I’m currently 51. Starting in my early 20’s I started having small isolated break-outs on my scalp. This continued on and off for about a 10 years, until I started experimenting with less harsh shampoos with more natural ingredients. I discovered that using more natural shampoos without the harsh chemicals, that my scalp wouldn’t break out.
Then around age 35, I started having mild breakouts of eczema on my legs below my knees and on the backs of my hands. It would come and go. I went to a dermatologist who prescribed a steroid cream that help fight back the flare ups. I’d have a month or so free of eczema, and then another flare up would occur. The break outs never were beyond mild cases, but it would still itch like hell, and made wearing shorts in the summer self conscious at times. I experimented using milder body washes, etc. but never found anything consistently that would permanently fix the problem.
If you have never had eczema, it’s a pain in the ass. While the steroid creams help, they aren’t prophylactic, they treat the symptoms. Also for whatever reason, where I live there is a shortage of dermatologists and it takes a minimum of 6 months to get in to just see the physician’s assistant (PA) of my dermatologist. I also tried every type of body moisturizer including the ones branded a for helping with eczema. Again, the ingredients in the moisturizers would help sooth the itching but only temporarily.
About a year and a half ago, I gave up using a body wash poof for cleaning in the shower and went back to just using my hands to clean myself. And more recently I switched from using a more natural less harsh body wash to using a synthetic detergent (syndet) which is designed to have a pH factor closer to the human body.
I haven’t had a single eczema flare-up/break out in the last 18 months. I credit the primary contributor is giving up the poof, but the syndet I feel is adding to less irritation to my skin. I’ll never go back to using a poof, those things are horrible for your skin, bacteria filled scraping devices.
It’s nice to be itch free for the last year and a half.
In my experience, this is all dermatologists ever do with eczema and atopic dermatitis (I’ve had both). And over time, my dermo kept trying to give me stronger and stronger topical steroids, as the older ones got less effective. This is not just ineffective, it is bad medical practice*. I finally stopped going to a dermo and weaned myself completely off of steroids. Once in a great while I will use an OTC cortisone on a small stubborn patch. But you have the right approach, as clearly demonstrated by your results. If you want medical advice on the causes and prevention of eczema, do not go to a dermatologist, because they aren’t interested in curing you, only in continuing to treat you. Your best bet might be an allergist, who may take a lot of time doing allergy tests, but at least they have the possibility of positive results.
*Regular use of topical steroids is bad for the skin. It thins the skin and can lead to stretch marks, easy bruising, and enlarged blood vessels (which can lead to angiomas, of which I got several in areas where I had used steroids heavily). I have yet to meet a dermatologist who understood this (or cared, apparently, about negative side effects even enough to inform me about them). I’m sure there are good honorable dermatologists somewhere, but I have never been lucky enough to consult one. I realize this is something of a rant (!) and I apologize if it is out of place.
This. Not saying it’s true for you, but I had two girlfriends with severe skin problems and, precisely, one turned out to be allergic to eggs and the other gluten-intolerant. Quite weird that you mentioned both.
My BFF had chronic sinus infections, to the point where he had two surgical procedures to drain his sinuses, and then he found out he’s allergic to wheat. No wheat - no sinus infections.
If he accidentally eats some wheat, he doesn’t have a relapse, but he does try to avoid it. He uses GF products, which guarantees that he doesn’t have wheat. It’s more the long term consumption that causes this.
My eczema comes from salt water and artificial fibres. It took several decades before I figured out that the cause of my persistent rash on my ankle was caused by the polyester in my socks. Those on my arms and legs as a child were caused by detergent. “Sensitive” alternatives have really helped there too.
I still get it occasionally on hot days, when my sweat will cause an irritation (yes, I’m mildly allergic to my own sweat), but for the most part it’s been clear for at least ten years. That is until very recently when my scalp has begun to cause problems. It may be caused by my hat, but in any case I think I need a medicated shampoo of some kind.
There’s a thread around here somewhere from a couple years back, where I commiserated with the thread’s OP about skin problems.
I’ve done all kinds of allergy tests with pediatricians, general practitioners, and even allergy specialists. In addition to my skin problems, I have enough allergy problems to have done 25 years of drug studies (not continuously; probably an average of 3 a year) and when I moved to my current locale the clinicians were still calling and begging me to join their studies – some of which would have required a 3-hour drive each way to participate.
Throughout all of this, I discovered, quite by accident, that my primary nemesis is corn. I just happened to spend a couple weeks eating things that didn’t have corn, corn starch, corn syrup, or corn meal and then, after drinking a soda containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), got slammed with all the horrible symptoms I hadn’t realized had faded – stuffy nose; runny nose; itchy eyeballs; itchy scalp; itchy ankles, upper arms, and upper back with dark flaky patches…
The problem is that most allergists don’t seem to have corn or corn byproducts on their known allergen lists. The bigger problem is that, particularly in the USA where corn-farming is subsidized and food manufacturers tend to use corn and/or corn byproducts & derivatives in just about everything, it’s really tough to escape the stuff. Chicken nuggets? Corn is in the batter to make it crunchier. English Muffins or Pizza? The baking pans are often sprinkled with corn meal to help the product come out when the baking is done. Potato chips? I just saw a generic brand that noted it was fried in corn oil. Diced peaches, fruit cocktail, or fruit juice? Sweetened with HFCS. Furthermore, the genetic modifications of corn are known to make the allergy-triggering components even more irritationg. Meanwhile, voters failed to adopt the proposition that would have required food companies to clearly label products that used genetically modified ingredients – like corn – which could have helped allergy sufferers protect themselves at the grocery stores.
Okay, enough ranting. Sorry about that.
My point is that you (anyone with eczema or psoriasis) would do well to see an allergist to do controlled elimination testing – and be sure to include corn as a possible culprit. Having minimized my corn intake, my rhinitis and eczema problems are equally minimized.