Undereye eczema

[BeatriceAndLottie]

Getting desperate so positing here for traffic - sorry!!

20yo DD has had worsening eczema under one eye for about 6 months. What started off as a slight bit of dryness in the crease underneath her eye is now a massive angry, red and scaly patch. She looks like she’s been punched in the eye to be frank.. Getting increasingly self conscious as she can’t cover it with makeup.

Have tried various different emollients recommended by the GP and nurse friends who work in dermatology (Epaderm, Aveeno, Avéne Cicalfate, Eucerin AtoControl to name a few) but nothing helps. The only thing that works is hydrocortisone cream however this isn’t recommended for under eye use due to various risks. She only uses it when she absolutely has to

Private dermatologist can’t see her for another 6 weeks hence I’m reaching out to MN! Any ideas or experience of this?

Have you tried caneston? Might be thrush rather than eczema

Can you go privately? Are you in London?

Epimax eyelid ointment worked for me after many years of trying every cream on the market.

We’re in NI. Yep, going privately via insurance but even that has waiting lists at the moment! I’ve contacted both of our local private hospitals and the soonest she can be seen is in 6 weeks.

1% hydrocortisone works BUT you need to be very careful and not long term usage
It's often sold as bite & sting relief cream

Tacrolimus. Your daughter can ask her GP for this. It is a topical calcineurin inhibitor and contains no steroids. She could speak to the National Eczema people who Society about it if she’s unsure.

I would use the hydrocortisone for one week every day and then stop and start putting a small amount of Vaseline on in the place it was.

Yep, she’s using it. Trying to avoid doing so but it’s the only thing that works. It’s not recommended for use under the eyes due to the risk of glaucoma and thinning of the delicate skin so she’s being cautious and only putting it on twice a week. Still not ideal though!

@BeatriceAndLottie it does seem to be the only thing that clears it (in my case) I get eczema on my eyelid sometimes

This is what I’d read about - sounds very hopeful. GP won’t prescribe anything other than hydrocortisone though and insists that she needs to see a dermatologist.

50/50 parrafin emollient

Does she use gel polish on her nails? There is a possibility this can cause dermatitis around the eye

Do you have any idea as to what causes it? DD has stopped doing gel nails, gone makeup free etc to try and clear it but no luck.

She took a 6 week break from gels and there was no improvement unfortunately!

I had similar flare up recently - on both eyelids and under my eyes.

My gp prescribed a hydrocortisone ointment to use for 5 days and said if it didn't work to go back as they had other options. It worked great at first, but came back once I stopped using it. So I spoke to gp again and was prescribed a non-stetoid ointment called protopic. As it doesn't contain a steroid you can use it for longer (but not for over a year as very long term use can increase skin cancer risk).

So far it's worked really well. Ive reduced it from twice to once daily, and in another week I'll reduce it to a couple of nights a week for another month or so and then see if I can stop completely.

So I'd say go back to the gp and ask for other treatment options.

Also take pictures so you can show the gp how it changes over time.

I’m currently dealing with the same thing unfortunately, have had eczema for my whole life but developed it around both eyes for the last 6 months or so. I find the La Roche Posay Cicaplast good, and have been using the gel for around the eye (note it does say not to use in the eye contour, I do it anyway but wanted to point that out) and I find a probiotic helps - although not cleared, I find it worsens if I have a break. I have dermatology app next week, can report back if I get any suggestions!

I get this and it is awful. None of the creams from the doctor or pharmacist worked.

In despair I did loads of research online and found recommendations for a cream from Holland and Barrett. It's Dr Organic manuka honey rescue cream or something like that. It smells very strong and you might be alarmed by that (I was - I never use anything with a scent) but it is honestly the best thing I've used. My husband used it too after he had some pre-cancerous marks on his face removed and it really soothed the soreness left behind. Now I use it at the first hint and it clears it up. (But I hate the smell so I only use it at night!)

how long has she been trying hydrocortisone for? I had something called periorbital dermatitis (link with pics attached). It needed 5 visits to the GP to get sorted and diagnosed. Was told to use Aveeno etc and got prescribed hydrocortisone cream (which initially helped but it came back with vengeance). Eventually a GP diagnosed me with periorbital dermatitis. It just needed an antibacterial cream (no hydrocortisone). Just posting in case it's helpful. I looked awful. dermnetnz.org/topics/periocular-dermatitis

Does she use micellar water? Took me ages to realise that was what was making my eye exczema flare

I investigated the same problem @BeatriceAndLottie because DS and I both suffer the same. My trio of suggested possible remedies, in addition to Tacrolimus, were Lothiderm, which is an anti-fungal, and Protopic which is only available on a dermatologist's private prescription.

Off prescription, I have found the Bioderma Atoderma range quite soothing, especially their shower oil and the SOS anti-itch spray, obviously difficult under the eyes. I also have a cream from Beauty Pie called Happy Face which is an "extreme relief cica moisture cream" containing centella asiatica. Balneum Plus is also very soothing but I use it all over my body when I have an eczema flare up.

La Roche Posay make Cicaplast B5 balm, and Topicrem have another cica-based cream. Rather than Vaseline, you could try Homeoplasmine which contains a tiny amount of boric acid as an antiseptic. I have bought everything to try and solve the problem over the years. I feel for your poor DD.

I had a patch of eczema under my eye for months and tried all sorts to get rid of it including those things mentioned by PPs.
But what finally did the trick was good old Sudocrem.

Just checked my health record and it looks like Protopic another name for Tacrolimus that another poster mentioned. Also, whilst I'd describe it as eyelid excema, the gp diagnosis was periorbital dermatitis.

Before I saw the gp, I tried various creams and sudocrem was the best but didn't get rid of it completely and every few days it would flare up worse.

Does she use makeup wipes or cleansing wipes. They caused it for me.

I used to have this and it was allergic dermatitis. Worth seeing if she can get referred for a patch test as the only thing that cured mine was finding out what I was allergic to (nail polish in my case).

@BeatriceAndLottie
I spoke to the National Eczema Society first and they encouraged me to tell my GP that I have spoken to them and done my research. That was what did the trick.