How do you manage your adult eczema?

[Lsquiggles]

I've had eczema ever since I was a baby and now at the age of 24 I've still not found anything that helps long term. My skin is constantly so dry and itchy no matter what I use. I've tried every steroid cream and moisturiser from the GP as well as off the shelf creams and nothing has really helped apart from eumovate cream which I run out of so quick because I have so much eczema to apply the cream to on my body. I've spent my whole life hidig my body and feeling like I look disgusting. I have 2 holidays coming up this year and I'm dreading showing any skin at all. Please tell me you've found a miracle that I haven't tried?

I have suffered with eczema on and off all my life. It's mostly under control but I get flare ups on my neck now and then. Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream sorts it out for me - stops the itching and redness and calms it right down. I only have mild outbreaks but it works for me

It's sooo fickle. What works for one persons won't always work for another. Central heating triggers mine. Steroid creams, buy soap off a local bee lady, aveeno and sun beds sort mine out. Was told off someone soap is really bad for eczema but it works for me 🤷🏾‍♀️ I know sun beds are awful but a few minutes over a week seems to work magic

Mine is definitely worse at this time of year. I moisturize with Eucerin original healing and also take fish oils everyday. I've recently cut out rubbish from my diet to see if it helps. I try to drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep. I've had it all my life, it flares when I'm stressed which is not ideal!

Immunosuppressants.
That’s all that’s worked for me.
GPs are often clueless about eczema. Can you get a referral to a dermatologist?

Go dairy and soya free

Try Hydranure cream

Echo Wolfie.

After years of steroid creams and tablets I’m now with a fantastic consultant and taking immunosuppressants.

Atopic, lifelong eczema (as opposed to temporary dermatitis that is a reaction to something external) isn’t a skin condition. It’s an immune system condition and needs to be treated as one.

That’s why no amount of aloe Vera, organic creams etc will really work on atopic eczema.

A proper consultant will also arrange a blood test for allergies which is worth having.

I really sympathise, severe eczema can be really debilitating. Even with meds I’ll never be able to go swimming, can’t stay in the sun too long etc.

And don’t cut anything out of your diet without proper allergy testing first.

Sunshine/sunbeds. Oilatum or dermal 600 in the bath, baths every day (they say not that often because they are drying but it's the only thing that stops me itching). Then emollient twice a day- doublebase or similar. Cotton pyjamas, soft fabrics, sensitive shampoo, washing powder etc. Steroid cream occasionally when I need it. Oh & stopped shaving legs etc, epilate instead. It's been under control for 10 years+ now (I am 39). Feel for you

Following this- sadly I have no tips.

I’ve had eczema for as long as I can remember. I’ve tried every cream, every home remedy. I’ve tried sunbeds and cutting out dairy. I even went fully plant based in the hope it might help. It never stops itching. It’s only on my legs but makes me so self conscious I never have my legs out anymore which makes hot summer days a nightmare. My sister had the same, in the exact same place weirdly. She stopped shaving and moisturised for months, every single day and one day it was just gone... sadly, I haven’t been as lucky.

Mine is mild but the only thing that keeps it at bay is top to toe layer of Johnson's baby oil after I've washed and still in the shower. Then a light towel dry. Not great for my towels and you've got to be careful not to cover the bathroom with it. A little goes a long way. If I skip a day, I immediately get patches. Works better than anything I was ever prescribed. Hope you find something effective.

Is there anything that you're allergic to or did you decided to cut out dairy?

So sorry to hear Op, eczema is horrible and what works for one won’t always work for others. Central heating and staph are the biggest culprits for my flare ups.

I used to have severe eczema which would weep like crazy (sign of staph)
Medical literature has shown atopic dermatitis severity is correlated with higher levels of staphylococcus aureus on the skin.

I used advancis medical actilite (manuka honey) dressings on my weepy eczema patches, and would wear them whilst sleeping to prevent from me from further scratching in my sleep. Really helped decrease the staph and inflammation, and then my skin was much more responsive to other typical treatments such as ointments / steroid creams.

I also discussed using the manuka dressings with my dermatologist who said it was fine. The dressings I used had sterile manuka honey and are suitable for diabetic foot ulcers - again plenty of medical literature to say it’s great for healing stubborn skin infections.

Since reducing the staph on my skin, I haven’t had a severe weeping flare up at all. Now it’s just like having dry skin - more manageable
I shower daily with lukewarm water, use Cerave cream (has ceramides) after on my damp skin to seal the moisture in.

However as I said before can’t guarantee it will work for everyone but worth a try if you have similar type of weeping eczema

Good resource for eczema sufferers:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cebd/resources/eczema-systematic-reviews.aspx

Have you looked into intermittent fasting? Some researchers believe that eczema is caused by poor gut health. An effect of "leaky gut" when carbs aren't broken down in the gut as usual and hang around. A combination of intermittent fasting, low carb and probiotics/prebiotics might be worth a try.

@DianaT1969 I’d be interested to know which researchers these are?

Not saying I don’t believe you but just think we should be slightly cautious when it comes to leaky gut theories as it can be a slippery slope to quackery.

There is limited medical evidence to suggest pre/probiotics may be helpful but I think it’s mainly for younger children or pregnant women

@msrobot - when you Google "medical study Intermittent fasting and ezcemza" or "skin and intermittent fasting" a couple of articles on ncbi come up and an article in The Telegraph from 2019 with comments from medical professionals.
I don't have any skin in the game. I don't have eczema and have only seen anecdotal comments about improvements in my IF Facebook groups. There are certainly lots of people who report improvements in inflammatory conditions, and I can attest to that myself, as my plantar fascitis disappeared and a rash caused by hormones/stress.
I think it's worth exploring. It doesn't cost anything and there isn't anything in it for people on FB groups to lie about their health improvements. Nobody makes money from fasting, so there's little, if any research.
Dr Jason Fung is likely to have written something on the gut and inflammation connection.

Oh that’s fair enough, thanks @DianaT1969

Protopic.

I have it in my ears which makes it hard to use too many creams etc - probiotics make a huge difference. Not very scientific but if I don’t take them it gradually worsens to the cracking/weeping/bleeding stage and when do I take them it settles down, looks and feels much better, although it is still itchy. I would say it’s worth a try.

I had to change my soap powder and try cut out as much sugary rubbish as I could.

I used to be reliant on eumovate and now I just have my zerobase pump ,I went through a phase of having to use that at least 3 x a day, head to toe coverage.

Only my hands bother me just now but excessive hand washing and anti bac gels are unavoidable just now.

Keeping skin moisturised, when it is bad moisturising every hour for a free days. I find she’s butter works best. I prefer it to the paraffin- based prescription ones.

Vitamin D was a game changer. Saw a locum doctor a few years ago instead of my usual doctor and he realised I had a vitamin d deficiency so I get as much sun as I can and take supplements now. It helps deal with inflammation. If you can get a blood test (you might have to go private) then do. Also as soon as travel opens up go on holiday somewhere hot! You wouldn’t know I had eczema now whereas before I was head to toe. Vitamin D is anti inflammatory and people in UK are often deficient.

The other thing that helped massively was therapy. If you’d asked me Id have said I was fine and happy, but actually I was sad and anxious but in denial. I spent a lot of time coming to terms with my emotions and if I do have a patch flare up now, I can relate it back to an emotional trigger and then take steps to address it. Sounds really odd, but if works. Happy to explain more if that helps, but stress causes inflammation so anything you can do to reduce that helps.

I’ve also started intermittent fasting like PP and noticing an improvement in inflammation. (Asthma and sinus problems improving and my skin is really clear). It’s early days for me but seeing such good results is making me carry on. I started for weight loss, but it has so many other benefits I didn’t realise. There’s a podcast by Gin Stephens and Melanie Avalon that is really good on this.

*Shea butter