Anyone want to join an Itchy and Scratchy club?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Wondered if anyone with psoriasis or eczema or other skin stuff wanted a whingers support thread?
after having a bad night - awake til gone 3 with the bad itchies and sore joints today am feeling a little irrational fragile.
Anyone else?

[misspudding]

I'll join you! I have pompholyx eczema (on my feet), it woke me up at 4 am this morning. Is it eczema you've got?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Its psoriasis I have - mixture of chronic and guttate. Ouch on your poor feet though! Does it affect your walking badly?

[misspudding]

Yes, it does. Wearing shoes is a nightmare at the moment and the itching is so bad at times. Are you on any medication for your psoriasis?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

itchy feet are horrendous - especially with shoes on and you can't get to the itch.
I alternate between steroids and dovonex on my scalp. Not really helping.

I don't know what to do about my body - I am literally coming up in gazillions of what are now weeny spots. They are really tricky to put effective medication on without getting it onto normal skin. I usually use coal tar but I'm scared as last time I did one of my cats started fitting with symptoms that would match coming into contact with it.

Really I need uv therapy but you know what derm waiting lists are like (I've been on the rheumatolgist waiting list for 2 months with no signs of an appt) then theres a waiting list for the uv.

So what sort of treatment are you using - does anything help?

[misspudding]

Poor you, it sounds really unpleasant. I am using Fucibet, which helps for a few days and then it all starts again!
A few years ago, I was given some steroids. I need to see my gp again as the cream doesn't really help.
I really hope you get a specialist appointment very soon

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

thanks
I think fucibet has got some steroid in it? Def worth seeing your gp if its not helping. Especially before the cold weather kicks in.

dd was funny yesterday - she commented in the morning that it looked like the large patch on my back was a singer and that the other spots around had heard there was a concert going on and had come to see. then last night she was all Mummy the singers have been joined by a band! Prob had to be there to find it funny but it gave us both a good giggle and its good that she can see that I can find some humor in it.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

I'll join you. Over the summer I spent about 3 weeks in the sun and it was improving - little spots went, large patches fading. But now its got alot worse again. I seem to be coming up with the guttate type again and am worried that this will become chronic if not treated soon.

I had UV treatment from jan-march when I had a bad outbreak of guttate probably caused by a repiratory infection (basically they just guess causes). This did the trick (I have private health insurance), but they won't let you have it done too frequently cos of skin cancer risk.

Scalp also bad. Put oil all over alst night and combed out disgusting amount of dry skin this morning.

Its all so time consuming and because not life threatening no one seems that bothered about treatment.

[misspudding]

That's so sweet! How old is your dd? Yes, you are right, Fucibet has some steroid in it, I meant steroid tablets, I think they are called Prednisolone.
My 5-yr old ds tells me off when I scratch!
Sorry I've got to leave but i will be back on the itchy and scratchy thread!! Keep well

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

It is really time consuming isnt it thats one of the piggy bits. if you are already stressed and tired (and I do get much more tired during a flare) then who wants to spend 2-3 hours a day playing dot-dot with creams. lying in medicinal baths and combing out scalps

Last time I had a flare like this my derm told me to sunbathe as it was april and getting warmer. I'm not doing that now!! I'm thinking of paying for a private derm appt and hoping that I'll be able to then be able to carry on treatment through my gp. Can it work like that?

I use coconut oil from Holland and Barrett on my scalp - then wrap my head in cling film for a couple of hours. Combing out is disgusting but morbidly fascinating!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Thanks misspudding good for your ds, even we adults need telling off! dd is 8. Hope you have an itch free rest of day!

[Pidge]

Sympathy to all. I've had eczema all my life - it was pretty awful in childhood to the extent that I was hospitalised for 5 days when I was about 9 because it got infected. Generally it's a million times better these days, but I've been struggling with it recently - I'm pregnant with my third and my eczema flared up from the start. I also had two bouts of folliculitis, which required oral antibiotics and am still battling with little infected areas now.

Anyway - due to all the problems I finally got referred to a dermatologist who has been absolutely brilliant. I got an array of new creams. Also lots of advice - including that if you're using steroid creams you shouldn't just stop them suddenly, but need to wean yourself off - dropping to a less strong steroid, or going from twice daily to once daily, to every other day etc until you stop. Otherwise the eczema will just flare up again. I can't believe no-one else had told me that in 38 years!!

And my eczema is sooooooooooo much better. I've got about 10 days till my due date and am actually comfortable and relatively itch-free for the first time in months. So I really recommend pestering GPs for a referral.

All the best ....

[lazymumofteenagesons]

OYBK, you can go and see a dermatologist privately and then continue through GP. The derm will forward all notes re treatment to your GP, so that you can get any prescriptions on NHS. My problem has been that other than UV treatment the derm did not have any treatments that were different to what GP had been offering. I suppose it just meant I got UV treatment straight away. I went 3 times per week for 8 weeks at £50 for each treatment (insurance paid).

Do you ever go to hairdresser with bad scalp? If so do you explain before?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Lovely to hear a good result Pidge pity you had to go through all that first.
I remember when I was a little girl (6) and in hosp with my psoriasis there was girl of about 9 in there with eczema who took me under her wings.

Its a good point about steroids - coming off them too quickly makes psoriasis rebound too.

have decided to stop moaning and go and see a gp again so phoned up - my gp hasnt any appts this week so am seeing another doctor tomorrow morning . Sometimes guttate can be caused by strep infections and as I've had a sore throat thing this week I might find anti-bios calm the whole thing down.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

lazymum - thats worth knowing - thank you. Will discuss that with the gp. I think I've gone through all the creams but cos I've got pa too I might be a candidate for some oral meds.

I hate going to the hairdresser my hairs a mess cos of it. In general I dont care how my psoriasis looks but on my scalp I hate it. Got a constant snowstorm on my shoulders and I know it looks horrid. Neighbour of mine cuts my hair now but after she accidently called it manky (she didnt mean to, I was looking for a word on how I felt about it and she supplied that word!) I feel really conscious about even her doing it.

I do always explain first if I do go - I'll say 'I've not had my hair cut for ages because I have psoriasis and I feel very self conscious about it'. Usually they then at least keep quiet - or tell me about the latest miraculous cure their great-aunts third cousin tried.

How do you manage?

[Pidge]

OYBBK - good luck with the GP. One of the things my dermatologist gave me was an antibiotic nose cream to tackle an infection which she said can make the skin worse (more likely to get infected etc).

I used to have UV treatment on the NHS as a child, but again that was through my hospital consultant who I saw every few months. Could do with some UV action now actually, after our abismal summer. My eczema always improves in the sun, if I can only bear to expose my scaly skin to the world!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Pidge - your derm sounds great!

you're bringing back childhood memories of walking down cold hospital corridors in a flimsy dressing gown and then giant scary uv lamps and the old ladies sat waiting saying 'oh your poor child you're so young '

wouldnt some proper sun be lovely it would clear it up right away.

Thanks for the good luck

[lazymumofteenagesons]

OYBBK, I make sure I have given my scalp the oil treatment a couple of times before I go to hairdresser and then I still mention that it might be a bit scaly but its not catching! I prefer to preempt it otherwise I always think they are looking at my scalp in disgust thinking I am dirty or have some ghastly contagious disease.

At the beginning of my 3 weeks in the sun I did have to bare all in a bikini, which is bad enough when you are out of shape and pale skinned, but adding to this having patches of scaly skin makes it a 100 times worse. I don't walk around uncovered, but somehow feel more confident if i'm just lying in sun.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

Last year someone selling stuff on the beach asked me if I wanted something to put on those mosquito bites!

[MissisBoot]

Can I join? My hands are soooo itchy and swollen at the moment - I have eczema and use diprobase and dermavate ointment. I also get it rather randomly on the middle of my legs. I have found that a memory foam mattress protector has really made a difference as dustmites can't breed in it so I'm no longer waking up dh with endless scratching.

Gosh - those of your with it on your scalps - that must be so sore?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

lazymum - lol about the mossie bites!

MissisBoot - course you can join!
I didnt realise that dustmites cant breed in memory foam. We got a mattress with a memory foam topper last year, fab for sore joints
funny you say that about scalps cos though mine is itchy and feels tight tisnt sore and I really feel for people with skin probs on hands and feet. I think that must be sore. Must make general life much more challenging.

[compo]

anther joiner here
I've got psorasis behind my ears
one is particularly bad and I scrath it in the night
I've got an hairdressrs appt in a weeks time so need to use lots of steriod cream to try to clear it up
seems to be stress related

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

behind your ears can get a bit sore cant it. I hope you manage to clear it up so that you can enjoy your appt. Are you able to tackle the stress issue?

[MissisBoot]

That's probably true BadKitten - I find it very difficult to do the most basic of childcare tasks - bathing my dd is nigh on impossible as my hands get so sore afterwards.

Yes, is true about the dust mites - are aches and pains related to eczema then? I was having v bad pains in my hips every morning which is why I tried the memory foam as I was waking up in so much pain throughout the night.

[compo]

I seem to scratch in my sleep so it's very hard to stop
my dh says I should go to bed wearing mittens

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Missis - I dont know about eczema and joint pain but that doesnt sound right at all I hope your hips are better now? Poor you with your hands

Sometimes people with psoriasis get a form of arthritis - psoriatic arthritis. I get it pretty mildly compared to many but it can still be a bother.

compo - when I was in hosp when I was a kid they used to bandage up my hands so I couldnt scratch. I was a thumb sucker and got very upset so they cut out a hole of my thumb