Living with Chronic Eczema...

[HBunger92]

Hello to everyone.

I am 21 year old student and I have had eczema since I was a baby. Currently it is so bad that my skin dries up every 2 hours and I struggle to even put on creams. I stopped seeing my doctor and dermatologists around 2 years ago due to the fact that steroid creams had thinned my skin and my growth may have been affected. My eczema is just a constant nuisance and I can barely stop itching unless I am preoccupied with work or video games. Even my studying has been affected because my skin has been so bad that I become bed ridden and I end up lacking motivation to do anything. I feel that it is my fault for not thinking about my health more often. I have researched various homeopathic remedies and know of various treatments that doctors/dermatologists can prescribe yet I have never seen a specialist outside of a hospital. Even the colour of my skin has changed due to my eczema and I cannot begin to describe the feelings that I have had towards my skin and my life in general. Unsurprisingly I am somehow not depressed enough to give up even though I feel like in my mind there is no desire to really beat this disease yet here I am still fighting
I wish I could tell someone in person how I feel but I'm finding it hard to stomach that I may have failed in my education and deprived myself of social skills just because of a disease that is treatable.

The most effed up and ironic thing is that my nickname is Happy.
I hope people can give me some advice and motivation. I will gladly return the favour.
Thanks

[Marcie Mom]

Take care and hope your skin gets better in 2014! May want to check out support groups in your area too, apart from online groups.

Cheers,
mei

[ellsaroo]

Hi there,

Did your dermatologist ever consider any other medication? i've been given cyclosporin in the last few months and that has really helped- i also joined a gp that had a dermatology fellow as one of the partners. He's great- i was always going in there crying with a big list of emolients i needed. he said that eczema and its effect is down to the individual- so even though people have worse eczema than me that its important they treat me to make my life easier. I've found piriton and another drowsy antihistamine really help at night. I've also found something called derma spray that is a spray moisturiser that cools so you dont have to actually rub anything into your skin if its painful. I also found derma cool is good you can get it on prescription and its an aqeuos cream with menthol in it to cool the skin. That and if you have a bath try putting oats in that. i only have a shower and and i make up a little thing of oats and olive oil and i find it really sooths the skin. That and get yourself some good cotton pj's! I'm pj woman when im in the house- cover myself and sit in them like an icing bag I would say and i know its hard- clear your calendar for say five days in the evening more if possible and dedicate that time to your skin. Boring but lots of tv to catch up on

[agentbuchwald]

Hello,

I am a 36 year old male who has had eczema since I was a teenager. I had a spell in hospital when I was 18 to help me recover from a particularly ferocious bout of scratching. Since then, I have learnt how to manage my condition much better.

I got quite a bleak assessment from the dermatologist when I saw him as a teenager. Looking back on it, I really resent what he said. Doctors don't know everything. With some of them, I sometimes I wonder if they know anything.

The eczema is definitely NOT your fault. It is a condition that is affecting an increasing number of children and adults all around the world. Please don't blame yourself for any of it.

Feel free to ask me any questions about anything.

Good luck and best wishes