• H&R Moderators: streaM Freak

Eczema

^^ Yes, I have chronic eczema that has so far covered the back of my knees, scrotum, back, torso, feet, hands, arms, eyelids, cheeks, neck, arms. I currently have it on my arms, chest, cheeks and eyelids.

I offered the suggestion of a solarium to my doctor and he said that it will excaberate it because it would dry the skin further. I've never heard of a specialist sun bed treatment of eczema and I never realised you was referring to one in your previous post. Apologies :).
 
didn't read through the suggestions, sorry if repeated.

Only tea tree oil works for my kids. The creams from the docs didn't even work as well. I use plain hydrocortisone creme for the itch, and the tea tree as the "cure"

edit, read further, sorry it is so bad, I doubt if you tried everything this would help.
 
I also have chronic severe eczema. I have tried the UVB treatment and I found it more helpful than any of the drugs. it caused no excessive drying of the skin, in fact no noticable negative side effects. keep in mind they start you at very short periods of time to judge your sensitivity and gradually build it up in tiny increments(like 15 seconds!)until you see a result. after 2 days a week for 3 months I had only gotten up to about 1 minute at a time! and i was seeing a definite improvement at that low dose.

If this is something that is available to you i would most definitely give it a try.

and keep in mind this is not the same as going to a regular tanning salon. this is a very specific part of sunlight they are beamin you with.

epicureandream--
1. the short nails have to do with the vicious itch/scratch cycle. it is a fact that your excema will be exacerbated by scratching. since we are all going to scratch you can minimize the damage by keeping your nails short.

2. yes water does dry the skin, but with wet wraps you have a layer of lotion/grease/medicine between you and the wet clothing. this keeps your skin moist and helps to ensure all of the lotion is absorbed into your skin. the evaporation is very soothing/cooling as well. this is what they will do to you if you are ever hospitalized with a severe eczema flare.
 
tick said:

epicureandream--
1. the short nails have to do with the vicious itch/scratch cycle. it is a fact that your excema will be exacerbated by scratching. since we are all going to scratch you can minimize the damage by keeping your nails short.

2. yes water does dry the skin, but with wet wraps you have a layer of lotion/grease/medicine between you and the wet clothing. this keeps your skin moist and helps to ensure all of the lotion is absorbed into your skin. the evaporation is very soothing/cooling as well. this is what they will do to you if you are ever hospitalized with a severe eczema flare.

1. Sorry, I didn't think about that :P. Point taken.
2. Point taken again.

I'm going to look into this sun bed treatment, I've had enough of eczema!

Has anyone suffered any mental illnesses as a result of eczema? Insomnia, depression, low self-esteem?
 
Has anyone suffered any mental illnesses as a result of eczema? Insomnia, depression, low self-esteem?

Interestingly enough, yes. I have terrible sleeping problems as a result of Eczema on my legs. I have found a way around it by using a fan in my room pointed at my bed to keep the airflow going. In winter I can never have heaps of blankets on or anything because it gets to hot, thus causing irritation. So it's a trade of for being cold and sleeping or being warm and not sleeping.

Low self esteem- definately. I find Eczema causes my mood to be significantly lower everytime it gets bad. You go through say a month cycle where waking up everyday I just feel like finding the reset button so I can start over again. Its embarassing to wear shorts around friends (living in Sydney wearing jeans in Summer is quite uncomfortable) but its better than fielding the blush causing questions of "whats that on your legs?". I hate Eczema so much sometimes I wont even go out for weeks at a time. Its just to difficult. It makes me feel more worthless than a bad comedown, or anything drug related. Getting changed infront of people is so emabarassing. Approaching girls is made harder, you feel as if you cant get close to someone because then one day you will have to reveal this tempremental rash on your legs. Fair to say that Eczema, coupled with other things, but significantly made up by Eczema, has brought me very close to suicide on a number of occasions. People think Eczema is an itchy rash on your skin, well its a lot more than that, Eczema is a motivation consuming pain in the ass.

Signat
 
I defiantely did in school (early to middleschool). I'd get it on my hands *really* bad. I have very pale skin, so the blotches would stand out particularly well. You know how kids can be about picking on each other.

Then a bit later I started using meds for it. First the steroids, now the elidel stuff.
 
^^ If found that Elidel was far to expensive (at the moment anyway) and it also gave me a burning sensation when applying.

Signat
 
I have a big box full of sample tubes of it from the Dr. office... probably a hundred or so. One little tube will last me a month or two, assuming I'm actively using it.

So I've never had to buy any. I never got any burning sensation, though the dr. mentioned that some people do when he gave it to me.
 
morb, all foods have thermal properties. either warming, cooling, or neutral. all spicey food, garlic, ginger, etc is warming. i listed a bunch of cooling foods in my first post. try drinking some ginger or garlic tea, you will feel very hot afterwards. a few hours later try eating a salad of romaine lettuce and cucumber slices. it will cool you down. like i said, simple as that.

epicurean, god yes. since my eczema is mostly on my face, i've suffered severe social anxiety and depression as a result. it also makes it hard to sleep. of course the stress and lack of restful sleep makes flareups harder to control... it's shitty, but i think these things ultimately make us stronger if we don't let them break out spirits.
 
I've had a case of hand eczema for years now and yes, the steroid creams work but aren't good for long term. I found a homeopathic cream called Florasone Cream which contains a natural alternative. From the label:

"Florasone™ is the first natural alternative to cortisone creams_and ointments to be introduced in the United States._ It contains 10% tincture of Cardiospermum, a flowering tropical vine that has been used as a medicine in India and Africa for centuries. _Brought into modern medicine by one of our sister companies in Europe, Florasone has been prescribed by European skin specialists & family doctors for years.

If you suffer from itching/inflammation from eczema, rashes, dry skin, or allergies, Florasone is the first medicine you should try. _Clinically tested, Florasone provided relief in better than 80% of the cases._ Florasone is safe and effective, and has a pleasant, natural fragrance."

Here in the US, it's about $8 a tube which lasts for weeks and it really works for me. Do a search on the web and give it a try. For some reason it doesn't work as well for me on the scalp (sometimes have a outbreak there) as it does on my hands so I have to resort to Olux for the scalp.
 
Protopic has been the only thing that's been able to keep my eczema under control (no itching and the skin spots affected by eczema are barely visible). Although it's expensive so I'm only putting it on the worst spots (neck and arms). On the rest of my body I have small red spots with dry skin which seem to come and go. I use vaseline at night and some cheap lotion at day to cover those.. But my neck and arms get really fucked if I don't apply Protopic daily on them. :(
 
almost every doctor i have been to(many) has mentioned stress as a factor. and studies seem to confirm stress can be a trigger for many people. so relax.

and i would consider finding a doctor who is a little more familiar with eczema cause thats definitely something that should have come up in your discussions.
 
^Definetly true, stress is a big factor in my own eczema. I was prescribed hydrocortizone and I didn't even bother to fill the prescription, not through choice but to be perfectly honest because I was too lazy (!) I'm glad I didn't though, because I didn't need it at all. After just a month of using a moisturising jelly (which I believe is called Dermabase, although I don't have it handy at the moment) my ezcema has all but dissapeared. I advise you to stop using soap of any kind, as that has made a massive difference too. To the previous poster who mentioned Olaytum, I have heard that product has such massive quantities of peanut oil in it that it has been known to trigger allergic reactions to peanuts even in people who were not previously allergic.
 
I'd just like to throw in a quick w00T! For my Eczema thread, because, all you guys who have responded have made very relevant valid responses with positive feedback to trying alternative treatments.

Thanks To All Of You!

Signat :)
 
^^Not very helpful at all psychetool & Yulie. Psychetool, grammar & spelling are a must in modern society! :)

Signat
 
elidel fans take note

http://www.mercola.com/2005/mar/2/skin_cream_cancer.htm


im ready to get some gear and pins, i mean fuck this shit when i took a bb dose of steroids every skin problem i have disappeared and my largest organ damn near glowed

hence the roid using mantra "quality of life", a simple transaction, longevity for quality
 
Fuck your modern society. I saw a demotologist during highschool and they gave me injections of accutane or something for acne. I'm not sure how much this applies but it never hurts to ask.
 
eczema

SBR-Lipocream. It's simply super lotion that you can use on any affected area. WHile it may not help the itching, it's good for preventive care.
 
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