Eczema, fed up. Please give me skin care advice

[tellmesomething]

I've always had eczema. As a child I had it between the inside folds of my arms and knees but now it's all down my legs which are full of red bumps and black marks where hair follicles were irritated and a dry patch developed over the last 5 years on top of my lip which looks awful and scaly through foundation. I also suffer from hayfever, dry eyes and animal fur allergies I take antihistamines every day, use emollient and betnovate rd ointment. My Gp refuses to allergy test me as he says it's apparent I'm allergic to pollen, mold, dust and the natural environment, he reckons I need to take measures every day to keep myself away from these things to keep myself from flaring up. I'm sick of this, even on a good day where I am visibly smooth I feel so dry everywhere - internally and externally. Thick creams on my face help with the patch but give me blackheads in other areas, I don't know if my skin is dry or normal with dry patches IYSWIM. I use sugaring for hair removal as it's the only thing that doesn't irritate my skin but then I get ingrowns and can't scrub my skin as it will irritate it... In the past I tried laser hair removal which helped but I can't afford that now I'm willing to take any ideas or advice if u have any I'm at my wits end! I'm from a middle eastern bg and London based if that helps

Have you looked into the possibility that you have a food-based cause? Dairy can often be a cause of eczema, do you have a dairy-free diet?

Have you tried different combinations of creams/emolliants? I have tried loads of different ones and my magic combination is aveeno bath oil and dermol cream.

Was working all night. Sorry for the late response. I have milk in my cereal in the morning and with my coffee everyday. Could try almond milk for a while and see...

Tshirt - I've tried loads of combinations! Never the aveeno. I only have a shower no bath could I still use it?

I have to watch my dairy intake or mine flares up.

I also use this www.boots.com/en/La-Roche-Posay-Lipikar-Baume-AP-Lipid-Replenishing-Body-Balm-200ml_866297/

its the only thing that really works for me but is expensive, I buy mine at boots and try to stack up the advantage card points.

Oh thanks for the suggestion! How much milk do you find u can have before you feel you flare up?

Does betnovate come in different strengths? My GP prescribed me a ton of the stuff and cleared up my persistent patches within 3 days. It was like magic!

Another poster mentioned Aveeno, they also do a cream, my GP recommended it too and it's been fantastic. Make sure you get the cream, not the lotion. Boots stock it.

Someone else mentioned foods, my eczema growing up was related to dairy & eggs, I had to restrict intake most of the time. Worth a try?

It might be worth seeing a different GP too. When I said "my GP" above, it was actually a (lovely) locum I saw who was extremely sympathetic and far more up-to-date than anyone I'd seen before about my skin.

If I were you I'd try cutting out all dairy and eggs for a fortnight. If there's improvement, try adding things back in one at a time (for a few weeks at a time) to see if you can identify which ones are triggers.

Another one suggesting different creams or emollients.
Have you seen a specialist?

Ok dairy seems to be a common factor which is funny i thought people would say gluten but i eat quite a low gluten diet anyway, I'm going to try dairy free for a fortnight. I can easily live without dairy so I'm hoping I see a difference.

Don't forget the hidden dairy in things like some salami, biscuits, some bread, some crisps. Milk powder is used as a carrier for flavourings l think. You'll be a pro at reading ingredients soon!

The gluten thing is a fallacy. Genuine non-coeliac gluten sensitivity is incredibly rare. Most of the people that identify as "gluten intolerant" are not, and have often been taken advantage of by charlatans.

Something in milk (I don't know what) is a common thing for people with eczema.

You may find (after a complete exclusion phase) that reintroducing the hidden milk products causes no problem at such a low level.

Dairy is definitely a known factor in some people's eczema, and eggs are another one, as has been suggested already. Also nuts/seeds (especially sesame), soy and soy products, wheat and fish may be implicated.

This book www.amazon.co.uk/Tonys-Lactose-Free-Cookbook-Intolerance/dp/0954086619 is not perfect for you, because it's about lactose, and eczema is more likely to be related to the protein in milk rather than the sugar; but it is interesting to read in terms of where lactose ends up in the food industry! (And has some nice dairy-free recipes too)

Thank you so much for all your really helpful comments I'm excited about trying it out! I just had a huge slab of cheesecake but as of tomorrow I'm trying dairy free for a couple of weeks. Will keep you posted about any signs of improvement, if I don't get anywhere with it will try eggs next. I've had enough of living like a reptile and to be honest sacrificing some foods is worth it if it pays off

I take it you have done the usual things to help with the environmental allergies?

dust mite covers on bed, mattress, pillow

boil washing bedding

and pollen/dust filter in bedroom?

No! This is all news to me!!! This must be what I need. 2 dairy free days and I'm flaring up!

Could be wrong, but I think flaring up is possibly a sign that it's working! Keep off the dairy. I'm sure I've read that it gets worse before it gets better. Your system needs to clear it all. Keep going. As someone previously said Aveeno do good Oatmeal baths (think about £1 per sachet/bath). Good for skin conditions - especially helps with itch of Chicken Pox! Keep going.

IMHO you should keep very detailed food diary to start drawing conclusion
read every single label and be careful what you are introducing lets say instead of milk

Yes flare ups often indicate a healing crisis, skin takes 30 days to renew, so you will have to give it at least a month dairy free to see if it really helps. I drink aloe and use propolis creme too, which really helps me.

Ah I was a Little too excited and jumped back to dairy. Stocking up on almond milk today. Is the issue dairy or lactose? Would lactose free milk work?

Try one change at a time.
Give it few days and see what is the difference.

Also consider your washing powder. Anything with a fragrance in causes a problem for my DD and bio washing powder is the worst. I now use a minimal amount of fragrance free washing power (Surcare), an extra rinse and rarely use fabric softener but if I do it is also fragrance free.

A vacuum cleaner with a Hepa filter, hot washes and always ironing bedding and PJs has helped us with dust mites which can also cause problems.

Also remember to use emollients as prevention even when you are symptom free and get persistent patches checked out in case they are infected and need to be treated with an antibiotic cream like Fucidin.

Bleach baths have been mentioned on her for persistent eczema but I would check with the GP first. Daily swimming in a very clean chlorine pool definitely helped my DD1 on a holiday once.

Try introducing some omega 3 oils into your diet. Walnuts, oily fish, flax seeds. You can get capsules but they can be expensive for the really good ones (I take vegan DHA capsules when my skin's bad).

Oatmeal baths can be really good. Stuff some porridge oats into the foot of an old paid of tights, tie a knot in it and add to your bath water.

Find fragrance free body care products and avoid things with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in (easier said than done, if you can't avoid it look for things with it further down the ingredients list)

I really like shea butter on my eczema patches but do a patch test of anything new first.

Stick with the dairy free diet for at least a month as others have suggested.

Good luck with it and post back if anything seems to work
x

I'd also recommend the aveeno oil. I use it in the shower after shaving my legs. I rub a little over my shins (where I get a bad itchy rash) and anywhere else that needs a bit of moisture, leave it on for a couple of minutes before rinsing it off. Turns my scaly shins into normal skin!

DD's eczema cleared up after a five day course of Elocon cream prescribed by the doctor, with a layer of Aveeno cream and another of 50/50 white paraffin and water gloop on top. The Elocon was the magic ingredient and you have to have it prescribed, but she went from having it all over her torso to just patches at elbows and behind her knees. She is only a toddler though, not sure whether that makes a difference!