In pain with eczema.

[Geekster1963]

Posting here for traffic.

The eczema on my hands - mostly fingers- flared up a couple of weeks ago. I went to the Doctors on Friday and they gave me some antibiotics which have ‘dried up’ the infection but they are still red and I’ve got more blisters coming up. Last night in bed it was really painful and it kept waking me up which is unusual for me. It’s still really sore during the day.

I’ve been putting my emollient on a lot, I don’t know if it’s worth going back to the Doctors or not.

TBH I dont think your dr can do much more but refer you to a dermatologist and Ive never found one thats very helpful, its really all trial and error as to what triggers it for you and what helps.
I used to get really bad flare ups- I now have it under control, I think primarily due to age ( it was way worse when i was younger, not sure if thats hormones), and diprobase cream (the only moisturiser that has worked for me). During a break out I would also use hydrocortisone 1% (can buy over the counter)
Drs always said to me:
increase oily fish/ avocados in my diet
when the heating on in winter, but a bowl of water under each radiator to avoid drying out too much.

Sorry i know the pain you're going through, its so aggravating

I've had eczema my whole life all over - keep your skin cool, cold compress if it starts to get itchy to the point of a burning sensation.

YES go back to the doctors, there's a range of steroids and creams they can try - some work for some people and not for others, it's really trial and error.

Hydrocortisone doesn't do anything for me personally, I found Eumovate to work better than some of my prescription steroids! Available over the counter.

Also - there's bamboo gloves from a spa company you can buy in boots/supermarkets I can't remember the brand it's orange and something spa... putting those on at night over cream really helps me not scratch at them.

Good luck, it's horrid I know :(

Have they given you a higher steroid cream? ClobeDerm (?) cleared me up followed by protopic.

What is your emollient? Do you feel it actually helps?
We’ve had some that didn’t do anything and some seem to make it worse.
Might be worth trying an ointment rather than a cream in case you are reacting to the preservatives? This worked with my youngest, dramatically. We used hydromol and emollient and hydrocortisone ointment.

Sorry, Hydromol AS emollient.

Thanks for the replies, I've got some Dermovate ointment but they told me not to use that while its infected.

I might try and get an appointment with the nurse practioner.

I’ve been back to my GP again who has referred me to a dermatology clinic and I’ve got an appointment on 17th February! Hopefully find something that works.

Looks very sore OP. I get the same thing (assuming it's pompholyx, which it looks like!).

I have a steroid cream prescribed for mine which seems to dry out the blisters and weeping skin, and then I use a heavy duty emollient in the dry, cracking, peeling stage. I used to put the emollient in the fridge for a bit beforehand so it was nice and cool. It is painful and takes a few weeks to heal, so I'm sorry to hear you are suffering.

Thanks tiny it is pompholyx I will try the cream in the fridge.

Do you scratch a lot? You need to bring down your levels of scratching. To do that, you spend a week monitoring how often you scratch. Get a clicker thing and pencil mark a piece of paper every time you scratch. Don't try to stop at first, just monitor it.

You'll be horrified at the total number, but that's normal. Now you need to start trying to bring it down. Every time you get the urge to scratch, count to 30, relaxing with deep breaths. Press or rub the area, or press a cool stone against the skin. Keep doing this and your scratching will decrease. Also think, 'do I really want to scratch'? 'Is it really an itch or is a stress trigger?'

You also need Dermasilk gloves (google), which are brilliant (high grade medical silk which calms the skin). They also have fingerless gloves to wear during the day. Find a cream you really like (my favourites are Vaseline Intensive Care and the Superdrug vaseline for nappy rash (!), that's thicker than normal vaseline.

Your skin needs to get to the point where you don't feel like scratching, or only a bit. I have found most dermos useless, the above methods were what worked for me. Hope you feel better soon. xxx

@BlueThing none of that sounds like it would even remotely work for most chronic eczema, I’m astonished (and really pleased!) it worked for you. Honestly not meaning to be snarky - just my worst flare ups the scratching was like a tic and nothing would stop me scratching till I woke up bleeding and crying having pulled the gloves off in my sleep.

Good luck with your derm appointment OP - I also used to have terrible eczema on my hands but just on my fingers. It was awful. I remember crying at the GP office in pain and just being prescribed more hydrocortisone

Oh ok that looks so sore . I was going to recommend eumovate too but I'm not sure about it on broken skin. In terms of moisture, I would get something such as Eucerin 10% urea cream, udderly smooth (check amazon), and I'm sure it goes without saying, moisturise with them as often as possible and any time after they get wet or before you go out in the cold.
If all else fails I use extra virgin olive oil on my hands as a 'handwash' for a few days (after normal hand wash if appropriate). It provides relief and a barrier so to speak.

Also second the silk gloves; these are available on prescription for eczema I think under the brand Dermasilk, though there are probably several.

DianaPrincessofThemyscira, sorry, I wasn’t clear enough. Of course if your eczema flare up is really bad, you will need steroids and maybe antibiotics to get it under control. Also, many people don’t use steroids correctly; you start with a strong one, then change to a medium, then low strength. No one should use them for more than about ten days at a time. While you’re doing that, you can then start the methods I mentioned.
The Chelsea & Westminster hospital have an anti-scratching programme to help people with eczema, and maybe other dermo clinics do as well now.

The last dermo I went to (years ago) said my eczema was the worst she’d ever seen (!). She also said, ‘eczema is the bread and butter of dermatology’. I said, ‘I’m very happy for you’ and walked out. That’s when I started trying to find other ways to help myself.

P.S. I totally understand many people would be disbelieving about anti-scratching techniques, I was myself at first. But I found they do help. One of the worst things for me was feeling I had no control over the scratching, and that helped me feel that I did.

Oh my goodness that looks terribly painful and uncomfortable.

Please can I suggest looking up a FB page called: Dr Aron eczema treatment discussion group

It's a private paid for treatment but his results are incredible. I lurked on the page for 18mths before we signed my son up.

That looks agony!

Do you have cotton gloves? Wearing them with your steroid cream and emollient will really help.

Thanks for the replies, and yes it does itch but it's mostly really burning at the moment. I try and wear gloves at night to try and mosturise them and so I can actually move them in the mornings.

Oh poor you, it is so incredibly sore. I had the same - couldn’t cut up food or wash my own hair, and it’s agony. I do think you need much, much stronger steroids for a short period to calm it all down - I’ve gone up to ‘potent’ but there are a couple of classes higher than that - so I’d go back to the gp. I also second BlueThing’s recommendation on changing approach. There’s a book is called The Eczema Solution which sets out the method BT summarises and it truly genuinely does work. Nothing will stop your skin kicking off sometimes but you can take more control and keep it at manageable levels for most if not all of the time. Meantime take care and I hope you get an appointment quickly.