please help me find a treatment for my partner

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little chunk
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 1:05 am
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by little chunk on Tue May 15, 2012 1:33 am

please help me find a treatment for my partner

hi, i've just found this forum and have found a lot of the discussions really useful so thought i'd post too.

my partner has really severe eczema (ever since he was born) he uses a lot of prescribed steroid creams, hydrocortisone cream and an emollient but these don't work very well. as a child his parents were very careful about what was used, worn and eaten by him and his brother (who also suffers) but now he's older (23) he has basically given up, i think because it is so severe and as things don't magic it away he doesn't see the point in bothering. i really need some help and advice!!

he refuses to use an actual moisturizer so you can only imagine how dry, red, inflamed his skin is, his dr recently prescribed doublebase which he wouldn't use for 3 weeks until i just put it on his feet so he'd see it wasn't that bad. since i've managed to get him to let me put it on him 3 times (over a week ago), he won't do it himself and only lets me do it after i've nagged/ignored him and just put it on! he spends most of the day and night itching, worse at night. he makes himself bleed he scratches so hard, the bed sheets end up covered in blood and skin (actual chunks sometimes) and in the morning he'll be sweaty and smell of blood, its so upsetting to see him like this, i'm up with him a lot in the night and end up trying to restrain him (i don't know if i should do this but i need to do something). on the 3 nights he used the doublebase for me he just looked so peaceful, having no major itching until the following morning.

its also hard to try get him to keep things clean, he rarely puts on creams after washing his hands, he won't use face wash only water and uses very little shower gels/bath stuff (sometimes i sneak in oils if i'm running him a bath), and he doesn't like me shaking the bed sheet out in the morning or changing it a few times a week. he doesn't think theres a link between hygiene and flare ups, recently i was in hospital for a month and he was with me everyday and his skin was very good and me and his sister noticed it was because he wasn't spending a lot of time in his room (dust, dirty, basically a typical boy's room!) or his dog (he is allergic to dogs but ol' bruno is going nowhere!but i won't allow him in our room or near clothes etc), but still he doesn't see a link!

I NEED HELP!!! i feel like i'm fighting a constant battle of wills so any help and advice on:
* moisturisers and other treatments,
*changing his attitude to his eczema
*his itching
*anything anyone can give me!!

as my post covers a few things i've decided to put it in a few categories to get as mush help as i can, so i am sorry if someone ends up reading this a few times!

thank you

leungc
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:48 pm
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by leungc on Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:59 pm

Re: please help me find a treatment for my partner

I am around the same age as your partner and I have chronic eczema as well. From my experience, being clean is important because sometimes my eczema flares up because of dryness or bacteria as well. The bacteria is more prone to entering the skin when it's dry and cracked, which might lead to infection. Using the right moisturizers, clothing/bedsheets and soaps are important as well... The less flowery ingredients, the better. He should avoid anything that might trigger allergic reactions such as perfume or certain chemicals. I feel like this kind of stuff is pretty basic in taking care of eczema and if he has given up then it will just get worse, to be honest. He should see a dermatologist if possible. I'm allergic to dust and my allergies are related to my eczema so it makes sense for me to be clean. A little bit of sunshine is also a good way to help with eczema and the reason why eczema gets worse during the winter is because of the dryness. I've met people who've given up on medical treatments and it is a sad sight indeed. This friend has extreme eczema all over her body, I mean I don't see any uninfected skin on her. You don't want him to be like that...

tess
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:49 am
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by tess on Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:33 am

Re: please help me find a treatment for my partner

I am 28 years old and I have the exact problems for four years now (no history of eczema previously).

I have tried everything but recently I found something works for me.

EPO (Evening Primrose Oil) together with Aveeno Lotion are the products I am using recently for about 3 months and my eczema is under control so far (though I still feel itchy when I'm sweating) but feel much better because the redness, flares up are 90% gone.

I take about 4 capsules of EPO a day (since my eczema is quite bad).

Not only I take 4 capsules of EPO everyday, I'm also applying EPO on my infected skin (neck, arms, face) by cutting the capsules and use the oil inside. I found it works on my really really dry skin once I apply it, my skin got soften a lot.

Plus I'm also using Aveeno Lotion right after the shower because my skin always got itchy soon when I got of the shower. And the itch stop instantly once I apply the lotion.

I'm not taking any medicine anymore because I don't think the medicine will get rid of my eczema permanently.

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