Reactions to emollients for eczema

[Suzy55]

Hello there,
Just wondering how long you should persevere with a new emollient for? I've tried so many, but seem to react to them all. Been using Double Base Flare Relief for 10 days, but it makes the eczema patches on my arms redder after application, and itchier. DO I just have to persevere - will things get redder before they get better (usually I don't persevere this long to know whether this is the case) or is it time to yet again try something new?!! Also has anyone had eczema and just let it dry out and then used nothing at all?
Many thanks.

The baby scented one

Oh dear!

What about the water, does it improve if you go away? Some people react to the minerals in their water.

I use those mineral wash balls and no shampoo products at all. It's much better, but I still get tiny scattered blisters popping up. I can't work out if it's heat, hayfever or stress.

Hi @picklemewalnuts what’s a mineral wash ball?

Hello rottiemum88 no I avoid SLS in everything I use

It's a plastic egg (in my case a sock with a knot because the dog chewed the ball) with beads of various minerals.

Look up 'ecoegg'. That's the concept. I haven't used laundry detergent in years. I'll occasionally rub a bar of soap on a mark before throwing it in the wash.

Mind, I'm not washing baby bibs with spag Bol drizzled down them mind.

Hmmm interesting. The thing is, though, if minerals in tap water are irritating (which I gather they are) won’t the minerals in the egg be irritating too? X

Honestly, I was getting to the point where I was blaming the water too! I’ve attached a picture of the lotion I use. I did a bit of research online before I settled on this one. It’s brilliant.

I looked up Aveeno - it looks like it contains paraffin? I do think it would be worth trying something that doesn’t contain it.

Re: your other question, Protopic ointment (tacrolimus) is a topical immunosuppressant, in that it weakens the skin's defense (immune) system, thereby decreasing the allergic reaction and relieving the eczema. It does come with its own risks though, so it’s not a miracle solution. However, it can be a useful line of attack if the topical steroids aren’t working (or your skin has started reacting to them too!)

It's different minerals- they soften the water, lowering the ph.

Apparently hard water is too alkaline. Ecoeggs or similar make the water slightly more acidic which is similar to the skin's natural ph.

That won't help with showering etc- you'd need a water softener.

That's assuming the water is the problem.

Op so sorry just seen your question. Its called aveeno moisturising cream with active colloidal oatmeal for dry and sensitive skin.

I found Aveeno made things worse and I didn't get on well with Doublebase.

I found diprobase or hydromol the best but the thing that ultimately cleared up my eczema is something called Dermalex which horrifically expensive and not available on prescription.

Sounds like you are having an allergic reaction to the doublebase if it is going red

Look for things without cetearyl alcohol, cetostearate, stearyl alcohol. Vaseline as pp suggests would be good but sticky. Eucerin lotion is what I use on my body, sometimes mixed with diprobase ointment. Note ointment, not cream.

I'm currently trying them all, E45 - no, Dermol 500 - no, Sudocream - no, Childs farm - tried the original one - no , I've now got, but no yet ,tried the unfragranced one. I've just got the Avenno one for eczema and that seems ok, however most things take a few days before they make me go back to sore and itchy. For me at the moment it's around my eyes, and in and behind my ears.

Hi all, I hope you don't mind if I iask another question ... if your skin has red blotches and then you put emollient on and can literally see the redness fading away in front of your eyes, but then it reddens again in a couple of minutes, what does this suggest? a good emollient to persevere with...? Andif it's dry - but not red - when you wake up, but then you put emollient on and it reddens, is this normal? ie when you emollient dry eczema blotches is it normal for the emollient to bring out the redness? I'm going to do another steroid blast of 5 days or so as Ii think I'm under-using for fear of red skin syndrome - apparently its only if you use strong steroids every single day for many months that this could happen, and using for two or three days every so often is fine? Anyone got experience of this? And how often is it ok to do a 5-7 day blast? Also, have any of you done 'weekend therapy'? Sorry for all these questions, but this menopausal skin thing is driving me nuts!

Have you tried Dream Cream from Lush? I was very sceptical but it has done wonders for my eczema. I’m 28 and have had eczema my whole life (was always told I’d grow out of it but it isn’t looking good!). I think I have tried everything available and Dream Cream is the only thing that has kept my arms from being red and flaky, and also calms the horrendous itch! A lot of the reviews are also really positive, so might be worth a try. In relation to steroids, I would take a guess and say I do a 5-7 day course around once a month, however I will definitely use it for a day or two more frequently to try and stop a slight flare up becoming a major flare up! I will say that my worst area are my hands where the skin is thicker, however I use it about as frequently on my arms as well, and have done since I was only a few months old. I know it’s not ideal but it’s the only alternative to cracked and painful skin!

Thanks @Han789 for taking the time to recommend dream cream. I’m interested to know which others you’d tried, and if they made you redder on application? My arms are like blotchy marble when it flares - normal skin interspersed with red so I wonder if it’s more likely to be contact dermatitis and I’m caught in a vicious cycle as my skin didn’t used to be dry - just sensitive, but I’m in the yucky menopause! Isn’t dream cream scented? I’m not good with fragrance. I’ve just started some avene Atopic dermatitis cream which has amazing reviews and on first application did not sting and I’m holding out hopes it will be good but I’m increasingly tempted to try using nothing - no steroid or emollient,like I used to before the menopause itch began - and see what happens. I worry so much about steroids as everytime I do an internet search I come upon one of those scary sensationalist true life stories with terrifying pictures of topical steroid withdrawal! And so probably I underuse doing bits and pieces here and there when I should just go for it! It’s so frustrating. I’m living in fingerless gloves and sleeved clothes!

I don't have it myself but both my daughter's do. Older one growing out of it but my little ones skin is a mess just now. Recently tried epaderm which didn't work and am now on Averno which seems just as bad. As you say it seems to get worse when I put any cream on and I don't know if I'm giving up too quickly or I should persevere? Might go back to child's farm again, it doesn't make it better but at least her skin doesn't seem so fiery while it's on.

The steroids clear it but it comes right back as soon as they stop!

@Ristar I never had it before but during the menopause... whoah. I went back to child’s farm last week after trying numerous more expensive stuff because at least it doesn’t sting - but although it didn’t hurt it was making things redder. which is why i stopped the first time. Yesterday I bought Avenue xeracalm which is specifically for atopic dermatitis etc and is sterile with no preservatives. It’s pretty expensive but at this stage.... I just want my old skin back! It doesn’t sting either. I’m going to try and persevere but am sorely tempted once I’ve calmed with eumovate (which always works) to use nothing except avene cleansing oil and see what happens. It has cost a fortune tbh! I try and use up stuff I don’t like on my legs, which are ok, but have thrown a lot away.

I'm glad to hear child's farm doesn't sting, hopefully it's the same for my littlest one. She's only a baby so can't even tell me which ones feel worse. I think I'm going to give up on the Averno and go back to child's farm yet again. We use the one with the duck on it.

Might try dream cream next, I've heard a few people talk about that one.

@Ristar Childs Farm is VERY gentle and does soothe (also I would recommend the child's farm suncream which is very good, and their body wash. I also just got their hand wash, which is new, and that is very good too). I think after a while (and without any steroids) some of the ingredients in the moisturiser can - like all these emollients - lead to drying ultimately though. I use the unfragranced, though am now using only Avene. I couldn't tolerate Aveeno either. It's very frustrating as the makers of eumovate used to do a non-steroid version called eumobase and then eumocream, which was fantastic and had no nasties, but they stopped making it. I've seen many people lamenting this. I can't find the same ingredients in any other emollient. nb I just put an ice pack with material around it on my arm, and the redness and heat faded in front of me! The greek translation of eczema is 'boil over' so I think keeping cool is soooo essential. I've read so much about all this stuff in an effort to get to the bottom of things!

I’ve just paid a bit more attention than usual when putting some cream on there, and I did notice that the redness did go away immediately on application. When I looked back after about half an hour, there was some more redness. I’ve accepted after all these years that my skin will never be ‘normal’ and so I tend to look towards treating the dryness and the itching, as that causes me the most bother but I can certainly relate to the red blotches. I do get on fairly well with doublebase, however never had the same results as I’ve had with other things I’ve purchased. I also use dermol as a soap substitute when I have a bad flare up which does seem to help. I do quite like the Aveeno that others have mentioned (the one with the green top) and I also got on really really well with Kiehl’s Creme de Corps, which I got as a gift and gave it a try and it really really soothes the itch, although is fairly pricey. I’m at the stage where I’ll give anything a bash! I tend to stay away from having baths as I find it dries my skin out hugely, however my sister (it’s a family curse it seems!) has had great results having a bath with Westlab Dead Sea salts. I’ve used it a few times and I do think it is helping and have found that after the bath my skin isn’t a red mess as it would usually be, and she has had amazing results. I understand what you mean about steroid withdrawal but I would try not to worry, as I said it’s been 28 years and I haven’t experienced anything horrendous!

If the steroid cream calms it down, then it seems like an allergic reaction. Washing powder? House dust mite?

I think you should go back to your GP or ask for a dermatology referral. I don’t think you should continue to use anything that irritates your skin.

Personally I had a reaction to a product which led to contact dermatitis, I don’t generally suffer with eczema so I know my experience isn’t the exact same as yours. But my dermatologist prescribed Dermol to wash with, and eumovate as an emollient/itching relief. I wasn’t allowed to use anything else in the area at all (like shower gel, moisturiser/lotions, deodorant, sunscreen, perfume etc.) Literally only those 2 products alone as anything else may have irritated it.

This might sound odd but have you tried bepanthen ointment? Someone recommended it to me on here, it’s quite emollient and soothing.

@Mygoodlygodlingtons yes I had tests done and dust mites was high up but I have wooden floors and I bought a new bed and mattress and special zip up protectors from J Lewis. So I can't do much more about dust mites. Washing wise I use surcare - v little - and I do an extra rinse. Also it only comes up on my arms (when no clothes on), neck (where there are no clothes), hands (no clothes - and they are v bad), and sometimes legs. So yes it could be dust mite. But this is a new thing for me - last 9 months or so. I guess it's possible that the menopause has just made me less tolerant of house dust mites, and that if I'd had tests before, I'd have always been allergic, it's just now because of the dryness caused by menopause, my body won't tolerate it..

@Mnhealth202020 eumovate is a steroid. maybe you mean eumobase - I don't know how long ago you are talking about, but unfortunately that isn't made anymore :-( I used to use it occasionally for my hands, and it was great.