Eczema

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Does anyone else suffer from Eczema? If so what do you use to manage it? Any natrual remedies you would suggest? What do you feel influences your Eczema - Bad Sleep? Poor Diet? Cold/Warmth?

I hate Eczema

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[fizzacyst]

I have it.. rarely anywhere but my hands. The only thing that has ever helped has been prescription steroid cremes. I've tried a number herbal remedy type solutions, but they never really worked.

I read of some australian researchers who isolated a/the gene responsible for a lot of it, so hopefully a treatment will follow in the years to come.

 

[DG]

My sister uses a lotion called "DML Forte" sometimes and it works wonders for her.

 

[Pounding_Grooves]

i find that hard water and soft water areas make a big difference, its also worth looking for soaps made with "dead sea mud", as they work wonders for me. , sandlewood soaps( mysore sandlewood) and neem (dabur)soaps also do well.

 

[Gaz_hmmmm]

Drinking lots of water and taking GHB/GBL before sleep was the one thing that cleared my eczema, which had been been bad for years.

My eczema's flared up lately, I've been using multi-vitamins and other health stuff to help it. It seems to calm it down, but G so far has been the best thing.

 

[fizzacyst]

jubzie:
To be honest, its been so long since I've tried any (5+ years) I have no clue. I have it written down in a log somewhere though, which I'll look for when I have the chance sometime in the next few days.

Yeah, I know steroids are no good. They are the only thing that has helped when it flares up though. These days its so rare when it happens I'm not too concerned about using them. Unfortunately, when it does "flare up" its literally all over my hands, and I spend long peroids of time in a lab wearing latex gloves. This does not help the situation, and makes me miserable if I do not have an immediate solution.

Now I use Elidel, which is non-steroid. I always forget that its not.. I subconciously lump it in the same category with the steroids for some reason. It works very well. My only complaint is that it makes my skin appear overly smooth. Thats not a good description.. but I'm not sure how to describe it. It seems to flatten out the texture of my skin. Its nothing extreme or permenent though.

 

[Gaz_hmmmm]

Apparantly the sun provides you with vitamin C, which gives your skin that nice "shine" to it and can smoothen it. Of course... too much sun can also be bad for your skin.

It's vitamin D that your skin makes when it comes into contact with UV light.

 

[Signat]

Out of interest has anyone ever gone to/heard of using a solarium occasionally for Eczema? Apprently it can aid the whole healing/maintenance process....?

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btw Jezby, PM sent.

whoops, i mean Juzbie

 

[lickety split]

look up Forever Living Products & try the aloe propolis creme - amazing for any dry skin conditions & its all natural (and they do a 60 day money back guarantee if it doesnt work)

 

[Signat]

^^ meh.....there are a million of these. The best one i find is Hemp Cream from the Body Shop in Australia. Ahhh Weed, is there anything it can't do?

 

[HigherWisdom]

I have been using a topical corticosteroid for eczema on my cheeks for a couple of years now. I used to use it twice daily but when I just researched it a couple of weeks ago and found out they are not really good for you at all I have been trying to cut back on it. I now use it once daily or once every second day and my situation seems to be under control so I guess that's a good sign. I just want to stop using it but if I stop it, 2 or 3 days later my cheeks will flare up and they get red, inflamed and ITCHY as hell. It's really terrible that I am dependant on these steroids when I truly wish to get off of them and use a natural herbal cream or remedy.

 

[angel!na]

In australia there's this cream called 'robertsons cream' which is apparently awesome to treat eczema. I havent used it myself as i dont suffer from this but i know many people who have and who swear by it.

It's active ingredients are iodine and cod liver oil. (maybe other things but im not to sure)

It's about $30.

 

[tick]

i have very bad eczema over the majority of my body. i have been on most every drug under the sun for it from hydrocortisone to methotrexate. i have also tried elimating foods and things like drinking oolong tea to no avail.
i have found that the most successful treatments are simple:
1. keeping my fingernails very very short
2. keeping skin moist as possible, i always have lotion w/me. take fewer showers and ALWAYS grease yourself up right when you get out of the shower
3. SUN-your dr. can set you up with narrow band uvb light treatment which i found very helpful, but if that is not feasible just go outside
3. get a good nights sleep as often as possible(i find sleeping in a cool room is very helpful)
4. when/if it gets truly horrific i highly recommend wet wraps(sleeping in wet clothes over lotion basically )
5. keep some strong antihistimines on hand for when the itching is too bad (especially while you sleep as it is harder to control yourself)

All the advice about avoiding lotions w/ alcohol or fragrance is good. I like eucerin.

heat/sweat can be very irritating to eczema so keep that in mind.

dont fall for any of the "miracle creams" you will see advertised. they are usually just hydrocortisone.

good luck man.

 

[HigherWisdom]

After going to the vitamin store I made up my mind. I am stopping topical corticosteroids tonight. What's the point of using it if it only suppresses the underlying problem? What the exact problem is... I do not know but I believe it cannot be only 1 thing but many things like diet, the water we drink, getting enough vitamins and minerals etc. I am switching to spring water because the guy said tap water is unhealthy as it contains chlorine and bacteria and even if you boil it it doesnt make that much of a difference. He also game me this product called "Maria's Swedish Bitters". It is a liquid that contains extracts of many different herbs and he said this will help cleanse my liver from all the toxins going around in my body.

Since I am stopping the corticosteroid, the ithcing, inflammation and redness will come back in a day or 2 and the suffering will begin but I am determined to improve the situation. Let's throw away the drugs that the doctors prescribe and search for natural, HEALTHIER alternatives. Good luck to everyone suffering... we are in the same boat.

 

[Morb]

yup, i've had eczema since i was 13, mostly on my face. sucks, doesn't it?

from the perspective of chinese medicine, eczema and most skin disorders are caused by an excess of heat and dampness in the body, especially in the liver. heat = inflamation and damp = weepiness/pus. therefor, if you suffer from eczema it's best to avoid foods and substances that are warming and dampening. these include pretty much all drugs (although i've never really had a problem with cannabis) and especially alcohol and tobacco. i noticed a serious improvement in my skin as soon as i stopped drinking and smoking tabac. avoid all foods like garlic, ginger, chilies, spices (especially curries and black pepper), fried food and most oils, all processed foods, sweets, and citrus fruit. cooling foods that you wanna emphasize in your diet include lettuce, celery, corn, swiss chard, asparagus, button mushrooms, radishes, brocolli, cauliflower, mung beans, aduki beans, millet, bananas, apples, pears, watermelon, all sprouts, yogurt, seaweed, microalgaes (spirulina, chlorella, blue-green, etc), cereal grasses (wheatgrass, barley grass, etc). eating lots of leafy greens is key. all of these foods will cool the heat that causes inflammation. also, for cooking and salad dressings, use (in moderation) a high quality organic cold pressed seame oil. take 1-2 tablespoons of an essential fatty acid rich oil with food every day. i take barlean's omega twin flax/borage and evening primrose oil caps. a lot of people with eczema have benefited from EFA oils, specifically borage and primrose.

besides that, you make teas with any combination of the following herbs: poke root, red clover blossoms, yellow dock root, burdock root, licorice root, echinacea root and drink a large cup 2-3 times a day. these herbs will help you detoxify and reduce the damp heat in your body.

another thing that's important is to keep your skin well moisturized, and avoid dry stagnant air. i like to use vitamin e oil or shea butter. you should probably avoid most commercial moisturizers, as most of them contain fragrances and all of them have alcohol, both of which are inflammatory and painful if your skin is affected by eczema.

i would advise you to avoid most medications that are commonly prescribed for eczema, especially corticosteroids!! i used them for years and they ultimately lock you into a cycle of dependency. they work great at first, but the positive effects wear off quickly, and there is an intense rebound effect when you stop using them. when i stopped using them my whole face, neck, chest, and arms became on big weeping infected rashs for several weeks. not fun!! the new class of drugs (protopic, tacrolimus) that they're using nowadays are somewhat better, but they can cause the same rebound effect, to a lesser degree. change your lifestyle early and avoid the drugs and you will probably be able to get your condition under control.

you might wanna consider seeing an acupuncturist or naturopathic physician, as there might be other factors influencing your eczema that they can help you with. if you have any questions, feel free to pm me. good luck and happy healing

why do people automatically think asian when they try to beat a health problem? ground tiger bone for my impotence, ya

there is some good info in here, a lot of bullshit also

ive had eczema as long as you have, and there is no "rebound" difference between using CS and not using them, i was covered with eczema for years, huge weeping open sores, 15-20% body coverage

i dont love CS either and i only use triamcinolone a few times/month, often it knocks the eczema out for a month, id love to get off it too but its the only effective salve i know, so any cure has to be about lifestyle

the flax/borage oil you use is good in the short term but long term you are gonna fuck up your omega balance, though it claims to have 3s, it really doesnt, omega 3s are the most important for westerners because our diet is already hugely omega 6 loaded (the miracle cure in your oil is also abundant in an order of fries)

elidel doesnt touch my eczema, seems to make it worse actually and ive used it for weeks, garbage imo

eat healthy ((lots of fruits (berries, citrus, grannie smith apples are all loaded with antioxidants), vegs (broccoli sprouts have 40x as many antioxidants as broccoli, oh and you must be eating too much "poke root" or too many "mung beans" if you think garlic is bad for you, great for the heart and intestines) and wild fish), drink half to a gallon of purified water/day, exercise, stay away from all soaps, lotions w/chemicals or fragrances, wear loose, light fabric clothes, (jeans potentiate eczema), luke warm water for bathing is important (avoid chlorinated pools)

i prefer norwegian cod liver oil (also great for painful joints/arthritis) and i make sure i get some omega 6 from any cooking oil, (same if you use flax, take a little cooking oil with it)

do you have any digestive issues? leaky gut is a big cause of eczema, as is low/no fat diets

 

[fizzacyst]

Some of you guys might want to ask your dr about/look into Elidel. Its a prescription non-steroid creme that you use everyday for a little while (a few weeks). After a cycle, I have been symptom free for months at a time.

 

[HigherWisdom]

i'm on day 1 of being off hydrocortisone lotion for my face and it's not itching or inflamed yet but it will be soon . I have been making a few changes to my diet such as drinking herbal bitters with tea, switching to whole weat pasta, drinking V8 although it does have quite a bit of sodium.
These changes may or may not help my eczema but it will definitely help my overall health.

 

[Morb]

garlic is highly warming, which can increase inflammation... simple as that.

if its as simple as "highly warming", you ought to explain dr, cause i dont know what the fuck youre driveling about

 

[EpicureanDream]

i have very bad eczema over the majority of my body. i have been on most every drug under the sun for it from hydrocortisone to methotrexate. i have also tried elimating foods and things like drinking oolong tea to no avail.
i have found that the most successful treatments are simple:
1. keeping my fingernails very very short
2. keeping skin moist as possible, i always have lotion w/me. take fewer showers and ALWAYS grease yourself up right when you get out of the shower
3. SUN-your dr. can set you up with narrow band uvb light treatment which i found very helpful, but if that is not feasible just go outside
3. get a good nights sleep as often as possible(i find sleeping in a cool room is very helpful)
4. when/if it gets truly horrific i highly recommend wet wraps(sleeping in wet clothes over lotion basically )
5. keep some strong antihistimines on hand for when the itching is too bad (especially while you sleep as it is harder to control yourself)

All the advice about avoiding lotions w/ alcohol or fragrance is good. I like eucerin.

heat/sweat can be very irritating to eczema so keep that in mind.

dont fall for any of the "miracle creams" you will see advertised. they are usually just hydrocortisone.

good luck man.

1. What..... I'd like to see the casual relationship between short fingernails and eczema!
2. Moisturising cream is good. Aqueous cream is the best. I've been prescribed paraffin wax based shower gel before too (the brand name was Oilatum). I didn't notice in difference but some of you might.
3. A good night's sleep in a cool room :D. Seconded!
4. I don't know about you, water excaberates it for me. Wet clothes, showers, baths, rain, sweat, swimming, sea, everything.
5. Antihistamines are brilliant to stop itching. I especially recommend using them if you have trouble sleeping at night.

Out of interest has anyone ever gone to/heard of using a solarium occasionally for Eczema? Apprently it can aid the whole healing/maintenance process....?

Signat

btw Jezby, PM sent.

whoops, i mean Juzbie

Do NOT use sun beds to combat eczema. Drying your skin out to treat a dry skin condition should never be recommended to anyone!

Other advice:

I don't know about all this Chinese stuff....I'd need to see some evidence first.

Steroids are the best...in the short term. I'd recommend having some around for a particularly bad outbreak but for the reasons given above (and the fact they thin your skin) I'd not recommend taking them in the long term. I'm not a doctor though.

Washing too much can excaberate eczema. Washing removes all of the oils that keeps your skin lubricated and soft so washing will dry your skin out. This is why wax based shower gel is prescribed for eczema, it locks it in (I think). Applying aqueous cream immediately after showering also helps.

There is no cure to atopic eczema and it is passed down through genes. Eczema is usually worse during adolescence and infantcy. After adolescence you should find that the effects will subside a lot. Eczema can be caused by allergies (contact or food) but it is usually hard to identify what the allergy is without extensive testing that could prove expensive if you live in a country with private medical care. Dust can make it worse too.....

Questions for fellow atopic dermatitus/eczema sufferers:
1/ There's nothing like a good scratch, isn't there!? Except for the bleeding and pussy (pus-s, pus!) sores afterwards...
2/ Does anyone have eczema that is excaberated water contact?

 

[Signat]

^^^hmmmmmm.... not to sound rude or anything, but do you have chronic eczema? I've had chronic Eczema9 as in reoccuring, on my legs for the last 10 years....Ive been and done all of it, creams, steroids, ointments, hospital, moving to a warmer climate, literally everything. The latest thing is UVB Ray treatment, or Phototherapy, which is practically a Solarium used for Eczema. It works, very well according to local Aussie Dermatoligists(spell?) UVB rays dont dry your skin out in 6 minutes if its already well moisturised, does it? From the numerous reports and recommendations Ive had, solariums are a hidden secret!

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