Summer was really good. Had many days out in the sun in shorts and t-shirts to make the eczema hide away.
I dread the Winter's short days and the heating. The eczema curse has come out of hiding and now sits in my arms, on my neck and behind my neck. Am amazed at the dry spots that continually plague me at the moment. And my naughty fingers seem to find them and scratch them. At times all I long for is a nice ice block room to numb the itching.
So what is different? I have not been taking any vit D or omega oils for such a long time that I think I need to go back on them and see if that helps. Running marathons has been good, for on those days I am warm enough to put on shorts and t-shirts and be bathed in some winter sun. On those days, my skin can return to being calm. Is it the sun or is the sweat?
Hmm perhaps it is both. The sun for vit D to help skin repair and the sweat to help remove the toxins from poor eating habits at times (you'd think I'd learn).
I need to treat myself more like a plant - need to water myself to stay moisturised inside and sun myself to produce vit D to aid skin repair.
Ok I've written it, now to begin taking the suppliments to see if there is any difference. Will let you know in 6 weeks time.
Thursday 22 December 2011
Friday 7 October 2011
How to Help Eczema Sufferers
Those that have friends/family/partners (let's call them the "aiders") who suffer from eczema watch the eczema sufferer with concern. Sometimes they slap our hands to stop us from scratching because they want to help. This does not help!
Why We Have Become Apathetic Sufferers
Everyone has a story of someone who has been cured by using some cream, taken some medicine, etc, etc, etc. I have tried Indian remedies, Chinese medicines and loads of Western medicines and I am sure my story has been repeated with many other eczema sufferers. So after a time when a friend, family, partner tells the eczema sufferer "why don't you try xyz remedy" the eczema sufferer can appear stupefied because we have tried so many things and sometimes made the eczema worst. It seems we (eczema sufferers) are like a dog with fleas.....we like a good scratch, but really we have become apathetic. Why? - because we read and are told by doctors that atopic eczema is not curable. The doctors will try to reduce the symptoms so that the skin can have a chance to heal, but it is up to us eczema sufferers to manage the symptoms.
We live in societies now where doctors will look up the medicines they should prescribe to us that will heal us, and the pharmaceutical companies of course need us to be sick in order to keep selling products to us. Okay so I am a little cynical, but I have used so many useless expensive prescriptions that never really relieved the symptoms. So the exceptional eczema sufferer will learn to manage the symptoms so that they are always on top of the problem.
As I told a friend, if you can't be bothered to change your lifestyle and you want to continue using "crap" then expect your skin's well being to continue to suffer. If you really care about your family and friends, then start loving yourself and start a blog or a diary so that you can begin to become aware of what factors are affecting you. The doctor's solutions tend to be short term solutions and I don't know of any chronic eczema sufferer who has been healed by a doctor's prescription.
OK so I've waffled on and you do care about an eczema sufferer. What can you do to help?
STOP NAGGING ME TO STOP SCRATCHING
Personally I dislike people nagging me to stop scratching. It actually made me focus on scratching more. Perhaps this is the voice of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) . Tell a person/child not to do something and they will most likely do the action you've been negative about. If you really want to help the sufferer, give their hands and minds a distraction, such as to help you carry something, to write a letter to someone, try talking about something of interest, hold my hands to pray. Anything, but please do not tell any of us to stop scratching.
GIVE ME A HUG (except make sure you're not wearing a woolly jumper when you do so or wearing strong smelling perfumes)
Yes I like hugs because it often provides a "positive" emotion and it is difficult to scratch when you give a good hug.
GIVE ME ICY COLD THINGS
An eczema sufferer's skin becomes hot as we scratch. The hotter it becomes the more itchy the skin feels and can make us feel like we would like to gouge out our skin....and sadly and regrettable sometimes we do. An ice cold towel helps to relieve the heat a little but please take it away if we begin to use the towel to scratch our skin! Otherwise peas are pretty good.
A CLEAN ROOM WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED
When I've been away my partner vacuums my bed and room, ensuring I have fresh sheets to sleep on and a clean room to walk into. Skin droppings create dust and dust mites get a good feed. Airing sheets out to remove the skin crumbs really does help an eczema sufferer to have a less itchy night.
At the end of the day, if an eczema sufferer really wants a long term solution they need to really want a long term solution and that means as M.J used to sing "If you want to make your world a better a place, take a look at yourself and make a change" (Man in the Mirror)
Good luck aiders :-)
Why We Have Become Apathetic Sufferers
Everyone has a story of someone who has been cured by using some cream, taken some medicine, etc, etc, etc. I have tried Indian remedies, Chinese medicines and loads of Western medicines and I am sure my story has been repeated with many other eczema sufferers. So after a time when a friend, family, partner tells the eczema sufferer "why don't you try xyz remedy" the eczema sufferer can appear stupefied because we have tried so many things and sometimes made the eczema worst. It seems we (eczema sufferers) are like a dog with fleas.....we like a good scratch, but really we have become apathetic. Why? - because we read and are told by doctors that atopic eczema is not curable. The doctors will try to reduce the symptoms so that the skin can have a chance to heal, but it is up to us eczema sufferers to manage the symptoms.
We live in societies now where doctors will look up the medicines they should prescribe to us that will heal us, and the pharmaceutical companies of course need us to be sick in order to keep selling products to us. Okay so I am a little cynical, but I have used so many useless expensive prescriptions that never really relieved the symptoms. So the exceptional eczema sufferer will learn to manage the symptoms so that they are always on top of the problem.
As I told a friend, if you can't be bothered to change your lifestyle and you want to continue using "crap" then expect your skin's well being to continue to suffer. If you really care about your family and friends, then start loving yourself and start a blog or a diary so that you can begin to become aware of what factors are affecting you. The doctor's solutions tend to be short term solutions and I don't know of any chronic eczema sufferer who has been healed by a doctor's prescription.
OK so I've waffled on and you do care about an eczema sufferer. What can you do to help?
STOP NAGGING ME TO STOP SCRATCHING
Personally I dislike people nagging me to stop scratching. It actually made me focus on scratching more. Perhaps this is the voice of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) . Tell a person/child not to do something and they will most likely do the action you've been negative about. If you really want to help the sufferer, give their hands and minds a distraction, such as to help you carry something, to write a letter to someone, try talking about something of interest, hold my hands to pray. Anything, but please do not tell any of us to stop scratching.
GIVE ME A HUG (except make sure you're not wearing a woolly jumper when you do so or wearing strong smelling perfumes)
Yes I like hugs because it often provides a "positive" emotion and it is difficult to scratch when you give a good hug.
GIVE ME ICY COLD THINGS
An eczema sufferer's skin becomes hot as we scratch. The hotter it becomes the more itchy the skin feels and can make us feel like we would like to gouge out our skin....and sadly and regrettable sometimes we do. An ice cold towel helps to relieve the heat a little but please take it away if we begin to use the towel to scratch our skin! Otherwise peas are pretty good.
A CLEAN ROOM WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED
When I've been away my partner vacuums my bed and room, ensuring I have fresh sheets to sleep on and a clean room to walk into. Skin droppings create dust and dust mites get a good feed. Airing sheets out to remove the skin crumbs really does help an eczema sufferer to have a less itchy night.
At the end of the day, if an eczema sufferer really wants a long term solution they need to really want a long term solution and that means as M.J used to sing "If you want to make your world a better a place, take a look at yourself and make a change" (Man in the Mirror)
Good luck aiders :-)
Moisturising Plan
First of all I want to thank all the commenters and those who have encouraged. It has been a while since I last blogged about my skin. Work and marathons have been ruling my life but am now taking a 2 month break.
I also had a short change of scenery.......and my skin conditions improved. Now I could say that it was the heat, but I think it was also because I rested a whole lot more! (remember the healing hormones that are manufactured when you are in a state of rest).
Moisturising on the Outside
I am no longer using prescribed creams and emollients and instead using shop brands. Don't really want to say what brands they are as what works for me may not necessarily work for you. However I am using the creams that our "older" generation use and have found them better moisturisers (as well as cheaper than my prescribed emollients!). This was quite by accident as I borrowed some moisturing cream from my mother and my skin loved it!
Moisturising on the Inside
I am doing my best to drink at least 1 litre of water a day. I find it hard as I hate the urgency of having to continually go to toilet. But my body needs to get used to taking in more water so that it can moisturise on the inside.
...And so onwards to Winter
Eczema skin is prone to drying out quickly and when I am more relaxed about my moisturising regime, my skin develops dry spots that flare up and then turns into eczema.
My skin is so much better than when I first started this blog, however back working and doing long hours, the itchy cycle haunts me, tries to suck me back into the scratch world. Am relearning that if my skin tingles when I touch it, then I must find something to do to keep my hands occupied. I need to learn to really "want" good skin all the time and not when it begins to return to being itchy, wrinkled and scaly. I need to be proactive and to anticipate that the Winter season is coming into town and thus need to care for my skin's moisturising needs even more than in Summer.
Now to keep my moisturising in check both inside and out!
I also had a short change of scenery.......and my skin conditions improved. Now I could say that it was the heat, but I think it was also because I rested a whole lot more! (remember the healing hormones that are manufactured when you are in a state of rest).
Moisturising on the Outside
I am no longer using prescribed creams and emollients and instead using shop brands. Don't really want to say what brands they are as what works for me may not necessarily work for you. However I am using the creams that our "older" generation use and have found them better moisturisers (as well as cheaper than my prescribed emollients!). This was quite by accident as I borrowed some moisturing cream from my mother and my skin loved it!
Moisturising on the Inside
I am doing my best to drink at least 1 litre of water a day. I find it hard as I hate the urgency of having to continually go to toilet. But my body needs to get used to taking in more water so that it can moisturise on the inside.
...And so onwards to Winter
Eczema skin is prone to drying out quickly and when I am more relaxed about my moisturising regime, my skin develops dry spots that flare up and then turns into eczema.
My skin is so much better than when I first started this blog, however back working and doing long hours, the itchy cycle haunts me, tries to suck me back into the scratch world. Am relearning that if my skin tingles when I touch it, then I must find something to do to keep my hands occupied. I need to learn to really "want" good skin all the time and not when it begins to return to being itchy, wrinkled and scaly. I need to be proactive and to anticipate that the Winter season is coming into town and thus need to care for my skin's moisturising needs even more than in Summer.
Now to keep my moisturising in check both inside and out!
Friday 24 June 2011
Creeping Back In
Life is continuous and ever changing and I am not always going to have good sleep :-(
So some months ago, the vulnerable parts of the skin became a little itchy (the normal eczema parts - inside elbow, inside knee and knee) and so I scratched a little.
When I was tired, had work to do
When I was tired, had to drive to somewhere
When I was tired, had to get over jetlag
When I was tired, had distractions - like the phone rang
And when tiredness hit thought I'd just have a quick sneeky scratch.
Of course it would only be for a short time, so I would fool myself.
But really when one is tired a short time is a long enough time to begin the damage
And really I should just go to bed.
Now some months on, I got back into bad "going to bed" habits and skin has got worst.
Have to go to bed before midnight so that early mornings feel better and skin will feel rested.
Guess that is the same for all you readers ;-)
Good night
So some months ago, the vulnerable parts of the skin became a little itchy (the normal eczema parts - inside elbow, inside knee and knee) and so I scratched a little.
When I was tired, had work to do
When I was tired, had to drive to somewhere
When I was tired, had to get over jetlag
When I was tired, had distractions - like the phone rang
And when tiredness hit thought I'd just have a quick sneeky scratch.
Of course it would only be for a short time, so I would fool myself.
But really when one is tired a short time is a long enough time to begin the damage
And really I should just go to bed.
Now some months on, I got back into bad "going to bed" habits and skin has got worst.
Have to go to bed before midnight so that early mornings feel better and skin will feel rested.
Guess that is the same for all you readers ;-)
Good night
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Controlling Eczema So the Skin Heals
I'm not sure why people keep asking me how to control the itch at night unless what I am writing is not clear.
3 years ago 90% of my body was covered in eczema. I tried a book about controlling eczema by keeping hands occupied, using a counter and using steroid creams (think it is called the Eczema Solution). Found it never worked for me due to the intensity of the itching and the length of time for the itching to pass. Instead I got tired hands from clicking the stupid counter so much and then after 1/2 an hour of clicking, I had a good long scratch!
I threw the book away and went on a journey of self discovery. Today I have a little insignificant eczema (down to about 1-2%) but it is all under control. There are environmental factors that we need to do detective work to understand what is promoting the itch but there are also factors that are overlooked such as the following.
Some things I learned:
1. If say an hour after applying your prescribed moisturising cream/emollient you are itchy, find another emollient. I found having stopped using mine (ran out and the pharmacy didn't have any more) and using something else the itching was not so intense. My creams/emollient never caused my skin to itch immediately and I always thought it was because of the hard water area that am in that caused the itchiness. I was wrong! This has to be sorted first (assuming you already have a nearly dust free environment)
2. When the skin has been badly damaged - continually and constantly moisturise. At one point during the day, this was every 15-30 mins and every time I woke up at night (about 4-5 times from scratching). You will be able to reduce the moisturising when the skin returns to a better condition. I now moisturise with a regular cosmetic cream 2 times a day.
3. Sleep is REALLY important. 2 hormones are manufactured and released into our bodies when our bodies are in a state of rest that help infections and skin damage to heal. I used to sleep on average between 4-6 hours. I now get a more regular 8 hour beauty sleep most of the time. My skin feels rested when I have had a good sleep. I used to knock myself out with antihistamines as well as daily shake out and vacuum all bedding and surrounds to stop those nasty dust mites infesting my bed. I have reduced the "room cleaning" to about 3 times a week and still daily sun out my bedding. Click here to see my research on the sleep hormones.
4. Drink more water. I used to survive on a 2-3 mugs of water a day. I now drink at least a litre and also drink a little more before playing sport. My sweat rarely causes me to itch anymore when playing sport.
5. Sunlight has helped my skin to heal from the scratch damage but so has taking a small dosage of vit D3 thru winter. This is not any vit D. D3 is the vitamin that is produced when our skins are exposed to sunlight and again is used in cell repair. However beware about over dosing on vit D. The best for me is going out for a run and getting some natural rays.
Timings:
- time it took me to begin feeling less itchy results - days that turned into weeks
- time it took my skin to feel smooth - 1-2 months
- time it took my skin to look normal - 4-5 months
Conclusion:
Sorting moisturisers/sleep/water hydration are the top 3 changes that I would recommend to everyone who suffers from Eczema. After that environmental factors and any food sensitivities will become more obvious and anything you thought was causing it may have just been coincidental.
We can't rid our bodies of eczema and I do get symptoms appearing every now and then but I now know with certainty that we can control the source of it. The only thing that the docs can help you with are the symptoms but these are NOT long term solutions. If you do not sort out what is causing you to itch, be warned that the doctors' solutions are just temporary.
Hope this helps someone here because my skin is so much more normal than it has been for nearly 30 years of my life and you don't have to read my book to get it sorted! err no I have not written a book - just a blog :-).
3 years ago 90% of my body was covered in eczema. I tried a book about controlling eczema by keeping hands occupied, using a counter and using steroid creams (think it is called the Eczema Solution). Found it never worked for me due to the intensity of the itching and the length of time for the itching to pass. Instead I got tired hands from clicking the stupid counter so much and then after 1/2 an hour of clicking, I had a good long scratch!
I threw the book away and went on a journey of self discovery. Today I have a little insignificant eczema (down to about 1-2%) but it is all under control. There are environmental factors that we need to do detective work to understand what is promoting the itch but there are also factors that are overlooked such as the following.
Some things I learned:
1. If say an hour after applying your prescribed moisturising cream/emollient you are itchy, find another emollient. I found having stopped using mine (ran out and the pharmacy didn't have any more) and using something else the itching was not so intense. My creams/emollient never caused my skin to itch immediately and I always thought it was because of the hard water area that am in that caused the itchiness. I was wrong! This has to be sorted first (assuming you already have a nearly dust free environment)
2. When the skin has been badly damaged - continually and constantly moisturise. At one point during the day, this was every 15-30 mins and every time I woke up at night (about 4-5 times from scratching). You will be able to reduce the moisturising when the skin returns to a better condition. I now moisturise with a regular cosmetic cream 2 times a day.
3. Sleep is REALLY important. 2 hormones are manufactured and released into our bodies when our bodies are in a state of rest that help infections and skin damage to heal. I used to sleep on average between 4-6 hours. I now get a more regular 8 hour beauty sleep most of the time. My skin feels rested when I have had a good sleep. I used to knock myself out with antihistamines as well as daily shake out and vacuum all bedding and surrounds to stop those nasty dust mites infesting my bed. I have reduced the "room cleaning" to about 3 times a week and still daily sun out my bedding. Click here to see my research on the sleep hormones.
4. Drink more water. I used to survive on a 2-3 mugs of water a day. I now drink at least a litre and also drink a little more before playing sport. My sweat rarely causes me to itch anymore when playing sport.
5. Sunlight has helped my skin to heal from the scratch damage but so has taking a small dosage of vit D3 thru winter. This is not any vit D. D3 is the vitamin that is produced when our skins are exposed to sunlight and again is used in cell repair. However beware about over dosing on vit D. The best for me is going out for a run and getting some natural rays.
Timings:
- time it took me to begin feeling less itchy results - days that turned into weeks
- time it took my skin to feel smooth - 1-2 months
- time it took my skin to look normal - 4-5 months
Conclusion:
Sorting moisturisers/sleep/water hydration are the top 3 changes that I would recommend to everyone who suffers from Eczema. After that environmental factors and any food sensitivities will become more obvious and anything you thought was causing it may have just been coincidental.
We can't rid our bodies of eczema and I do get symptoms appearing every now and then but I now know with certainty that we can control the source of it. The only thing that the docs can help you with are the symptoms but these are NOT long term solutions. If you do not sort out what is causing you to itch, be warned that the doctors' solutions are just temporary.
Hope this helps someone here because my skin is so much more normal than it has been for nearly 30 years of my life and you don't have to read my book to get it sorted! err no I have not written a book - just a blog :-).
Sensitive to Having Prolonged Wet Skin
I did a marathon and the weather was awful that day. It drizzled, rained, splattered down the whole day.
I thought since my skin was pretty good it would be resilient. It was not and after an hour of water chucking down on me, the prolonged damp skin began to itch.
I thought it would subside, so I ignored it. After 5 miles (about an hour) the nagging slowly intensifying itch was too much for me to ignore and soon I began to rub the skin. Yep, I was soon scratching the skin.
After another hour I decided to put a rain coat on and dry my skin with a spare pair of dry cotton trousers I had in my backpack I was running with. I also wrapped my arms in the trousers.
This seemed to have a soothing effect. With my arms covered and my neck and body now staying drier, the itching could lessen and I could therefore control the scratching temptation.
Unfortunately I was a little slow to have done anything about the scratch damage I did on the inner part of my elbows and neck. I was raw and sore after.
2 weeks later the skin has looked a little better. My inner elbows, historically arms being the worst hit with eczema will take a little longer to get back to normal but they are certainly recovering.
I thought since my skin was pretty good it would be resilient. It was not and after an hour of water chucking down on me, the prolonged damp skin began to itch.
I thought it would subside, so I ignored it. After 5 miles (about an hour) the nagging slowly intensifying itch was too much for me to ignore and soon I began to rub the skin. Yep, I was soon scratching the skin.
After another hour I decided to put a rain coat on and dry my skin with a spare pair of dry cotton trousers I had in my backpack I was running with. I also wrapped my arms in the trousers.
This seemed to have a soothing effect. With my arms covered and my neck and body now staying drier, the itching could lessen and I could therefore control the scratching temptation.
Unfortunately I was a little slow to have done anything about the scratch damage I did on the inner part of my elbows and neck. I was raw and sore after.
2 weeks later the skin has looked a little better. My inner elbows, historically arms being the worst hit with eczema will take a little longer to get back to normal but they are certainly recovering.
Sunday 6 February 2011
How To: Get Rid of Eczema?
From what I have experienced so far.....sorry but you can't if you've had it well into your adult life!
We have a condition that we need to be respect. Some lucky kids "grow" out of it but those of us who have the conditions well into our adult life will need to live with it and be aware of the environments we are in.
BUT - I do know we can reduce the symptoms so that our skin becomes better, heals, and the "things" we are sensitive to become lessened. The rash continually tries to re-occur with me, but I'm much more in control now. I've stopped using the Epaderm and using a regular cream. I don't really want to mention the brand because it has NOTHING to do with the brand.
Clear Skin
In 2009, I almost cleared my skin of eczema. I had clear skin over the majority of my body. I had lived with eczema and I had allowed it to take control for over 25 years! In 2006 I was so miserable with the constant itching day and night and allowed it to take over 80% of my body. What did I do to clear it at that point?
- Took cold showers all summer
- Changed my emollient to Epaderm
- Ate fresh organic salad from my garden all summer + fish + beetroot + avocados
- Learnt to sleep more and drink more water
- Took 1/2 an anti-histamines at night to reduce the itching
- Moisturised all day and all night long (about 6 times during the day and whenever I woke up during the night - which was about 4-5 times)
- Twice weekly changed my bedding and vacuumed my room a lot
- Daily I shook out my sheets outside and let my bedsheets air out
I had tried using a stronger cortisone called fucibet but realistically this was just a temporary relief. In fact what it did was to make my skin thinner and easier to break the next time my skin felt itchy. I also had stopped using it after contracting shingles.
Eczema Back Again
In March 2010, I had not realised that the eczema had snuck back up on me and again my body was ravaged with eczema. In March I had returned to an old emollient as I had run out of Epaderm but figured it wouldn't matter returning to the Emulsifying Ointment the docs had once prescribed to me. I had not realised it had been making me itchy as I did not itch immediately, it might have been say an hour after application.
About June/July I realised that the Emulsifying Ointment was causing me a problem as I ran out of it and tried to get some more from the pharmacy but they also had run out, however they did have Epaderm in stock. Again for the first time, I found I did not itch as much. I have stopped using Emulsifying Ointment forever. From that day I had to rid my body of the toxin.
Jan 2011, I have finally got control back and have a little still on the inner elbows and small patch niggling on my neck. What did I do this time?
- All the above except for sleep
Due to work stresses - I was back in my old habits of not sleeping. Sleep is such a powerful healer that many of us neglect due to also scratching at night and therefore don't want to sleep. I took a holiday in the sunshine and did less work for a month! Managed to turn the condition around. I have recently found that my skin is now a little sensitive to Epaderm so have used it much less. In fact I have read some other eczema sufferers who have turned around their eczema do not use any emollients that are petroleum based. So I will now see if that rationale will work with me. If it does not return with a vengence at all this year, I will know that it is under control for a long time.
So how do you reduce eczema?
- Detective work, observing what you are sensitive to.
- Do not accept feeling itchy constantly. Something in your environment is causing you to itch. Mine was my moisturising plan the doc had prescribed to me. My body also does not like clothing that have not been worn for a long time or has got dusty.
- Moisturise like crazy with the right products to help reduce the dryness and thus the itch.
- Cold showers are the best as they do not dry out your skin like hot water showers/baths.
- Keep your sleeping environment clean/dust free - get a better vacuum cleaner.
- Keep handy anti-histamines for whenever you have an itch attack and the hives are popping up (I had one on holiday) but do not consume lots of anthistamines otherwise your body will get used to the chemical and it becomes ineffective. I will use it at most for 3 days during a month.
- Get some sun on your skin.
- Sleep! I now have a regular dose of about 8 hours, an increase from my 4-6 hours.
Keep believing you can have much more normal skin, because I have managed to nearly get there.
We have a condition that we need to be respect. Some lucky kids "grow" out of it but those of us who have the conditions well into our adult life will need to live with it and be aware of the environments we are in.
BUT - I do know we can reduce the symptoms so that our skin becomes better, heals, and the "things" we are sensitive to become lessened. The rash continually tries to re-occur with me, but I'm much more in control now. I've stopped using the Epaderm and using a regular cream. I don't really want to mention the brand because it has NOTHING to do with the brand.
Clear Skin
In 2009, I almost cleared my skin of eczema. I had clear skin over the majority of my body. I had lived with eczema and I had allowed it to take control for over 25 years! In 2006 I was so miserable with the constant itching day and night and allowed it to take over 80% of my body. What did I do to clear it at that point?
- Took cold showers all summer
- Changed my emollient to Epaderm
- Ate fresh organic salad from my garden all summer + fish + beetroot + avocados
- Learnt to sleep more and drink more water
- Took 1/2 an anti-histamines at night to reduce the itching
- Moisturised all day and all night long (about 6 times during the day and whenever I woke up during the night - which was about 4-5 times)
- Twice weekly changed my bedding and vacuumed my room a lot
- Daily I shook out my sheets outside and let my bedsheets air out
I had tried using a stronger cortisone called fucibet but realistically this was just a temporary relief. In fact what it did was to make my skin thinner and easier to break the next time my skin felt itchy. I also had stopped using it after contracting shingles.
Eczema Back Again
In March 2010, I had not realised that the eczema had snuck back up on me and again my body was ravaged with eczema. In March I had returned to an old emollient as I had run out of Epaderm but figured it wouldn't matter returning to the Emulsifying Ointment the docs had once prescribed to me. I had not realised it had been making me itchy as I did not itch immediately, it might have been say an hour after application.
About June/July I realised that the Emulsifying Ointment was causing me a problem as I ran out of it and tried to get some more from the pharmacy but they also had run out, however they did have Epaderm in stock. Again for the first time, I found I did not itch as much. I have stopped using Emulsifying Ointment forever. From that day I had to rid my body of the toxin.
Jan 2011, I have finally got control back and have a little still on the inner elbows and small patch niggling on my neck. What did I do this time?
- All the above except for sleep
Due to work stresses - I was back in my old habits of not sleeping. Sleep is such a powerful healer that many of us neglect due to also scratching at night and therefore don't want to sleep. I took a holiday in the sunshine and did less work for a month! Managed to turn the condition around. I have recently found that my skin is now a little sensitive to Epaderm so have used it much less. In fact I have read some other eczema sufferers who have turned around their eczema do not use any emollients that are petroleum based. So I will now see if that rationale will work with me. If it does not return with a vengence at all this year, I will know that it is under control for a long time.
So how do you reduce eczema?
- Detective work, observing what you are sensitive to.
- Do not accept feeling itchy constantly. Something in your environment is causing you to itch. Mine was my moisturising plan the doc had prescribed to me. My body also does not like clothing that have not been worn for a long time or has got dusty.
- Moisturise like crazy with the right products to help reduce the dryness and thus the itch.
- Cold showers are the best as they do not dry out your skin like hot water showers/baths.
- Keep your sleeping environment clean/dust free - get a better vacuum cleaner.
- Keep handy anti-histamines for whenever you have an itch attack and the hives are popping up (I had one on holiday) but do not consume lots of anthistamines otherwise your body will get used to the chemical and it becomes ineffective. I will use it at most for 3 days during a month.
- Get some sun on your skin.
- Sleep! I now have a regular dose of about 8 hours, an increase from my 4-6 hours.
Keep believing you can have much more normal skin, because I have managed to nearly get there.
Thursday 27 January 2011
To The Person Who Posted A Comment on My Blog 22nd Jan
Apologies, I meant to publish your comment and respond. I somehow hit the delete button although was pretty sure I hit the "Publish" button. Okay so now I dither on uncertainty and wonder if it is something to do with Blogger.
Anyway back to the commenter and from what I remember of your comment. I have a couple of questions for you
- Where do you live?
- How would you rate the healthiness of your diet and your surroundings?
I also would like to remind you that I am not a doctor and that my comments are from my long experience with eczema.
Stuff What The World Thinks!
Yes eczema looks wrinkly when we have been scratching our skins excessively and we look older because of it. My skin was bad and I could have been depressed and hidden my skin but I am also very "thick skinned". I also believe we are all too self conscious about how we look due to media focus and what is beautiful and therefore we are all far more self critical than what is reality.
Here is my reasoning. Fit people who look well and healthy and do a lot of running, tell me they they are fat. Either they have been looking at themselves in their "fat" mirror or they found they could not fit into an old skirt or I have such bad eye sight that I cannot see the roll of fat they imagine they have. I thus knew that although I thought my skin looked bad, it was probably not as bad to others and if it was, I was happy to explain what I was suffering from which I did sometimes when my skin was busy falling off my face or I was having a bad itch attack and trying to remove the skin off my body.
What About Those Who Are Important?
It sucks that you've suffered from eczema since a wee baby. However now that you are older, I can understand that you will be more sensitive to passing remarks but these are from ignorant people who perhaps are not important.
Does exposing your skin to sunlight help your skin? It certainly does for me, so my attitude is:
My condition is not contagious and I have every right to expose my skin as the next person. They don't own the space I am in! So on go the shorts and t-shirts for me. In my mirror, my skin looks wrinkly and parts are scarred but as I move away from the mirror and the further I get from it, my skin looks okay.
So I don't bother to look in the mirror otherwise so that I cannot be so judgemental on myself and we are so much harsher when our critical eyes are on ourselves.
Physically my body shape is okay although I have a little "noise" from my skin but overall compared with many others, it is okay and I am thick skinned! I have found most people I have met have been sympathetic to my symptoms.
Visualisation
When my skin was bad all over my body and everytime I started to get down about it, I focused on the good bits, the smooth bits and when there where no smooth bits I kept my mind mentally occupied and thought of happy thoughts or prayed and read my bible and reading what the prophets went thru, my condition is a speck in the ocean. I believe when we allow ourselves to be emotionally down about ourselves, that will affect the chemicals that are released within our body. Just as a lack of sleep will also affect our ability to heal.
Sporting Help
Sport really has helped me, although at one time everytime I sweat the itching was insane. But after sport, the itching calmed down and I would not itch for at least one night. I have now discovered that as long as I have rehydrated enough the day before and before the time I play sport, the itching is mostly not there or bare-able. It has been weird to find I am not trying to dig my skin off my neck, arms, torso and legs whilst doing sport.
Being Aware
My skin is constantly finicky about what it likes and does not like. If I find I am constantly itching now, I look for the environmental factor first such as the cream I have put on or the soap I have used rather than simply blaming it on food. Having stopped some of the emollients I was using that were prescribed to me, and that were once okay I thought, my skin condition has improved so much. Now a days my friends have been remarking how good my skin looks.
I still get eczema rash wanting to grab a hold of an area of skin and I now keep calm about it and try to cool it down. I still get dry patches of skin and thus have to be more attentive to those areas.
Apologies if I have not answered all your questions as I do not remember the exact content of your comment. If I have not answered everything and you have found my post useful, then please do comment again.
All the best to you and hope you regain the confidence you have lost.
Anyway back to the commenter and from what I remember of your comment. I have a couple of questions for you
- Where do you live?
- How would you rate the healthiness of your diet and your surroundings?
I also would like to remind you that I am not a doctor and that my comments are from my long experience with eczema.
Stuff What The World Thinks!
Yes eczema looks wrinkly when we have been scratching our skins excessively and we look older because of it. My skin was bad and I could have been depressed and hidden my skin but I am also very "thick skinned". I also believe we are all too self conscious about how we look due to media focus and what is beautiful and therefore we are all far more self critical than what is reality.
Here is my reasoning. Fit people who look well and healthy and do a lot of running, tell me they they are fat. Either they have been looking at themselves in their "fat" mirror or they found they could not fit into an old skirt or I have such bad eye sight that I cannot see the roll of fat they imagine they have. I thus knew that although I thought my skin looked bad, it was probably not as bad to others and if it was, I was happy to explain what I was suffering from which I did sometimes when my skin was busy falling off my face or I was having a bad itch attack and trying to remove the skin off my body.
What About Those Who Are Important?
It sucks that you've suffered from eczema since a wee baby. However now that you are older, I can understand that you will be more sensitive to passing remarks but these are from ignorant people who perhaps are not important.
Does exposing your skin to sunlight help your skin? It certainly does for me, so my attitude is:
My condition is not contagious and I have every right to expose my skin as the next person. They don't own the space I am in! So on go the shorts and t-shirts for me. In my mirror, my skin looks wrinkly and parts are scarred but as I move away from the mirror and the further I get from it, my skin looks okay.
So I don't bother to look in the mirror otherwise so that I cannot be so judgemental on myself and we are so much harsher when our critical eyes are on ourselves.
Physically my body shape is okay although I have a little "noise" from my skin but overall compared with many others, it is okay and I am thick skinned! I have found most people I have met have been sympathetic to my symptoms.
Visualisation
When my skin was bad all over my body and everytime I started to get down about it, I focused on the good bits, the smooth bits and when there where no smooth bits I kept my mind mentally occupied and thought of happy thoughts or prayed and read my bible and reading what the prophets went thru, my condition is a speck in the ocean. I believe when we allow ourselves to be emotionally down about ourselves, that will affect the chemicals that are released within our body. Just as a lack of sleep will also affect our ability to heal.
Sporting Help
Sport really has helped me, although at one time everytime I sweat the itching was insane. But after sport, the itching calmed down and I would not itch for at least one night. I have now discovered that as long as I have rehydrated enough the day before and before the time I play sport, the itching is mostly not there or bare-able. It has been weird to find I am not trying to dig my skin off my neck, arms, torso and legs whilst doing sport.
Being Aware
My skin is constantly finicky about what it likes and does not like. If I find I am constantly itching now, I look for the environmental factor first such as the cream I have put on or the soap I have used rather than simply blaming it on food. Having stopped some of the emollients I was using that were prescribed to me, and that were once okay I thought, my skin condition has improved so much. Now a days my friends have been remarking how good my skin looks.
I still get eczema rash wanting to grab a hold of an area of skin and I now keep calm about it and try to cool it down. I still get dry patches of skin and thus have to be more attentive to those areas.
Apologies if I have not answered all your questions as I do not remember the exact content of your comment. If I have not answered everything and you have found my post useful, then please do comment again.
All the best to you and hope you regain the confidence you have lost.
Saturday 15 January 2011
The Basis For Life
Our planet is energised by the sun and watered by the rain. For the last month my skin has also been given more light and I have drunken at least 2 litres a day. Plus with lots of moisturising and having had better rest, my skin is looking waaaayyyy better. It is feeling smoother.
- Winter suppliments = vit D and vit E
- Moisturisers = a thick cream + a layer of Epiderm smoothed on at the end
- Drinking water = 2 litres per day
- Sleep/rest = at least 6-8 hrs a night
Observed: clothes that I've not worn for sometimes can cause me to itch. Might be to do with dust mites. A rinse off and washing the clothes helps to return clothes to okay wearing :-)
- Winter suppliments = vit D and vit E
- Moisturisers = a thick cream + a layer of Epiderm smoothed on at the end
- Drinking water = 2 litres per day
- Sleep/rest = at least 6-8 hrs a night
Observed: clothes that I've not worn for sometimes can cause me to itch. Might be to do with dust mites. A rinse off and washing the clothes helps to return clothes to okay wearing :-)
Sunday 2 January 2011
Tropical Heat
Those in the tropics are lucky. They can have cold showers. Those in the colder climes find this much harder to do. I certainly do, due to suffering from raynauds condition. Thankfully have been able to enjoy some tropical heat and some skin healing from cold showers and sunshine.
One thing I have not been consistent with is my drinking habits. This year I want to wake up and drink at least 500ml to start the day. I have observed that if I drink enough water the day before and in the morning, any sport I play later does not cause me to itch. I must make drinking more of a habit. I also wonder how many of us eczema sufferers also have swollen tonsils?
One thing I have not been consistent with is my drinking habits. This year I want to wake up and drink at least 500ml to start the day. I have observed that if I drink enough water the day before and in the morning, any sport I play later does not cause me to itch. I must make drinking more of a habit. I also wonder how many of us eczema sufferers also have swollen tonsils?
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