It's that time of year again!

[LiquidGnome]

It's the time of year my skin turns red and sore again.

I've bought some vitamin D tablets in the vain hope that it's the lack of proper sunshine which causes it, but I'd surprised if they help.



It hasn't even been properly cold yet!

[meddyg]

intriguing, do you have a diagnosis??

[LiquidGnome]

meddyg said:

intriguing, do you have a diagnosis??

It is just common old eczema as far as I'm aware.

Which means the cause differs from person to person, so it's hard to pin down.

[944fan]

I used to get eczema on my hands and it was always a lot worse in winter.

being colder outside the air is drier generally and when you are indoors with the heating on the air gets dry. I have some success using a humidifier. I sleep with one on to make the room more humid.

I found that drinking a lot of alcohol made it worse. Not sure if that is because it dries your skin and aggravated it or because it actually just made it worse.

In the end the thing that cleared it for me was Betnovate RD. Its prescription only. The hydrocortisone you get OTC is rubbish for this. The RD means ready diluted so you can use it for longer periods. There is a risk using topical steroids long term. I had to use it for quite some time but eventually it cleared up completely. I do have to carry a little tube of hand cream with me though and put it on after washing my hands. Otherwise it starts to come back. If I do get a small flare up as long as I get betnovate straight on it it will clear and not spread. Defo worth seeing your GP for some.

Interesting about the VitD and sunshine. I used to go out with a girl years ago who had psoriasis and she used to use sunbeds to keep it under control, which worked. Really not recommended though.

Best of luck OP, it is a horrible thing to deal with

[QuickQuack]

Looks like mild to moderate dermatitis. From your post, I'm assuming that cold weather brings this on in your case. If you haven't tried it yet, your first treatment should be regular (that means four to six times a day, not just once a day, plus after every hand wash) moisturiser creams - aqueous cream is just fine, no need for anything fancy or branded. If you have money to burn, Aveena is pretty good but expensive. I wouldn't suggest going anywhere near topical steroids, OTC or POM, until you've done this religiously for at least a week or so. If no improvement, then mild topical steroids (i.e. the OTC stuff); if that doesn't work, then higher dose topical steroids (i.e. the POM stuff). I can't emphasise the importance of regular moisturising - 4-6 times plus after every hand wash...

Additionally, if possible, try to limit the exposure of your hands to cold, use gloves whenever you can. In severe cases, you can cover your hands liberally in cream (ordinary moisturiser or steroids depending on the situation), and put on gloves/mittens just before going to bed.

[LiquidGnome]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I was prescribed a fairly strong steroid cream last year - betamethasone .1%, which I use occasionally on my arms and (very) occasionally on my face when it gets bad. I prefer not to use it but sometimes it's the only thing that reduces the soreness.

Since I've started taking vitamin D supplements my skin has improved a bit, although this is most likely coincidence as it comes and goes. I'm sure the weather does effect it, although we've had such a mild winter so far I'm not sure that's the only cause.

I also use Diprobase and a another cream called Stelatopia which works very well.

I don't feel too hard done by, as I'm sure many people get it a lot worse, unfortunately for them...