Extremely dry skin

[Meganrose2000]

Hi all, this isn’t about my children for a change lol I just wanted to know what I can use for my skin as it’s so dry and flaky.
I’ve consulted my doctors many times over it and now I’m back to using what they’ve given me in the past which is not helping at all. The dermatologist in the doctors can’t make her mind up if it’s psoriasis or eczema, it first started around 3 years ago after dying my hair dark it made my hands dry, face red and irritated and scalp all flaky. It then progressed to hives, it stopped for a while then using scented body wash kicked it off again. It changed to small blisters on my whole body apart from my face as that only stays dry and flaky as usual lol but now I’m suffering with dry patches on my skin which is so itchy and I’m tearing my skin apart, I’m using dermol as body wash and using that to moisturise as many times as I can throughout the day and of a night it’s hydromol which is like a Vaseline as well as taking antihistamines but every time I’m getting out of the bath I’m covered in red patches which is the dry skin. So far they’ve prescribed me E45, dermol, hydromol, aproderm, a different range of antihistamines, steroid creams and nothing seems to change it. I was wondering if anybody has had this problem before and what helped them. I used to bath every night now it’s once a week I’m even thinking about once every fortnight as it sets it off and I can’t cope with the itchiness anymore I feel ashamed to leave the house with my face being so dry.

This sounds excruciating, I’m so sorry you are going through this. I think I would probably start by drinking more water and taking a few spoonfuls of oil throughout each day, internally, to see if I can lubricate from within. Maybe some olive oil shots.
if you have the budget for vitamin E Capsules, they might help. The mushroom called Tremella encourages the skin to retain moisture. It really depends on your budget: going to a TCM practitioner would offer you a different angle of treatment. I believe they recommend chrysanthemum tea as a moistening drink. I would probably resort to castor oil, it’s very thick, mixed in with more hydrating creams.
I have used Weleda Mallow cream and Hopes relief, in the past, too, both are good.
can you up your vitamin C intake? Get your vitamin D levels tested, too.

Blisters make me think eczema.

l think you need to see another dermatologist. Both your gp and current one are letting you down. Has anyone suggested UV light therapy?

Its spreading because it’s not being treated properly.

l found Balneum emoillient the best. They do Baleneum plus for itchy skin. It’s really thick and heavy.

Do you live in a hard water area, by any chance?

Moo Goo scalp cream is fantastic for edge of hair itchy/ flakiness.

I know someone who had a similar reaction to dark hair dye, she blew up like a balloon,it was awful.

I feel for you, I’ve suffered with eczema my entire life. Yours definitely sounds allergic, have you had patch testing? This was game changing for me because I’d had appalling eczema on my face for which I was prescribed hydrocortisone from when I was a child and it didn’t ever improve. It was so embarrassing because you just can’t really cover up your (bright red, swollen, weeping) face. The patch testing revealed amongst other things that I am allergic to hydrocortisone….
The dermatologist prescribed Protopic for my face and Elocon (Mometasone) for elsewhere and they have really helped.
The more stressed I am, the worse my eczema tends to be. It is crucial to keep really well moisturised, I’m using Alturist 10% at the moment.
Wishing you luck.

Thank you everyone for useful tips and advice I will definitely be giving them all a go!

I will try this thank you, at the moment for my scalp I’m using Nizoral it does a good job but the edges are still bad

No they haven’t offered me the uv light therapy just the same old creams, I feel like it’s going no where I’m currently on a steroid ban too as I’ve been using it for more than a week lol… I was thinking about the tanning beds but it’s a different light to what I actually need so I’ll give that a miss, they won’t send me to a different dermatologist they don’t have a clue what they’re doing

I checked on google it says it’s slightly to moderately hard where I’m living

Could you afford to go private? Or ask your current derm for light therapy? You can ask for a second opinion.

They sound really crap. There are other creams apart from steroids.

It sounds awful. Yoh need to push for better treatment .

Is it worse around your hairline, like the edges of your hair? A GP once told me psoriasis tends to present like that. I've got psoriasis and have had red patches on my hairline half my life. Capasal shampoo helps a bit but never really gets rid of it. Light treatment is good too.

I’d have to look into the prices of it private, If it’s not too pricey I will definitely go for it if not then I’ve seen a few on Amazon that has had good reviews

Yes it is around my hairline but it is not red only when I’m getting out of a bath or shower it will turn red, it’s mainly just flaky skin it’s awful. It spreads like wild fire too the only places it doesn’t go is the palms of my hands & neck. Instead of seeing it in person they just ask me to send photos so they keep changing it from psoriasis to eczema… I’ve never had it before then one day just out broke they told me to get nizoral from the pharmacy it helps the scalp but not the hairline so I will get that and try it out thank you

Oh goodness that’s crazy that you’ve been left in limbo like this.

Are you in England?

Here is some of the images of what it looks like, red patches after getting out of the bath, the dry skin is what the patches look like hours later and then the weird small bumps that had clear liquid in them once squeezed 😖

Yes I’m in England

I have many allergies and suffered for years from flaky scalp. This was solved by using aleppo soap for everything. It is very pure made from olive oil and laurel ash. Itis also ecofriendly and cheap. A bar is expensive but lasts a long time. Do try it.

Have you tried going gluten free? Dairy free? You probably have! I did read that taking digestive enzymes with each meal had a great positive impact on psoriasis, definitely worth a try?

Ok that doesn't look like psoriasis....
I'm not a doctor but in my experience psoriasis tends to stay dry and it looks like flat flakes or scabs in patches on your skin, not round bumpy blisters. You definitely need to see a dermatologist, in person! And maybe an allergist too.

I haven’t actually, I do need to improve my diet since having my little girl in April it’s been terrible

The thing is that it changes so much, it started off as hives looked like nettle rashes then turned to the flat flaky skin then the bumps and now red rashes it’s so weird but I agree on the dermatologist & allergy part, I am allergic to dust as well so I keep on top of my house every day

Have you tried Collagen?
It has worked wonderfully for my dry skin, hives, etc x

No, have you got a link for it? I’m skeptical with buying products as it’s not got much of what it’s advertising in

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChsSEwjh8-y9iKKPAxWHm1AGHS1hAI8YACICCAEQLBoCZGc&co=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4fPsvYiijwMVh5tQBh0tYQCPEAAYASAAEgLUrPD_BwE&sig=AOD64_3C5geQl8JMfKx3o3grnIc7Q22djQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwi_hN-9iKKPAxWzXEEAHRnqN2UQ0Qx6BAgZEAE

That back picture looks like water allergy. Aqua Uticaria?

The blisters look a bit like eczema on your wrist, but more like dust allergy. Why are you doing the cleaning when you have dust allergy. Someone else needs to do it.