eczema

[chilistrucker]

had this on and off now for about 3 years. never been a real problem, if it flares up pop to the quack, get some cream and a course of tablets, and thats normally enough.
the last 3 months though, its back with a vengance. same visits to the quack, but the cream and tablets don't really seem to be doing the job right now. the quack says its worse at the mo because of stress, recently lost my dad, and the mother in law is very, very ill, so i get the stress bit.
just wondering if anyone knows of any natural or over the counter remedies, thanks.

[Steffan]

There was a post by Da a PH member a while back on this if you follow it through there were a number of suggestions and remedies. Good luck with your search.

[Markp13]

I believe honey on to the area is meant to be good.

Never tried it personally though.

[chilistrucker]

Markp13 said:

I believe honey on to the area is meant to be good.

Never tried it personally though.

god, i bloody hate bees etc.
thanks Steffan, i'll see if i can track it down.

[DaveH23]

Pure potions is your answer.

Ive had eczema sice bein a tot until late teans when I found this stuff. Now 26 never had it since.

Read the history of the product and try for yourself.

Its a miracle potion.

[chilistrucker]

DaveH23 said:

Pure potions is your answer.

Ive had eczema sice bein a tot until late teans when I found this stuff. Now 26 never had it since.

Read the history of the product and try for yourself.

Its a miracle potion.

thanks Dave, i will def look into that

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

I've had this on and off since I can remember.

Fortunately, the outbreaks aren't too big, ugly or horrendous. I've seen some poor buggers with all their elbows and most of their forearms covered with it

The worst I've had is a patch maybe 3 inches in diameter over my left ankle when I was a kid.


These days, I have a small recurring patch on my left elbow barely a half inch in diameter. It comes and goes - generally flares up with either stress or periods when my diet isn't quite as good as it should be.

I also occasionally get red blotchy flare-ups on the sides of my nose and a little on one cheek - not full blown, scabby eczema, but irritating blotches that are related to the eczema family.

After lots of Doctor consultation and research, I am also very suceptible to hayfever and 'allergic rhinitis' (basically hayfever type symptoms from other allergens like dog hair, cat hair, horse hair and house dust) and occasionally get very mild asthma.

All these things are apparently within the same family of allergens - i.e. people suceptible to one thing may develop the others.


Anyway. I've found two things that will control and kill a flare-up.

First is 'Cutivate' cream - prescription only from the quack. Works pretty fast.

And secondly - sunbeds! If I let my skin get a little pale and devoid of exposure to sun, especially during the winter (with cold winter air exacerbating it too) then one or two 6 minute sessions on a decent sunbed stops it pretty much immediately.


Have you tried sunbeds before at all?

If not, then I recommend!

[oldbanger]

I've found that Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Suplhate to be a big trigger. It's a foaming agent found in most liquid soaps, shampoos etc. Using alternatives has helped, but you do have to shop around to find them.

I only really took it seriously when my daughter developed eczema. If I used ordinary kids shampoo, she had a rash over her face after a couple of days. Switch to SLS free alternatives and it would clear up again.

[BorkFactor]

Thankfully I am lucky enough not to suffer from this, but I do get the occasional outburst of a rash on my elbow or behind the knee.

I found E45 cream was incredibly effective, have you given that a go?

[pacman1]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Have you tried sunbeds before at all?

If not, then I recommend!

Interesting. Don't suffer from it meself, but perhaps a Vitamin D suppliment might be of use then?

A chap I know that gets it says evening primrose oil works well for him.

[chilistrucker]

thanks all for the input.
interesting stuff ray. i havn't tried sunbeds, and to be honest, the normal eczema i've had the last 4 or so years, has normally been triggered by heat, (so that rules this bloody year out mate)
may be i'll give it a try.
my g.p is convinced that the eczema i have at the mo, is stress related, and to be honest, she may have something there, (i've lost my dad, and 2 other family members in the last 8 weeks) and my partners mum only has a couple of weeks left to live, so it really is a bh of a year. combined with my dads illness lasting from january of this year till june, so ongoing, the whole stress thing adds up.
whats annoying is, the more stress builds, the worse the eczema becomes, hence the recent continued outbursts i guess. the g.p has me on some steroid cream and antibiotics, but its always lurking of late, and when it starts, it feels like its exploding all over my body. so easy for people to say, "don't scratch it" and, "try not to think about it." yeah right.

for others who replied.
yes i have tried e45 and similar in the past. it has worked, especially in the early days, but not right now.
i also am careful with soaps, shaving foams and the like, and find the "simple" range, (how apt) works for me
even my mrs, only buys set washing powder etc, that we know suits me.
luckily its no major illness, just bloody annoying.

[Martin350]

I used to get eczema quite badly as a toddler and into my teens.

In my late teens I took a course of Chinese herbs, from a herbalist.
They were boiled and I drank the resulting liquid.
It was the most foul tasting thing I've ever had but honey, sugar or anything else really can take the edge off.
A short while after the difference was quite amazing, and I rarely suffer at all now.

Usually I find I get small patches of dry skin, mostly on my arms, when I'm a bit stressed or if I have too much dairy produce, which is a bit annoying because I absolutely love cheese.

[DaveH23]

chilistrucker said:

thanks Dave, i will def look into that

As odd as it sounds if you put this cream on for bed try and use old sheets as it does stain.

Hope it works for you though.

[stackmonkey]

chilistrucker said:

"don't scratch it" .

The ONLY cream that works for me for the itch is Eurax. Takes about 15 mins to kick and can take ALL your concentration to not scratch during that period, but it works for about 12 hours for me; enough to get you through a work day, or get a decent night's sleep.

[Mermaid]

stackmonkey said:

The ONLY cream that works for me for the itch is Eurax. Takes about 15 mins to kick and can take ALL your concentration to not scratch during that period, but it works for about 12 hours for me; enough to get you through a work day, or get a decent night's sleep.

Or have you tried the urea based products Eucarin, originally developed by Swedish giant Pharmacia for hydrating skin & relieving eczema symptoms.

Hope this helps.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

chilistrucker said:

interesting stuff ray. i havn't tried sunbeds, and to be honest, the normal eczema i've had the last 4 or so years, has normally been triggered by heat

No worries.

Yes, my little patch on my elbow often gets angry in the heat, especially if it's hot enough to get me a bit sweaty.

But, heat irritation is one thing - sunbed use is something completely different.

Ok, you get hot in a sunbed, but only for 8 or 10 minutes or so. I use a stand-up tanning cabinet - more hygenic than a lay-down bed as you're not touching surfaces that other people's dead skin cells and sweat has previously touched

And the stand-up cabs are quicker and more efficient - i.e. 15 minutes on a lay-down is like 6 minutes on a stand-up.

The sunbed gives your skin a concentrated, tightly-controlled exposure to a specific percentage of UVA, B and C, unlike the vagaries of being outside, where you exposure depends on the time of year, the time of day, the atmospheric conditions and where you are in the world. So sometimes the sun can give you a load of unwelcome heat that flares the eczema up, but without the benefits of controlled UV.

For me, the sunbed stimulates the blood flow in the skin, activates the melanin, and encourages Vitamin D - so as I said, for me at least, an eczema flare-up is killed quite quickly in a couple of days by a sunbed.

HTH anyway.

[chilistrucker]

thanks all, certainly got lots of good ideas now.
much appreciated.

[MitchT]

oldbanger said:

I've found that Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Suplhate to be a big trigger. It's a foaming agent found in most liquid soaps, shampoos etc. Using alternatives has helped, but you do have to shop around to find them.

I only really took it seriously when my daughter developed eczema. If I used ordinary kids shampoo, she had a rash over her face after a couple of days. Switch to SLS free alternatives and it would clear up again.

I agree with this in a really big way. I used to have eczema - tried everything - stuff 'claiming' to be natural, went to the doctor, etc. Nothing worked. I was unwittingly using various products containing SLS and then, with irritated skin, switching to supposedly skin-friendly variants (but still the products of big pharma, because I didn't know any better) thinking that they would help. They didn't. It wasn't until I met my OH who told me about SLS and recommended Dr Bronner's Castile soap, which she already used, that I took the definitive step forward and noticed a rapid improvement in the condition of my skin. This site has a lot of useful information about natural, truly friendly alternatives, including this useful article about eczema.

[oldbanger]

MitchT said:

oldbanger said:

I've found that Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Suplhate to be a big trigger. It's a foaming agent found in most liquid soaps, shampoos etc. Using alternatives has helped, but you do have to shop around to find them.

I only really took it seriously when my daughter developed eczema. If I used ordinary kids shampoo, she had a rash over her face after a couple of days. Switch to SLS free alternatives and it would clear up again.

I agree with this in a really big way. I used to have eczema - tried everything - stuff 'claiming' to be natural, went to the doctor, etc. Nothing worked. I was unwittingly using various products containing SLS and then, with irritated skin, switching to supposedly skin-friendly variants (but still the products of big pharma, because I didn't know any better) thinking that they would help. They didn't. It wasn't until I met my OH who told me about SLS and recommended Dr Bronner's Castile soap, which she already used, that I took the definitive step forward and noticed a rapid improvement in the condition of my skin. This site has a lot of useful information about natural, truly friendly alternatives, including this useful article about eczema.

The annoying thing is that SLS is in most hypoallergenic products, including those supposedly for eczema.

The SLS free stuff I've found tends to be niche brands such as:

kids
Halos N Horns shampoos/body wash
DGJ Organics Hair juice
Earth Friendly organic baby wash products
E45 Junior Bath Milk (some E45 products do appear to contain SLS)

adult
Organic surge
Bentley Organics
Tisserand
Green People

toothpaste is the most awkward but so far I've found Retardex and AloeDent.

[balders118]

I have a patch on my leg. I use the over the counter Eumovate (?) which after a week or so will get rid of it. It comes back if I'm weak and scratch at it though and because it's hidden I often give into tepmtation. I have got rid of a patch on my ankle, neck and back of knee completely though. I'm on a spree of getting rid of this leg one now - gotta stop using the Eumovate today, so just moisturiser and will power now. I do want tid (but scratching feels so good!).

I think I'm lucky that standard treatment works well with me and the over the counter Eumovate is just as effectie as the prescritpion stuff (beginning with D?) that I got first time around.