquafor can last years. It's definetely worth it. This treatement method was recommended to me by a "BRILLIANT" dermatologist.

[zoobuffalo]

hey!

i'm new here - mum to a 6 month old who's had eczema since he was 3 months. he's been exclusively breast-fed, we're just starting to introduce some solids now, and we still haven't figured out what causes his eczema. the majority of it is on his face - cheeks and forehead, but he has a couple of very very minor patches on his legs and arms. the face on the other hand has been major on and off (never totally goes away) - bright red, scaly, oozey, bumpy... i have been on a dairy-free diet for 2 months now to see if that helped it, and it had been quite a lot better, but suddenly it got bad again for no apparent reason. the dr. is reluctant to prescribe steroids (which i am glad of) because it's his face and the skin is so thin already. we have just been told to keep trying new creams. nothing so far has relieved him very well - he scratches, gets very upset. and i feel that it could be hindering his physical development - when he is on his belly, all he wants to do is scratch his face on the floor during bad times, and just lies there crying afterwards. all very upsetting.
i was just wondering if anyone else has had a baby who's eczema has been really just on their face - and what did you find the cause to be?

thanks so much and hope everyone isn't itching too much today...

emma.