To feel like eczema is ruining my life

[JigsawDogg]

I am in my 30s and for the past 2 years I have suffered with eczema inside my ear canal.

Due to the location it causes repeat ear infections and is extremely difficult to treat.

I go to the doctors every two weeks for them to remove as much as possible but to be honest I think I need to stop with this as it's causing my canal to swell and restrict my hearing even further.

I am so fed up. When I wake in the morning after lying in bed all night I cannot hear a thing, I mean I can literally look at DH whilst he's talking to me and just see his mouth moving. This lasts until I've been up and walking around for about half an hour.

Throughout the day I can hear but it's definitely restricted and my ears 'pop' constantly throughout the day.

The past two years have been a constant stream of antibiotics and steroids drops/creams/tablets and nothing works.

I am miserable with it and so concerned about my hearing as last time I saw the doctor she finally saw my ear drums (they are rarely visible) and said they had quite significant scarring.

They tell me there is no cure, of course I know there is not for eczema, but AIBU to think there must be something else we can try?

I have had no referrals to the hospital despite the occasional mention of one after me asking but am always told they don't have the staffing in that department at our local hospital so they can't send me there.

I get eczema in my ear canals, it's so frustrating. Mine is actually ok at the moment but sometimes I wake up to blood on my pillow where it has bled during the night. And yellow gunk if I'm really lucky!!
i have found that taking an antihistamine daily helps. I assume mine is caused at least partly by an allergy.
It also cleared up after a course of oral steroids that I was prescribed for something else.
I find it helps if I keep all of the external parts of my ear well moisturised, although like you I am wary of putting anything inside my ears. I have been known to have a good scratch with a cotton bud though, much to my doctor's horror!

@MissConductUS they will only give biologic drugs AFTER you have methotrexate because they don't have long-term trial results yet. This in the NHS of course

@GenericHamster my dermatologist (40 years as a dermatologist) said that it's bullshit when people say no-dairy fixed their eczema and that it's more likely that they just started eating an improved diet and this fixed it...

Would it help if you were able to clean out your ears daily or every other day. Do you have a partner who could help. Digital otoscopes are surprisingly cheap.

Purpleartichoke initially I would have said yes but I've been having this done by the doctor every two weeks and honestly it makes it worse I think. I come away extremely sore and my ear canals swell even more because I've been messing with it iyswim. I'm thinking of telling them I can keep doing these cleans anymore.

I have no idea how/if you could or should get it in your ear canal but just to say that Kawakawa (a plant native to New Zealand ) has helped everyone I know with eczema. It might be worth considering. There's a website selling a balm, never used it but hear good things, www.frankieapothecary.com. Good Luck, that sounds absolutely awful to deal with, I hope it improves.

I have had horrendous eczema (not in ears, but on eyelids, groin, etc) and am under the treatment of a dermatologist.

We tried lots of things, and in the end methotrexate works for me.

Before seeing the specialist, I was getting depressed about it, tbh, and was restricting my life like an 'old man' just sitting in my favourite chair each evening.

Now, I am back to normal - and didn't think I would be.

Don't be fobbed off with generic things. It is a real illness that can effect lives dramatically.

There should be a special eczema board on MN :)

I'd think she'd apply it the same way she applied the steroid cream. It may have made your eczema worse but it has worked for a lot of people.

@blackprism on the other hand isn’t good allergy quite well known as a cause of eczema? Eg sometimes eczema is eczema and sometimes it’s a reaction. Isn’t egg supposed to be the biggest food allergen in eczema where food is concerned? Or does he think it’s always nonsense? Even dermatologists can have differences of opinion.

I have eczema in my ears too @JigsawDogg! So I know how much of a pain it is and how horrible it can be when treated.

I was eventually referred to ENT and they prescribed me a steroid cream which is for eczema elsewhere. I was told that if the pharmacist asked me where I was going to use it I was NOT to say in my ears or they wouldn't give it to me. Perhaps ask the doctor if there's something you can be prescribed? Sorry I haven't read all of the messages so I don't know if you've tried this already. You can also ask to be referred to a dermatologist.

Also I now have something which is actually made by a friend who is very much into natural remedies! It's called "Ouchie Cream" and she gives me a little pot of it. I put it on a cotton bud and rub it on the inside of my ears a couple of times a week. I now haven't had to go back to ENT in 6 months + because this natural cream has been such a lifesaver! You may be able to google it and find a recipe to make yourself. Definitely worth a try.

The ENT specialist also told me NOT to use Earex or any of the ear wax things you can buy in pharmacies because it irritates it and makes it worse. He also said not to use anything oil based and to make sure it was water based. Hope this helps x

I get psoriasis in my ears sometimes, I have Betnovate liquid for my scalp and I soak a cotton bud in it and apply it to my ears when it's bad. I appreciate you have eczema instead but a lot of the creams/lotions are the same. I've also found cutting out lactose has helped my symptoms a lot, if I reintroduce it the psoriasis flares up again.

Eczema is miserable. Mine is really bad on my hands at the minute and I'm waiting on a hospital appointment for June where they are talking about putting me on long term systemic treatment or light therapy. I'm on steroid tablets at the moment and it's improving slowly but massively impacts on my everyday life.

It must be awful getting it in your ears, I have no real advise but I sympathise with you, and I hope you get some help.

Heya

I had this for 18 months and it was a nightmare. I'm gonna have a look and see what it was I was prescribed, it worked a dream. X

Just coming here to vote again for Child's Farm. It's definitely worth a go.

You could try Gladskin. It works on the premise of restoring the correct balance of bacteria by attacking staphylococcus.

Sorry, s.aureus specifically.

I'm not in the UK, (I'm a physician in the US), so I'm not totally familiar with your healthcare system, but you absolutely should be followed by a specialist, likely an otolaryngologist (ENT). Given the severity of what you describe, I would be more concerned about otitis externa (inflammation of the ear canal) caused by psoriasis, rather than just eczema. Psoriasis is one of the most common autoimmune conditions, but it can be quite debilitating. There are a number of new systemic treatments on the market, which can greatly reduce symptoms. Seeing an ENT or perhaps a dermatologist or rheumatologist would be essential, especially given the concerns for scarring.

Also, I would strongly consider cleaning up your diet significantly (if you haven't already done so). Pro-inflammatory foods in the diet can worsen almost any autoimmune condition, be it eczema, psoriasis, thyroiditis, etc. Given your suffering, it's definitely worth a try!

I second GenericHamster Both my DD and I suffered from horrendous eczema and it was dairy!

The steroids only treat the synptoms and not the underlying cause. You need to do some homework yourself trying out different things.

Childs Farm moisturiser did absolutely nothing for my (very severe) eczema, all it did was leave me feeling greasy and brought me out in hives. I naively smothered it all over my arms without patch testing first
It works for a lot of people, but I think if you're of an atopic nature anyway, be cautious of anything OTC, always patch test first!

Oh and Fexofenadine antihistamine really helped my allergies/eczema.

You need to be seen by a specialist. Are you on some kind of local Facebook group? My local mums’ group is fantastic at pointing you in the direction of the correct specialist.

I have an auto immune disease and after being fobbed off by the GP repeatedly just phoned up the local private hospital and they made an appointment with the appropriate specialist. She diagnosed me within 5 minutes and redirected me to her own NHS clinic. Best £150 I ever spent.

I have eczema in my ears and suffered years of ear infections as a consequence.

I went to see an ENT surgeon privately (was about £150) and he suctioned out my ears and prescribed a hefty course of antibiotics, to use steroid drops daily indefinitely and after a shower to use my hairdryer to blow cool air on the lowest power setting into my ears to dry them thoroughly.

That was 10 years ago and I have had 2 ear infections since. I used to have 2 a month.

I appreciate everyone is different and that may just be me but thought I’d share in case.

Hope you can find something that helps for you.

I have psoriasis in my ears and every 2 month had to get them syringed because the loose skin was blocking them up, it was very painful as well as annoying. I started using Betacap for my scalp and the doctor advised me to try it in my ears as well and I haven't had to get them syringed in at least a year

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. I've never suffered with it in my ears but about 20 years ago, when I was in a very high stress job I had it all over my body (literally) and had to be signed off work as it was so bad.

Out of pure desperation (I was told that I may have to move onto steroid injections if it couldn't be brought under control) I tried the following combo which cleared it up within a fortnight:

• no dairy (this is still a trigger for me now)
• no alcohol
• no spicy / acidic foods
• aloe Vera juice
• evening primrose
• propolis pills

At the time I also had to take storing steroid creams and then moisturise profusely which may be tricky given the location for you.

I now also use Dermol cream when I have the odd patch and that works really well.

I'm a real believer that dairy is a common trigger. After mine cleared up I had a nibble of cheese and within an hour I had a patch on my hand.

Good luck and I hope you find something that helps.