Help please! TRIGGER WARNING-PHOTO ATTACHED

[eczemahelp]

out of nowhere my skin turned to shit. I’ve never had skin problems before, but basically as soon as I became an adult it got awful. Severe eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. I go to dermatology at the hospital for it and have been using steroids which is helping a lot.

my hands are particularly bad. I’ll post a photo of them below mid-flare in case anyone has had similar. I always wear gloves so they’re not exposed to cold or dryness, I moisturise with heavy duty moisturiser and emollient, I never use any soaps or products on my skin- but my hands ares still horrendous and I genuinely don’t know what to do! Just posting in case anyone had has similar to me and has any advice? I’ve tried e45, dip to see, doublebase, Vaseline, sudocreme, working hands, nivea, petroleum jelly, childs farm, barrier cream for chaffed skin, body shop, lush products- nothing helps it apart from strong steroids, and even they don’t take it away 100%. I’m at a loss with what to do and I’m fed up of my hands being agony! When it flares up I can barely move them* *let alone write, work, bend fingers. My hands are basically out of use!

(please nobody suggest dietary changes, eliminating food groups and all the usuals as if that will magically fix it- I’ve tried it all to no avail)

Have you tried manuka honey? On your hands then gloves on overnight. Helped my sister in law. One of my friends used to have a heat lamp that helped ease it a little. He tried alsorts. Often saw him with some cream and cling film. I don’t think that really helped though.
I hope you find something that works.

Can’t see a pic but I have sympathy. My husband has flare ups on his hands and they’re awful. Thankfully it’s settled down for quite a long time now.

Have you had allergy testing? When I was treated it became clear why so many products made things worse for me: I am allergic to propolis (among other things), which means that most products containing beeswax/cera alba are likely to make me react.

I find that when my skin is at its worst, and in the recovery phase afterwards, the best thing to use on it is pure coconut oil.

I hope you find a solution.

I found a Manuka honey instentive moisturiser for extremely dry and sore hands in a pharmacy. After a three weeks of using it my hands were no longer weeping and crusty.

And honey is out for me, too, for the same reason. I can eat it without any problems. It's normally fine in contact with my skin, but the least sensitivity or flare - honey makes it worse.

but basically as soon as I became an adult it got awful.

Hormonal? Do you see any difference across your cycle?

Sorry photos wouldn’t upload but I’ve got them now! This is what it’s like when it flares up. Weirdly it isn’t dry at all, I don’t know why the cuts and cracks start but the skin isn’t dry and cracking open. It just seems to go red, blotchy and burst open.

Bless you, that looks so painful.

Thanks, unfortunately I’ve tried manuka and local honey and neither helped, same with coconut oil which seemed to make it more inflamed if anything.

im getting allergy testing done but it’ll be a while unfortunately, just not sure what it could be because I’m not using anything at all on my skin right now for it to be allergic to!

I know you said not to mention food / diet but a friend of mine found sulphates (unfortunately they're in red wine) really triggered her eczema on her hands, as did stress.

Are you sure it's not some sort of contact allergy? I'm allergic to hybiscus plants and come up on welts all over if one touches my skin. My other skin reactions eg if I get bitten by anything I'll come up in huge multiheaded blisters 2-3 days later, they're very red as well. My boss recently had hands like yours that were caused by organic dish detergent.

I know you're seeing specialists and have probably heard every theory under the sun, but you never know when a new one will be mentioned that ends up helping.

I have flares like that when either my thyroid underactivity worsens or my hand washing OCD flared up. Maybe worth getting your thyroid checked. It’s so sore isn’t it.

Oh, that looks so uncomfortable and frustrating. My brother has a skin condition that is improved but not cured by steroids. He is also seen by a Dermatology Dept. Just to say, not to advise, some other parts of his skin flared up and were getting worse. Turned out these were a different skin condition "fed" by steroids. Hope something works for you.

My advise would be to stop putting anything at all on your skin except the steroid. Use as little as possible product whilst bathing (I use salt in the bath). I have had eczema all my life but it’s been better in the last few years. Occasionally my skin will suddenly react to products I’ve used for months, I then have to cut everything out for a few weeks (even moisturiser).

Oh gosh you poor thing. This looks super painful. I hope you get some answers soon.

My son has skin flare ups, and any of the creams you've mentioned above would make it worse. There's obviously something In moisturisers and thick creams he reacts badly too.

The only thing that has ever helped is the yellow metanium nappy cream. It's like magic and I've no idea why or how. Apply a tiny amount, very thin layer has helped with his skin.

www.metanium.co.uk/our-products/the-yellow-one/

Green cream from Zoe Bee Beauty will sort you out.

Hi OP, fellow eczema sufferer here. Was much worse as a child, but I have flare ups every now and then, often related to stress/during or after a bout of illness. Eating celery is supposed to help some eczema sufferers. I was forced to eating a whole bunch as a child when my mum learnt this and my eczema improved hugely. I know love celery but don’t eat it often but if I have a particularly bad flare up I’ll add it to my diet and it helps. If you’ve already tried this, sorry I’m now help and hopefully others can assist.

Shot in the dark but I had awful flaky itchy skin on my hands for years. Tried lots of steroids which would help for a bit. It finally just completely went away. I think looking back it must have been triggered by the rubber on the push chair (Phil n Teds) because as soon as I stopped using a pushchair with youngest kid it was gone in a few months. Never had it again and I had it for about 6 years..... while my kids were in the buggy.... just an idea...

Yow, that looks so painful. Please don’t use anything from The Body Shop or Lush, I think perfumes etc they put in their products will make things worse.

I hope you find something soon that helps.

Also have you been to any hot countries since having it and if so did it get better or worse or no different?

My son's exzema dissappeared very quickly when we moved to a warmer country from the UK. (It wasn't the reason we went but a fortunate co-incidence). In return I got Rosacea from the heat.... swings and roundabouts I guess.

You poor thing. That looks awful. I'd stay away from. E45. It had lanolin in and makes my excema worse. Its a common allergen.

Agree with this one!

Could it be shampoo?

I suffer badly from eczema OP, and my hands flare up like this from time to time, to the degree that when I bend my fingers they crack and bleed, and are VERY sore. I went to the doctor about it, a couple of years ago, and she gave me Betnovate, which cleared it up on that occasion, she also prescribed Cetraben cream, which I use on hands, face and body, and touch wood, haven't had a bad flare up since. Is this something you've tried?

The only thing that cleared mine up was sunbed use. Not recommended in the slightest by me. My Dr saw how sore mine was and said if I didn’t have a sunny holiday coming up then to go to sunbeds and just put my hands in. I did and after 3 x 10 min sessions it cleared.
poor you, looks so sore OP xxx

Lyonsleaf products all the way