To be so upset with my body (picture attached)

[Irritatedbylife]

As per my username.

EVERYTHING is irritating me.

I NEVER used to have problems with any sort of sensitivities or reactions. I could use anything on my skin and eat or do anything I wanted. Within a very short space of time (around the age of 19) I developed all the related conditions like eczema, asthma, psoriasis, and sensitivities/allergies (thankfully not serious or anaphylaxis).

this started out of nowhere and each individual condition is gradually worsening and becoming more debilitating. I can’t use any sort of skin products at all now- I’ve tried everything you can buy OTC as well as a range of steroids. My psoriasis is barely under control and I have patches everywhere and my eczema is horrendous. I also can’t use any cleaning or beauty products at all now without having bad reactions to it on my skin. I’m under a dermatologist at the hospital. Tonight I used a soap once just to get a picture of what happens after one use- this photo is after using a baby friendly soap once which contains no chemicals, perfumes etc. And yet my hands are burnt from it. I haven’t used any products before this for 3 weeks so this is the reaction from using the soap once. I can wear gloves etc but that doesn’t help with the psoriasis, eczema and allergies on the rest of my skin

my asthma is awful- I was having multiple attacks during the night and thankfully now after some strong steroidal treatment it’s under control. But that developed so suddenly and worsened very quickly along with the other problems.

has anyone else experienced this? I never had any problems like this in childhood and it all started and worsened out of the blue. Please nobody say it’s definitely diet etc- it might be for some but it’s not for me. I’ve been under a dietician and tried every elimination diet- fodmap, diary free, gluten free, sugar free, vegan/vegetarian, chemical free, you name it we tried it and it was all to no avail. We’ve established it’s not from my diet.

im just feeling so miserable and fed up about it all

That looks terrible. I know you said you have tried diet, but have you gone back to basics and tried meat only?

liondiet.com/

Hi @Irritatedbylife You say you are being treated by a dermo.
Have you been prescribed some of the newest creams for eczema?
These are immunosuppressants not steroids.

The name is tacrolimus and the brand name is Protopic.

They don't thin the skin like steroids.

They've been around for a few years but GPs can't prescribe.

You can get them from a London hospital as per my friend with similar

Like you I had never been allergic to anything and had very robust skin. A few years ago I suddenly started to develop painful red spots on my right hand, that wept clear fluid and then the whole hand turned an angry red colour and was dry and insanely sore and itchy.

It was constant cycle for about three years and nothing helped.

Then as soon as it arrived it cleared up three years later and my skin is back to its old self.

There are are only two things I can think of that may have triggered it - at the time I was in a very stressful job and my hand got better pretty much weeks after I changed jobs in late 2020. My only other theory is the week before the issue first appeared I had a manicure and the technician was in a rush and accidentally cut in to one of my cuticles and it bled. So maybe a skin or fungal infection from that?

The while thing is a bit of a mystery.

Is it definitely psoriasis? As in, diagnosed by a dermatologist or rheumatologist? If so, you need proper treatment - topical treatment isn't enough on its own. Psoriasis is a systemic auto immune disease, so very different from other skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis. It attacks skin, and sometimes joints and tendons, and can affect internal organs as well. Treatment should be with DMARDS or biologic meds - diet can't fix it, and nor will anything topical, although steroid creams might help symptoms a bit. Sympathies OP - it sucks, it's exhausting and painful, I'd be pushing for a rheumatology referral.

Someone mentioned the lion/carnivore diet - there is growing evidence that going carnivore for a while can really turn around autoimmune conditions, so it might be worth looking into it? Reddit has a carnivore sub that shares and discusses research papers.

I have/had contact dermatitis. Going keto helps reduce it for me. Must be something about carbs and sugar that make me more likely to flare up.

I second trying this, or even carnivore as its worth I try. That looks painful I'm so sorry!

God I am SO sorry, op. If you’ve tried this already then never mind, but there is a book called The Microbiome Diet which is written by a doctor who suggests a range of specific pre and probiotics for various health conditions (as well as a diet). I think you could ignore the diet part, but it could be very worthwhile making a list of the supplements they suggest and spending some money on them and taking them in the order suggested.

I wonder if perhaps something upset your system when all of these conditions popped up? Maybe trying to reset it by supplementing back in the good bacteria could reduce inflammation and reactivity? You could also throw in some fasting too as that reduces inflammation and sets off the ‘repair’ signals in the body.

I really hope you get some relief, this must be rotten for you.

Has your dermatologist mentioned / discussed biologic infusions? I have Crohn's disease and have been on biologics for over 8 years but they are also indicated for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and a whole heap of other inflammatory conditions. They are much more targeted than some of the other immunosuppressants and don't have the mucky side effects of steroids.

Along with my Crohn's, I have asthma, eczema (although not too bad) and an autoimmune condition of the liver. It seems they all come along together and some of us just have rubbish immune systems... Hope you get some answers soon. x

Oh love. I don’t have a solution but I couldn’t read and run. I hope you get it sorted xx

that looks so painful, have you had covid recently , that can affect the skin too ?

I second the anti-inflammation diet

Something is causing it for sure you just need to find out what

Did anything major happen to you when you were 19?

That does look unbelievably sore and irritated, I hope you find some answers. Until December I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate quite how distressing this is. I’m 58 and developed eczema and psoriasis out of the blue about 6 or 7 weeks ago, having never had it before nor any other allergies or hay fever, asthma etc. Firstly it was sore flaky skin around my eyes and my GP did prescribe Protopic.

It helped a little but after a couple of weeks my fingertips started flaking too. The pharmacist in Boots suggested it could be a reaction to the Tacrolimus and a little googling revealed this to be a thing. By now I had eczema outbreaks elsewhere and little scaly patches with a terrible overall itch. An e consult with the GP followed by a face to face appointment resulted in a diagnosis of eczema and Guttate Psoriasis. I was prescribed 3 different steroid creams and a course of Penicillin which I finished last night. Penicillin because Guttate is connected to a strep infection which he felt I must have, although symptomless.

The psoriasis has largely cleared up, most eczema patches are clearing but I still have an intense itch on my torso and my skin feels like sandpaper and my ears and palms are still very sore and flaky. I feel like there must be something underlying but don’t know nearly enough to work out what.

100% the 7 year cycle is real and true but no one seems to know why.

Hi op. My dh has had a lifetime of severe debilitating psoriasis, eczema, allergies and asthma.

He tried everything, diet, steroids, light therapy etc etc. nothing worked.

Until five years ago when his dermatologist changed and the new one suggested methotrexate. He takes this in pill form once a week. It took around 3 months to get his dosage up and to see results. He's now 95% clear skinned, asthma symptoms have drastically reduced and he finally feels like he has a life. He was suicidal before.

Thought I'd drop this in here. Sorry if anyone else has suggested it I didn't read the other comments x

A couple of other suggestions - Salicylate Intolerance, it turns out that many of my random symptoms are / were due to this, including allergy to Aspirin - Some blood pressure / other medications can ramp up minor allergy reactions to produce some pretty interesting issues

Oh my goodness, that looks so so painful.

Sounds like you've tried everything so I have no advice, but sending you 💐

I had a severe eczema auto-immune reaction for nine months after treatment for breast cancer, and sympathise with you completely.

Salt water baths, not too hot, and UVB phototherapy ended up clearing it quickly, but getting dermatology on board took what seemed like forever.

I wish you a quick and successful result. I found Atoderm SOS itch relief spray, the wash oil from the same range, and Balneum Plus the most successful soothing of all the NHS topical creams. Never anything very occlusive, so it ruled out everything based on liquid paraffin. That caused a series of Staph A conditions, but it took a series of courses of antibiotics to find one that worked.

It sounds as if you need to be seen by a specialist allergy clinic, such as the one run by St Thomas' Hospital. Can you ask your dermatologist or GP to refer you?

Allergy UK has a phone and email helpline which may be able to give advice and can give details of your nearest Allergy clinic.

I was thinking mast cell activation too.

I don't have answers, but good luck OP

That's good, this was over 10 years ago but it seriously changed their life for the better.

Recently I found out I have severely low Vitamin D and low B12, so check these out (not routinely done on a bloody test). It didn’t solve everything but my skin was a lot better from Vit D

Low vitamin d affects immunity so really contributes to sensitivities and allergies etc. I suddenly started reacting to everything when mine was very low, however nothing like in the op's picture. @Irritatedbylife I would definitely make sure yours is checked but as part of the other steps you're taking/are recommended here to deal with your symptoms.

Really feel for you - good luck

@Irritatedbylife The photo of your hand looks just like how my hands have looked in the past. So much so that I was thinking have my photos been compromised.
My hands don’t look like it now. My dermatologist actually told me that baby products are very bad for your skin, unlike what we are led to believe, and they were making my hands worse.
The only soap I get on with is Dove soap on my hands. I use Oilatum on my hair and in the bath.
I understand how you feel. The trouble is, it is as painful as it looks.

Vitamin D is so important. A friend of mine was sectioned recently for a psychotic episode and although there were multiple factors the doctors said that one of the most significant was a severe deficiency in vitamin D.