Dh has horrible hand eczema and it's making him depressed.

[nearlyfourbob]

Dh has spent nearly 3 year being the one who bathes ds who needs lots of creams. He has developed an allergy to ds's creams and his hands are an absolute mess - I didn't even realise how bad because he has got good at hiding them. They are cracked, peeling, pink and infected.

Of course all the creams that could treat the infection are in the same base as ds's creams and actually make things worse. The whole situation is pretty awful for him, especially missing out on bathing ds which was always his thing.

But it's got to the point that his emotional suffering is worse than his hands. He is short, snappy, rude and very hard to live with. But that is better than his other mood which is brooding, negative and like the whole world is against him.

I went to our GP today and told him this because dh is going tomorrow and probably would just talk about his hands and say everything else is fine.

It's beyond gloves.

aveeno is supposed to be very good for excema and I think it's all natural. I think alot of the stuff from the doctors aren't very natural and some contain lanolin which can cause iritation. If you got him some cotton gloves for him to wear in bed he could smoother his hands in cream, put on the gloves and hopefully that would help. Not very 'manly' for him though, but if it helps then surely it's worth it? Keeping them moisturised in the day as well would ease the cracks.

Stress doesn't help excema either but it's abit of a vicious circle - you get stressed becuase of the excema, then it gets worse.

What about some of the cream that pupuce used to advocate on here - Ella/Elena somebody? Hope someone else can remember.

He's got aveeno which is actually not all that "natural" really apart from the oat bit (aluminium anyone?) He does use it during the day.

He has those cotton gloves from the chemist for night time and to stop him picking at his skin during the day. He did not respond well to gentle teasing from his mum and dad, blood relations are great for that aren't they.

The only thing that kills the frequent infections is medical strength manuka honey under waterproof dressings. But how do you keep a whole hand bandaged in a waterproof dressing.

He explained to his manager today that he couldn't work with money (they take it in turns to be cashiers) and so had to show him his hands. I've asked him to call the Occupational health and safety manager for his company to discuss how he can have greasy hands and use a computer!

I know what you mean sue and we have some (for ds).

Aha, I'll look here and if it's not available I'm in Melbourne next week. The manuka honey is working - so it makes sense to stick with it, but this would also moisturise and is non greasy. Looks good.

Have a lovely time in Melbourne. Are you taking DS to Scienceworks? DD loved it - she was 4yo wehn we went. We took the train out there - a bit of a walk from the station iirc - and the boat back to Southbank.

Could you get your DH some of those gloves like hairdressers use - the filmy ones rather than latex since iirc your ds is latex-allergic? Your DH could then put manuka on, then filmy gloves then cotton gloves?

Or would the filmy ones make his hands sweat too much and create other problems?

is it definately eczema? This sounds exactly like my dh and he has been diagnosed with dermatitus. He has to wear cotton gloves to bed and by the end of the day his hands can be red and weeping. It is an awful thing to have and when it is particuarly bad he cannot carry bags or get them wet and they itch to distraction.

He is currently trying organic apple cider vinegar as this is supposed to help.

I also know a friend who went for accupuncture and it completely cleared it up so I am trying to persaude dh to try this too.

Whatever gets diagnosed I hope he gets something that helps as it is a horrible thing to live with.

Sorry to be thick but do you put on the vinegar or drink it?

Dh is a bit hopeless as he got his prescription filled for a cream he already has 3 tubes of! Thank goodness we have medical insurance.

I'm not sure if he mentioned his mood to the Dr. I only saw him briefly when he got back.

just a thought, could it be infected?
impetigo looks like excema but a bugger to get rid of, would need antibiotics and antifungle cream for that.

It is very infected and he now has antibiotics and another appointment with the consultant. Hopefully that will give him some hope over the next week and his mood will pick up. He really is being a miserable git.

I didnt explain the cider vinegar very well did I. you do both, you dilute it and bathe your hand in it, but also drink it. dh's have got better but he was using steriod cream at the same time so hard to tell what worked but I guess if your desperate anything is worth trying.

I will try to find the website he got the info from - he did some searches on things like homeopathy treatment for dermatitus and came up with that.

here it is, but there are lots of other sites offeirng low cost traditional remedies which might be worth trying. earth clinic

Antibiotics are working on infection and he is using hard core steroids with bandages to zap the rash. We will explore more natural maintenance options once he has got on top of the problem.

He's now been prescribed some scary tablets that cause birth defects. And he can't drink for 4 months!

OMG, this was me not long ago!!! I eventually got mine under control using antibiotics, topical steroids and wearing cotton gloves with latex gloves over the top near enough all the time (I had an allergy test for latex and was fine with it). I had allergy testing under a private consultant and she also prescribed me some ichthammol (SP?) which is a thick zinc based paste that I would spread on at night, put my gloves over the top and go to sleep. Somehow it helped to heal the sores and then the steroids could get to work during the day on the eczema. My feet were also the same and they got to a point where I couldn't walk, I had to crawl around the house because I was in agony. Some days I just sat on the sofa all day with a supply of food and drink and just dragged myself to the toilet when I was depsperate. I cannot tell you how awful it was and how often I just sobbed and sobbed. They are now so much better, partly I think because I had food intolerence testing and have since cut out dairy. Lots of people say it's a waste of money but for me it has helped. I am now very careful, I bath my ds wearing gloves and I never let his creams near me. I have changed the way I live, I suppose, and it's not ideal but when it got to the point that I couldn't physically pick up my own child and my hands bled each time I moved them something had to change!
I just want you to know that it will get better, and that now I don't need my steroids but I apply an emolliant constantly and keep regular appointments with the consultant just to keep on top of things. Oh, and also, I went to a podiatrist (I went everywhere, I tried everything!) and he told me that he had never in his professional life seen feet as badly infected as mine, the consultant told me I was lucky to not be in hospital and on a drip it was so bad and she gasped when I showed her the first time. It did take time but now I have hands and feet that work and the only eczema I have left is in my nails (which are awful and peeling off, but it doesn't hurt and that's the main thing!!!)
Sorry this is a really long post, but I just want you to know there are others out there who have been there and come through it and it will get better for your poor dh, I really feel for him. Eczema is kind of laughed off as nothing much, but when you have it so bad that it changes the way you live it can be so very depressing. It's trial and error with lotions and potions but eventually it will improve (it took nearly a year for me but I saw improvement and then it got worse and then from it's very worst it was 4 months and ongoing) LOL x

Has he considered Traditional Chinese Medicine? It's great for eczema. My DH suffered from eczema as a boy, then it came back as an adult around the time our DS1 was born (DS1 nearly died in labour, it was very stressful).

He had dreadful eczema on his heels and ankles for about a year before he tried TCM and within a couple of months his skin was so much better - and has stayed better.

sorry to butt in, but was your eczema dishydrosis gingermonkey?

I've had this for the last couple of years (only affects hands and feet) and it's bloody awful, although I don't suffer as badly as you did (yet)

dermatitis is another word for eczema.

Traditional chinese herbal remedies often have lots of steroids in them.

He needs to see a dermatology specialist, fourbob. This sounds terrible. (Icthamol paste was also extremely calming for my dd's eczema.)

But it seemed to us that unlike conventional steroids (you use them for a while, the eczema goes away, you stop, it comes back) the great thing about TCM was that it did provide a permanent cure.

DH had to brew up some foul-smelling herbal concoction and drink it, and bathe his eczema with it. Tbh I don't think I could have done it, but it was very effective, and nearly six years later he's not suffering any dreaful after-effects.

take your point, dinosaur. I understand people just want something that works for them. Just think better to have steroids medically monitored and be very clear about what exactly you are using.

Well, only making a suggestion.