Eczema on the face

[Henry]

I have severe eczema but only just about control it with dermovate ointment. What really depresses me is that eczema on my face is really volatile and has developed from my face going red once a week to currently once every 3 days...my face for some reason begins to weep and then slowly crusts. This is especially bad in the mornings when i wake up and i end up with slightly swollen eyes and a red face and neck. I try to control this when i notice signs of weeping, on the same night i put eumovate ointment on my face and this usually works but again after 2-3 days it comes bk. Does anyone have any ideas what i can do or anyone who has experiences of this? I have tried various alternative treatments like cyclosporin, azithioprine and herbal medicines which have not worked. Thanks.

[Citrine]

It happens overnight???
Hmm, well, a couple of things spring to mind - do you have cotton pillowcases & bedding? If not, suggest you invest in some.
Have you changed washing detergent/fabric softener? Mind you, the manufacturers change them al the time, so it might be a change that you're not aware of - try doing an extra rinse when in the washing machine.
Its that time of year for hayfever - do you get it? Could it be pollen related, ie making your eczema worse?
Oh, and another thing, hoover your bed/mattress/pillow to get those nasty dust mites - we all have 'em, just some of us react to them in varying ways!!

Oh, and I cant recommend udderly smooth highly enough - dont do a face cream as such, but i bet the udder cream would help.

Take care.

[Wiggly]

Henry I used to get this kind of thing regularly - not so much the crusting but the inflammation and the redness with swollen eyes etc. I always used to be afraid when I woke up in the morning because i wasn't sure what I'd look like. My doctor used to give me antibiotics and oral steroids along with the usual topical ones (I think I was using synalar) - the tablets always cleared it up but then it would come back which was so frustrating. It's not good to be on these drugs for a long time anyway.

I really don't know what to suggest - everyone reacts so differently to various drugs & treatments. I've managed to control mine over the years by adopting a particularly strict diet: I'm seriously allergic to milk, eggs & nuts but have also cut out all wheat and most other grains along with sugar (which includes the majority of fruit). Even so despite all this I'm having a minor flare up at the moment. My doc's finally referring me to an allergy specialist - it's only taken 27 years.

[lindapatrick]

Hi Wiggly

Thank you for your posts - it's so good when people out there take the time to give advice/support to other visitors. With the allergies you decribe, I wondered if you have taken a look at our sister website - TalkAllergy? You will find more specific allergy information as well as recipies etc, which may be of interest to you.

Good luck with the allergy specialist - I hope you get the support etc that you deserve.

Best wishes

L

[AnnaB]

My 3 year old son suffers greatly with a very sore red swollen face. Eumovate helps but he is on daily antihistamine prescribed by the hopital to try to control them.

He has certaily got worse since the pollen counts have gone up

Might be something to ask about.

[Henry]

Thanks so much for your posts – Wiggly, I completely understand how you feel, the mornings are the worst especially when eczema has gone really bad like when you wake up, because the skin on the face is so thin and sensitive. Having experienced this so often it still makes me sad and therefore during this time I feel I have two personalities. One when I’m just sad and stay in and another where I’m happy and enjoy having better skin by going out with friends. Good luck with your allergy test!

Citrine – I may not have made it clear, sorry. From my point of view my eczema is always there everyday and 24/7 but on some days it may just be slightly red a little swollen but every now and then my face starts to weep a little but not quite noticeable (it just looks red). The next day especially morning after just waking up there is so much crusting that I simply look quite disgusting. Sometimes you just have to get used to it.

I’m not allergic to pollen surprisingly and now use Surcare washing powder for washing clothes and try to wash my bedding every 2 days. I’m in my early 20’s and just finished uni but I just can’t help but think that I’m wasting half my life just thinking about eczema every day whilst everyone else is out playing football or just generally enjoying themselves.

Somethings that has helped has been going to the gym or doing some in the house and just try and be happy. Also although this gets iterated a lot moisturising does absolutely reduce some of the itching even if it doesn’t feel so. I think I need to stop now, a bit of a long post, sorry )

[Wiggly]

Hi Henry - I wish there was something I could suggest for you - apart from bugging your doctor. But then it really depends on how knowledgeable he/she is about the condition. Have you tried protopic? I'm not sure I'd recommend it after personal experience however I know that many people have benefited significantly from it and it will do less damage to your skin in the long term (I think you mentioned you were using dermovate).

Don't beat yourself up over fixating on it - it's only natural. Most people have no understanding about how debilitating eczema is - particularly when it affects the face. But as you said, distracting yourself often helps. Sometimes I used to worry that I looked like a complete freak to other people only to realise afterwards that whilst my skin wasn't in a particularly good state - it still wasn't half as bad as I believed it to be.

I must admit to have almost forgotten what affect eczema had on my everyday life - it's been pretty clear for the last few years. This has been due to my learning the habit reversal techniques discussed in the book 'The Eczema Solution'. I don't have normal-looking skin but it's been 'normal' enough for me to get on with things. On the odd occasion that I did have a flare up (always the face - couldn't be the elbow could it?), all those memories of horrid times would come flooding back.

Unfortunately right now I am experiencing a flare up - I can't help wondering if it's partly psychological with my trip to the doctor about the allergy thing and discussing my eczema so much recently - I've diverted the attention back towards it when I haven't really given it much thought for a long time.

Healthy skin is one of those fundamental things people take for granted like being able to breathe properly - unfortunately for many of us we suffer from a distinct lack of both!

[Orionstar]

Hey Guys, I've been reading with interest as I also suffer with facial eczema, which seems to have flared up considerably in the last year. When I was about 15 I started to suffer with sore, broken eyelids that I simply couldn't stop scratching at. They'd weep, crust over and if I managed to leave them alone, surprisingly, they'd heal. Once I'd started uni that was no longer a problem and my face required minimal care. However, once I quit uni and returned home, about a year ago, my face has just deteriorated. Especially my eyes, but this time not only the lids, but the corners. As you can imagine, it's not a pleasant sight and it's painful like hell. The skin around them breaks, weeps, which i have to keep wiping away, they get even more sore and redder and so on. Like you, I dread waking up because of what I will find looking back in the mirror. Ironically the rest of my body is verging on looking normal(ish) but my face is a bomb sight. I too spend every minute of every day obsessing over it, trying to avoid eye contact with people because I feel disgusting and feeling like a criminal when I get itchy and scrath my face. I can only suggest looking at things in the long term. What has changed or happened the coinsides with bad days, or bad spells? I think mine was moving back home, and now I'm stuck in the eczema cycle. However, the book 'The eczema solution' is really good, I heard about it on this website. I haven't really started on the course yet but I will, it does inspire some hope in me, maybe it will for you too. Good luck with everything, and if it's any solace, you are not alone with this problem.

[Wiggly]

I can't recommend the book 'The Eczema Solution' enough. I feel a bit like some religious nut trying to convert people sometimes, but it's mainly because I was so skeptical when I first heard about it. I would never have believed that it would transform my life in the way it has done.

Orionstar - re: your weepy eyelids. Have you been to the doctor about them because it sounds like you may have an infection. I used to suffer quite badly from something similar - my eyelids would swell up and there would be a sticky discharge. Sometimes my eyes were glued together in the mornings. The skin would also go crusty like you described. I required antibiotics for this and if I didn't treat it promptly my whole face would end up red and swollen and crusty and then start peeling. It was horrid.

It's funny you mention your eczema being triggered by moving home after being away at Uni. I suffered with my eczema quite badly whilst I was at Uni however when I ended up moving back home after I'd finished, it got REALLY bad. I decided enough was enough and managed to get the dermatologist to prescribe me protopic. It helped somewhat but what really helped was The Eczema Solution. Took me from November 2002 - May 2003 to learn how to stop the scratching cycle but I did it and have not had any serious relapses. It's just too weird for me to scratch now even on the (very) rare occasion that I'm seriously itchy.

[Mavis]

Hi

I see it's been mentioned a few times in the above posts, but I suffer from eczema all over, and a few years back my face was the worse part of me - covered in big red patches which people used to think was constant sunburn. My consultant presrcibed me Protopic and I've been on it ever since and think it's fantastic. While it has had no effect on the rest of my skin - in particular my hands which are now my worst part, for my face it's worked wonders and I no longer have the red patches that caused me such embarrassment. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Hope you find something that helps!