Your Stories - Eczema Under Control

How I keep my eczema under control - Laura, Scotland, UK

I find that central heating can cause irritation, especialy during the night.  I have switched off the heater in my bedroom and find it helps prevent itching.  I also find, although not recommended on a regular basis, that the sun or sunbeds (few minutes maybe once or twice a week during bad flare ups) helps clear my skin.  Do not have hot baths or showers, keep it warm/luke warm to a bit cold, it helps keep the skin cool. (February 2010) Contact Laura

My Eczema is now under Control - J, Australia

I just wanted to post somewhere that I finally have my eczema under control at age 25 after years of suffering. It can be done but its meant many years of trial and error.

Stress still sets it off but it is vastly improved... I can sleep at night no scratching :)

Things that help:
- twice a day and after every shower using a mixture of shea butter and rosewater/rosehip oil over whole body
- lavender oil mixed in also helps on the face if you're prone to acne
- tea tree oils dry the skin out too much and should be avoided

Soaps/detergents:
- using sensitive washing powder only and no conditioners
- no soaps ever! This includes goats milk soap and coconut oil soap they are still too harsh
- soap free body wash is best and works. The brand I like is called bathox milk and honey and it's cheap!
- anything with sodium laureth/laurel sulfate or linalool/lanolin should be avoided like the plague.

Diet:
- although it's gross a spoonful of flaxseed oil swallowed twice a day helped stop the skin from drying out
- adding fish to my diet a few times a week and fruit daily seems to have helped also but strawberries sometimes sets it off
- I was crazy for peanut butter growing up as a kid but am fairly sure it was causing breakouts (we often crave things we're allergic to)

Pharmacy creams:
- consistent use of heavy steroid creams as a kid thinned my skin dramatically and only masked the eczema which would reappear soon after. I wouldn't recommend them.
- tar based products did little, but chickpea cream kept in the fridge was the best eczema targeting over the counter creams I could find growing up.

When it's really bad:
- salt baths (dead sea salt is fantastic) or ideally a trip to the beach with a soak in the sea really helps if it's bad, despite the stinging. Seaweed baths are good too. Any bath has to be followed up with lots of moisturiser though.
- loose cotton clothing helps a lot. I resorted to cotton leggings sometimes so that I wouldn't scratch, especially in my sleep
- avoid overheating at night, breathable cotton sheets and blankets are best.

If the skin is very very cracked:
- manuka honey speeds up the healing process and soothes but might need cotton bandages to stop you sticking to things...
- olive oil can help but only in small doses or it makes the skin overheat and break out. Mixing in rosewater or crushed rose petals helps too. This is especially good for sensitive areas like
eyes/lips.
- coconut oil is also good but more expensive. (December 2009) Contact J

You wouldn't know my daughter had had Eczema - Racheal, Australia

My 4 year old girl had really bad eczema until my doctor put her on Singulair Montelukast Sodium, MSD. In less tha a week you could not even see she had ever had it. (October 2009). Contact Racheal

Freederm and Salcura Face Wash have worked - Ivy, UK

I've been suffering with eczema on my face and neck since November 2008, with all the flare ups and frustrations that accompany this skin condition.  When I ge a flare up I use a cream called freederm which I bought over the internet .  I find that this product works really well with flare ups and results are noticeable in just 3 days or less depending on how bad the flare up is and if used immediately after a flare up.  I also use salcura face wash for sensitive to dry skin, suitable for dermatitis and eczema.  I use it to wash my face and neck and it keeps the itching away for the whole day.  It comes highly recommended by myself.  I am also currently using a product that is prescribed by my GP called Eumovate cream with clobetasone butyrate to prevent flare ups, but this is prescribed medication only and cannot be bought over the internet.  I also suffered from depigmentation patches on my face as a result of the dry flaking skin suffered with eczema and with the use of steroid creams and several dermatology clinic visits later I'm happy to say that 6 out of my 8 depigmented patches have filled out and the other 2 are slowly recovering as well. Being Afro-Caribbean this is a great relief for me to see my colour coming back and soon I won't have to cover up with layers of make up anymore.  My condition is known as seborrhoeic eczema with fissuring around my lips that are light sensitive that swells up and stings when I go out in the sun.  I'm still hoping for a cure, but as yet there doesn't seem to be any. (September 2009) Contact Ivy

BNatural from Tesco has helped clear my Eczema - Jackey, Ryde, Isle of Wight

Hello, My name is Jackey and I have been an Eczema sufferer since I was a child. I have used an assortment of treatments from the doctor and have had almost eczema free periods and periods where my eczema has been severe covering most of my body.   When I became pregnant with my 1st baby my skin was pretty clear. At around 3 months pregnant, the Eczema came back, worse than ever, with a condition I now know as photo allergic dermatitis, the problems became worse over time and it became clear I was in trouble. Creams from the doctor were not working, basic emollients had not helped, I had to stop breast feeding my daughter as I could not cope and all my nutrients were going to the milk and not my body. After this the eczema eased a little but I was still covered and very uncomfortable. I returned to part-time work when my daughter was 9 months old and had to take time off due to severe flare-ups. I finally got a referral to a dermatologist in December 2008 and got allergy tested. I discovered I was allergic to Parabens (found in body care products - moisturizers, shampoo, conditioner, soaps creams etc) and chromates (found in make-up and leathers). Some strong steroidal and cortisone creams were prescribed, but the flare-ups did not stop.  I tried some expensive 'eczema cure' treatments off the internet which did not work, in fact made the condition much worse. I was at a loss and 2 months ago I resigned from work because  of my skin and I began scouring the shelves of top high street pharmacies and supermarkets, and smaller shops, only to find there were very few, almost no products that did not contain these chemicals. There are some sites on the internet where you can buy paraben free products, but they are expensive and I needed easier access to them.

I then discovered, right under my nose, in my place of work that Tesco have a range called bnatural made with active botanical extracts and totally free from mineral oils and parabens. In the range you can buy almost every product a woman needs in her bathroom completely free
of these chemicals - shampoo, conditioner, body butter, eye cream, face masks, bath bubbles and salts, hand cream, body-washes, scrubs. I have been using these products for around 6 weeks now and my skin is 99% improved and actually feels soft. I have not used the prescribed
creams very often since and I threw all my emollients away- interestingly some of them contained parabens too.

I have just begun using the body butter on my daughter who is now 15 mths old and also has eczema and her skin is already feeling less dry and flaky. The bnatural range is not very expensive and the only range I have found on the high street that is totally free from all the bad
chemicals.

I hope that my story will benefit anyone suffering with skin problems. (June 2009) Contact Jackey

Robertson's Medicated Skin Repairing Ointment made my Eczema disappear - Steve

Hi. I suffered from eczema for 5 years. My doctor prescribed cortisone creams which worked for a short time, but my eczema always returned. I tried every product on the market and even changed my diet, but again my eczema always came back. After 5 years of searching for relief for my eczema, I finally found a natural product called Robertson's Medicated Skin Repairing Ointment. After a week of applying Robertson's my eczema finally disappeared! All healed. It
truly is a wonderful product for eczema! (April 2009) Contact Steve

I know now what to use! - TB, New York, USA

Finally after years of suffering my eczema is under control. I used to scratch uncontrollably. All I could think about was scratching but I finally figured out what is right for my skin. Firstly, for moisturizing I trust cetaphil cream for the entire body- you do not need expensive cream to
moisturize, trust me I spent enough money on expensive products that do not work. For the face, I have been using cetaphil spf 15 face lotion for years and with bad eye eczema, this has kept everything under control. For washing, cetaphil works too but for the body - only put regular soap where you are dirty or else it will dry out your skin. For nighttime face treatment- burt's bees evening primrose creme is a hit, always works to clear up skin. It never fails. For bad flare ups- fluticasone ointment prescribed by my dermatologist has solved the case- protopic does not work for the long haul, it will only solve eczema temporarily. Lastly, in order to get some rest- benedryl immediately helps me to stop scratching my skin so I can rest at night. Sleep, better diet and having a positive attitude can change it all. I have been at the bottom where eczema had ruined my social life but now things are great. I have discoloration on my inner elbows, armpits and back but at least I do not scratch...clothes can cover up anything but scratching and feeling sad inside can never be hidden. (June 2008)

Recovered with Aveeno - Susan, Jamaica

Hi. this is Susan from Jamaica; I had posted my story about my daughter Rachel, in the moisturizer section I think. Any how I wanted to know if you have or could have on the site a section for recovered sufferers. My daughter has been almost clear now for almost 6 months and the only areas that flares are her knees and elbows. If you were to look at her now you couldn't tell she had it chronically. Six months ago she had a massive flare So bad, head to toe, I was out of Mustela and my sister had given me, an Aveeno moisturizing fragrance free lotion and I decided to use it until I could get the Mustela for her. Her skin kept clearing and I was so elated and she has been clear ever since (except for the places I mentioned before). I would love to say the Aveeno is 100% responsible, but I am still in shock because I used it before when she was less than a year old and, nothing; then of course I did not give anything a chance to work because I was trying everything. Yours truly, Susan. (February 2008)

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