eczema just won't go

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lef99999
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2017 6:18 pm
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by lef99999 on Sun Nov 12, 2017 6:48 pm

eczema just won't go

Hi, I am 24 and have dealt with eczema since I was very young. I have rather bad allergies that unfortunately I only found out about at 19- I know so far that I am allergic to dust, cats, dogs, and shrimp, and I live with 2 cats and a dog and have done since I was very young.

Occasionally I have noticed that my eczema rears its head in the winter, but usually I can get it under control to a certain extent. I have, however, noticed that my eczema is very difficult to deal with when allergy triggered- but specifically when their saliva comes into contact with my skin. When this happens, typically I have to deal with a skin infection, so I end up on course after course of antibiotics and the flare up can last between 6 months and a year. I find that it has a huge impact on my life because I am in so much pain that I can barely put trousers on, let alone move.

This has happened to me when I was 16, 18, 21, and now 23-24, I had a mild eczema flare from the cold, nearly got rid of it and then I came into contact with an allergen in March, then it became infected twice, I have been on multiple steroid creams with little relief and here I am in November, having foolishly thought that I may have got rid of it a while ago. I know there are worse things in the world. It is really difficult for me because I am the only one in my family who has had this, everyone else outgrew it- so I truly feel like no one understands how much pain I am in and how much this condition knocks my confidence.

I don't really remember how I rid of it when I was 16, but my concern is that when I was 18 my eczema was incredibly severe- it got so infected that the burning woke me up and I cried from the pain and had to run my arm under cold water. I can't describe how horrible it was, but all I can say is that year I ended up on 6 antibiotic courses and very strong steroids, and the only thing that seemed to rid of it was when I moved out into uni.

I am kind of at a last resort here. I don't have the money to move out but I am earning, I really want this gone by Christmas and all I can think of is to try and rent a few nights at a hotel in the hope that my skin will recover and then I can go back home. I'll have to wait a few weeks until money comes in but it is all I can think of. My only guess is that, whilst I can share a house with animals, if I have had direct contact with animals and my eczema has been allergically flared, then living under the same roof as them probably won't help my recovery much.

Obviously I can't just get rid of my pets, if I had known how allergic I was before we got pets then obviously we would have a pet free house, but I learned of this when I was 19 and had pets, and it isn't fair to do that to my pets.

At the moment the backs of my legs feel like sandpaper, my legs and arms burn and I have to try and resist the itch. Last night I accidentally itched my leg in my sleep, so I am worried about tonight. I put coconut oil on and it seems ok but I am sure it won't rid of the actual eczema- I want the flare up to disappear now.

Has anyone had allergic triggered eczema, what did you do?

Thank you

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Marcie Mom
Posts: 857
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:30 pm
Location: Singapore
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by Marcie Mom on Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:59 am

Re: eczema just won't go

Sorry to hear of all the antibiotic courses and strong steroids.. not sure if you have had allergy testing to confirm the triggers, and if the pets are really the problem, may have to place them outside of the house? No pet experience, but from what I've read, it is difficult to recover if the triggers are constantly present... take care and hope you get better soon!
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