Eczema - I have never in my thirty-odd years on this earth had it. I know what it looks like, I understand intellectually what it is but I have never had it; until about 4 months ago I started getting it on my thumbs.WTF :mad:
It itches, it cracks, it bleeds it makes me feel like a crusty goblin. ERRR!!!
Sorry for the outburst - So far I have gone to the Doc and he prescribed me Diproline. Which works fine if I keep it on there morning, noon and night. The symptoms will go away the cracks will go away etc…etc…but Og forbid I don’t put it on for a day or so…the cracking comes right back. I’d really like to Pit Eczema and start swearing but I need some real answers.
Those who have eczema - what works best over time? If this is caused by an allergy what can I do to narrow the field of new things in my life that I may be allergic too.
I’m looking for anecdotal info not: ‘oh help me what should I do’.
I have eczema on the inside of my elbows. It flares up when I’m under stress (like now, urgh); however, when I was younger I had it more or less constantly. My doctor prescribed cortisone ointment for me (as he did when I had an allergic reaction to wool), and that always seemed to clear up any outbreaks pretty quickly. I seem to recall applying it a couple of times a day until it went away, and it usually stayed away for awhile. YMMV, of course.
I had it a while ago, and during my investigations read on some reputable web site that if people would just not scratch themselves, nobody would get eczema.
I got it pretty bad earlier this summer - areas on both arms, my stomach, and my legs. Aggravated by stress, all I’ve really done is slather Lanacane on it. It’s starting to get a little better I think. I haven’t, nor do I intend to see a doctor. That’s all the anecdote I gots for ya.
I have it too, although I haven’t had any symptons in a while. When I was getting it all over and in-between my fingers, I was under a tremendous amount of stress. The prescription the doc gave me was for Elidel, and I put it on the second I started to get the itchy tiny blisters. If I caught it soon enough they didn’t weep.
Trying to avoid touching things that would aggravate it was tough. (I even would get an outbreak from my own sweat within the rubber gloves). I’ve seen on other sites that some people cut out dairy or wheat from their diet, and that helped substantially, for them. I couldn’t say, although i do eat a lot less carbs and sugar than I used to.
Elidel is supposedly carcinogenic. There are epidemiological studies that show this.
I’ve had eczema since I was a teenager. Unfortunately about a week ago I broke out terribly. I used to only have a couple of patches of it, but now it’s on my back, my legs, and my chest. The best treatment I have found is steroid creams. I would talk to your doctor before using these. The ones you can get over the counter are very mild, .01% creams (some weak percentage), and they don’t hardly do anything. However, if you have a mild case of eczema it should help with the itching. And the itching is really what makes the stuff stay.
Strong steroid creams really help, but they thin your skin, and that’s bad in certain areas because thin skin can tear. Use them sparingly and only so often as you need.
Other than that, you should try to figure out the cause. I had eczema on my face for a long time until I figured out that my shampoo had changed its formula (damn you, Aussie!) and switched to Dove, which immediately helped. Other times, like now, I have to really hunt for the reason. This time it was black mold. Once that was cleaned up, things are starting to heal.
Some people have it set off by stress. I’m glad I’m not that type of person, because I can immediately eliminate the cause, instead of fooling around with aromatherapy and meditation and healing massages.
Eczema really, really sucks. The worst type is the stuff on your face, because everyone can see it. The second worst type is on your scalp because it’s hard to treat.
The best thing that works over time is moisturizer. Eucerin is god here. I will, however, use a thicker moisturizer like Doublebase during an outbreak.
I developed it on my palms and soles of my feet when I was in my late 20s; I have no known allergies and my case is stress-related. After some experimentation, I’ve found the the best treatment for me is Mometasone Furoate Cream 0.1%, a topical steroid, the generic for Elocon.
Have some patience and don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for alternatives. My dermatologist gave me one topical ointment that, like you, I had to apply multiple times per day. It was supposed to be “the new thing” but with the Elocon (old school I guess) I only apply once per day and as a cream is considerably easier to deal with than a greasy ointment. I guess what I’m trying to say is YMMV.
Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you.
Tacrolimus topical treatments show promise for some forms of eczema. As do the oral leukotriene inhibitors, designed for use against asthma.
This link is aimed at medical professionals, but does do a nice job of delineating how to control eczema (atopic dermatitis), by managing dry skin, managing itch, and using various compounds in a step-wise fashion as necessary. Of course, most of the compounds are prescription-only. Work with your doc if you like.
A friend of mine, who is a medical student, did a literature review for me and told me that hand-foot eczema (sometimes called dishydrotic eczema or pompholyx) which is not atopic (associated with allergies) has no known cause, other than the fact that it is often associated with stress. Although I cannot say for sure that my eczema is not allergenic I do not have asthma and only two known allergies (nickel and penicillin). In fact my eczema doesn’t even itch.
I have a disgusting outbreak on my hands at the moment which is causing no end of awkwardness. I had been using Clobetesol but it ceased to be effective. Now its infected with staph and I’m on cipro. Good times. To say I feel your pain is an understatement
I’ve had it off and on since childhood (I’m 49). I agree with the stress thing - I also get psoriasis on the back of my scalp that seems to be stress-related. (Extra Strength Nutrogena T-Gel keeps it under control, as long as you don’t mind your hair smelling like coal tar…) When I have an outbreak, I use a strong steriod ointment (not cream) for it, because the ointments, while messier, probably moisturize better. FWIW, the one I use is called Ultravate. Don’t put a band-aid over it or otherwise cover it without a Doc telling you to, because that increases the potency substantially.
I read Qadgop’s link, and there was a complication called Lichen Simplex Chronicus, so I clicked on that only to discover another name for it was Scalp-picker’s Nodule.
Maybe some guy said, “Hell, no! Don’t name it after me!” Thus, “Scalp-picker’s Nodule” instead of “McFulton’s Scalp Lumps.”
He coulda been famous. He coulda been a contender.
I am allergic to salt water, that is usually what causes an outbreak of eczema for me. Stress, sweat, and synthetic fabrics, all exacerbate it and cause it to linger, usually for years. I had it seriously bad in my left ankle, but recently it has decided to clear itself up, thank goodness.
I hate it and wish it would die, as it almost certainly will return to haunt me sometime, all too soon.
