To give up and shave my head

[happyjanuary1]

I have severe Eczema which has seriously kicked off since March.

My skin burns constantly, bright red, very very dry, gets infected. I have to wet wrap it in bandages, wear cotton gloves 24/7, can only wear cotton clothes. My soap, shampoo, hand wash is all prescription.

I have tried everything from bathing in oats, hypnotherapy, every cream going, light therapy etc and its no better.

The latest addition is on my scalp and my neck is awful. To the point i can't turn my neck without it cracking and bleeding.

My hair irritates it so i constantly tie it in a bun on top of my head. When applying cream it gets in my hair at the top of my neck causing knots which take me ages to get out even immediately after. I have to wash my hair over the bath so the shampoo doesn't run down my body etc.

I'm so fed up with it all and I just want to give up and shave it off WIBU to just do it. Problem is I feel very ugly as my face is also covered and I look horrific so I don't think adding being nearly bald to that will be a look for me.

Aww poor you, sounds painful. Have you tried giving up dairy for 6 months or had an allergy test?

Now’s the time to try it if you want to shave your head. By the time we are out of lockdown it’ll have grown out enough to get it styled into a pixie cut at the hairdresser.

Don't shave your head
The growing phase will itch
Cut your hair short though
Feeling ugly is a vanity, worry about your health first, then your looks
Use raw, pure coconut oil, warm in from of the heater or window sill, not on a direct heat source - see how that works

Once travel is allowed go to a hot country with your coconut oil and the combination will hopefully heal you

Don't pick at it

Clean your diet up

No alcohol, no smoking, no junk food,no crisps, squash etc

Water mostly

Cut out tea and coffee - go decaf

Don't eat white carbs

Don't eat carbs at night

Eat live yogurt in the morning

It's your diet and lifestyle that is causing this most likely

Thank you @PrankedByLife for your suggestion but feeling ugly isn't vain, this has a huge effect on my mental health which is also important.

I have tried coconut oil for months on end and it made no difference. A holiday would be fab though haha.

I have tried countless diets and plans. I don't eat dairy or gluten and follow a plan created by my dermatologist and nutritionist. I don't drink or smoke etc. I have had this since I was born so as you can imagine there isnt much i haven't tried!

No advice op but this sounds pretty miserable to deal with so

Aww this sounds awful I hope you find a solution soon.

If you think it would help, go for it, although I would probably go very short rather than completely bald. It's winter so you could easily get away with wearing a nice woolly hat/headscarf or similar if it wouldn't irritate your skin.

On the few occasions I've ventured out recently, everyone has been totally wrapped up so I've no clue about their hair or lack thereof. I actually like the shaved head look, but if you don't think you can pull it off well, it's the best time of year to disguise it...

You need to get a referral from gp to immunilogist for allergy testing. Don't let them fob you off

I'd ask for a referral to a derm, I know they now use things like methotrexate for eczema that's severe.

Sounds awful, I have discoid eczema on my neck. It gets worse in winter and much better in sunlight. I keep it under control with occasional steroid cream when it’s very bad, but I’ve found a combination of zinc cream and Aveeno skin relief cream to be really helpful. Coconut oil doesn’t help, actually I think it’s counterproductive. I’m sure mine is triggered by stress and hormones cycles but do try the skin relief cream if you can, I’ve tried so so many products and spent a fortune, but this has helped me.

Shaving your head sounds drastic, and it’s bound to get itchy.

You need to get an appointment with a dermatologist as @TwirlingTwizzler suggests.
My husband has severe eczema and the last two years have been tough with light therapy etc and he is now on his second round of methotrexate.

I understand worrying about your looks because in 2011 I lost the front of my hair & my scalp had sore areas that leaked & bled all due to epilepsy meds.
It was awful.

I changed meds & but it's only this year that my hair has started to look thicker at the front.

I wouldn't shave your head as you may really regret it once you have done it.

I would find some pretty silk scarves & wrap your head & bun with a silk scarf; silk can be quite cooling as well as doing the job of keeping your hair off your sore areas.

I used to wear scarves & bandanas on my hair to hide the front. (As well as wigs but they irritate). Only one man commented & apologised when I confronted him.

Hi you tried sulphur soap? It's available on Amazon. My dp had similar problems and tried loads of stuff unsuccessfully. He found the sulphur soap quite helpful as the prescription stuff was no good for him. He also uses exorex shampoo / face wash. It's white with pale blue writing on it. It's not perfect but certainly a lot better.

@PrankedByLife

Don't shave your head The growing phase will itch Cut your hair short though Feeling ugly is a vanity, worry about your health first, then your looks Use raw, pure coconut oil, warm in from of the heater or window sill, not on a direct heat source - see how that works

Once travel is allowed go to a hot country with your coconut oil and the combination will hopefully heal you

Don't pick at it

Clean your diet up

No alcohol, no smoking, no junk food,no crisps, squash etc

Water mostly

Cut out tea and coffee - go decaf

Don't eat white carbs

Don't eat carbs at night

Eat live yogurt in the morning

It's your diet and lifestyle that is causing this most likely

God that was all a bit patronising. You realise that people have terrible eczema from birth, doubt that's down to diet. If only the doctors new that rubbing a bit of coconut oil into it would cure it 🙄

I don't blame you at all OP. My dp suffers terribly with psoriasis. He ised to have it really bad through his head and round his ears. The would be constantly split and bleeding and he scratched them in his sleep which didn't help because they never got a chance to heal over. One day it just cleared up around his head and ears. He still gets it on certain parts of his body and it can be pretty bad, but his head has been clear for a couple of years now. No real explanation for it. Hopefully the same will happen for you at some point.

Op have you tried probiotics? Proper ones not yakult?

Gut health is really important and I found it really helpful dealing with skin problems

My husband has suffered for many years with psoriasis on his scalp and neck. He tried many different things, but shaving his head is the only thing that has really helped.

He was incredibly self conscious at first because the psoriasis was very obvious and would often be very flaky and shed. He normally tried hiding it, so shaving seemed counterproductive but nothing else was working so was worth a try. He hasn't looked back since.

It sounds as though you have the same type of extreme eczema as my nephew. He has also been afflicted from birth and it’s distressing him too. His specialist has said he is allergic to his own skin and put him on immune suppressants. It has made a difference and given him a measure of relief, but as you can imagine it’s not ideal and comes with its own risks.

So sorry you're suffering so much. Husband and youngest daughter have severe eczema and the lack of regular dermatology appointments has exacerbated our child's. She's miserable, sore and tired.

Husband had a breakthrough couple of year ago when he decided to try immune suppressants prescribed and monitored by his consultant. They've changed his life. Unfortunately the pandemic has meant he's needed to come off them as they put him at more risk of complications if he gets the virus. But it's definitely something to consider in the future if you haven't already.

When my daughters scalp and neck are sore we've been prescribed beta cap, had some good results with it.

Husband keeps his head shaved but it drives him mad when it's growing back so I'd stick to the bun if I was you.

Best of luck x

Oh another thing, last time we couldn't get our daughters neck eczema under control we insisted on a swab being taken as I had a feeling it was possibly infected. Turned out to be a fungal infection so needed different creams x

So sorry to hear how much its getting you down OP. Maybe you should go for it if you think it might help. If it does improve it, then you'll feel more confident, shaved head or not.

I hate that feeling of trying to weigh up what is best for you physically against what is best emotionally, and just feeling overwhelmed by the relentlessness of ill health. Sometimes change is what we need to feel empowered. Do you think a head scarf would aggravate it on the days you didn't feel confident enough to show of the shaved head?

I really feel for you. DH has terrible eczema and I never really understood what severe eczema was before us meeting. Stress effects his eczema the most and he has had a few nasty flare ups this winter. He has recently found that bathing in salt water helps and we have bought one of those sun lamps.

@Xmassprout
You’re husband might have already tried it but I have scalp psoriasis and I was recommend the body shop ginger shampoo and conditioner, it’s the only thing that helps. I’ve tried all the px stuff to no avail but the ginger stuff seems to stop the itch

Oh sweetheart! Eczema is horrible - I've had it my whole life although it has gradually got better and I haven't suffered like you are with it for quite some time, but the horror really stays with you. It's the worst feeling and I am so sorry that it's like this right now. As per usual, you're getting a lot of advice about diet and basic things, but I'm sure you have tried everything most people can think of and more, and unsolicited health advice is a side effect of having a visible skin condition. (Personally dupixent and tacrolimus have been great for me, but everyone's skin is so different).

But I don't believe for one second that you're ugly. One of the worst things about eczema is how it makes you feel - when my skin flares I feel bad that people have to look at me, which is totally mad! But that combined with the pain you're dealing with, I can only imagine how tough it is.

If you want to shave your head, go for it. As someone else said, it might be a bit itchy growing back in so maybe clippers would be the thing to try? It also might help keep your scalp a bit cooler. Good luck, and lots of hugs!

Please don’t Shave your hair off !
Ring your G.P and tell them how serious it has got I think a referral and maybe like the others have suggested u may need a course of methotrexate that should help clear it up
Shaving your head is just gunna make u feel worse in the long run ( I cut my hair into a short pixie in October it needed to come off ) deeply regret it but I had to do it xxx

‘Feeling ugly is vanity’😲no it absolutely isn’t. Are we living in Victorian England?

Feeling ugly is soul destroying. I only have sympathy. I would cut it short but not shave it off.

Have you been referred to the top bod? It doesn’t sound like it’s being managed very well. There’s a guy somewhere in the U.K. who says eczema partly about vulnerability to streptachocci (sp) and gives anti biotics as part of his treatment. He’s really really famous. Let me Google him x

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow Dr Aron?

Here

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/05/daughter-eczema-dr-aron