Diary of an Eczema Sufferer

Vitamin D3 + Vitamin E + a good dose of Exercise

2012-01-11T18:34:00.003Z

Vitamins
Since Thursday 22nd December, I have regularly been taking Vitamin D3 and Vitamin E. So after 2.5 weeks, the skin texture does seem to have improved. Itching has lessened and dry spots havenot been appearing as frequently if at all.

If I can bear a luke warm shower, than the skin is certainly calmer than taking a hot shower......
I know, I know.....if you have been following me, you will say I should know better. After all a hot shower strips away the moisture your skin needs to keep. Discipline has been lacking.

Exercise
Yes - the sweat has again been bothering me. After giving away my water bottles on an expedition, have been drinking about two cups a day, which is hardly drinking. But it feels like my sweat is kicking out whatever garbage I've been eating over Christmas and it does leave me with an itch free night. I have taken 1/2 an antihistamine before sport which does seem to ensure (maybe it might be psychological) I am less itchy when I sweat.

Anyway I've got to do more training. I have a long 135 mile race to prepare for!

Naomi - I will write something for you from my own experience about helping your child cope with eczema on my next post.

Trying to Survive Winter

2011-12-22T13:46:00.004Z

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.

How to Help Eczema Sufferers

2011-10-07T13:16:00.008+01:00

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 :-)

Moisturising Plan

2011-10-07T12:16:00.003+01:00

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!

Creeping Back In

2011-06-24T23:12:00.003+01:00

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

Controlling Eczema So the Skin Heals

2011-03-23T21:24:00.003Z

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 :-).

Sensitive to Having Prolonged Wet Skin

2011-03-23T21:13:00.004Z

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.

How To: Get Rid of Eczema?

2011-02-06T21:40:00.004Z

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.

To The Person Who Posted A Comment on My Blog 22nd Jan

2011-01-27T22:23:00.004Z

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.

The Basis For Life

2011-01-15T20:58:00.002Z

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 :-)

Tropical Heat

2011-01-02T15:49:00.002Z

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?

Winter Suppliments

2010-11-01T14:10:00.003Z

With the lack of daylight and being able to get out in time to soak the skin in some sun I am now supplimenting my diet with Vit D, vit E via Oil of Evening Primrose and thought I might throw in some bacteria since it was going cheap at the health food shop - Probiotic Acidophilus.

Still amazed at how parts of my skin can show dryness symptoms. Although I have been told that eczema is the over production of skin and hence the dry flakiness we experience. Thus just keep moisturising........*sigh*

Sleep Illusions

2010-10-12T21:46:00.007+01:00

Last year, I managed to have smooth skin for the first time after a very long time and this was with very little usage of steroid creams. I did not suffer itchiness for at least 5 months before I began using an emollient that I have used countless times and that reacted to me. My skin deteriorated.

Since stopping the emollient usage, the itching greatly reduced however the skin hovers about being okay to not okay. When I reflect about what I was doing last year, I was able to focus on getting well, drinking much more water than I am now, eating a healthier diet, moisturising myself about every 1-2 hours and more importantly getting plenty of healing sleep.

This year I have lacked discipline coupled with a never ending stream of work. Sleep is poor and I feel I can attribute any itching to a lack of sleep. It seems simple that when I am tired my skin itches. When I have had good sleep, I itch very little even when I play sport. Yet good sleep is eluding me which means poor skin. Unfortunately, every month my hormones give me 3 nights of sleeplessness. Top that off with work pressures, and my month to month needs a lot of improvements.

And so I understand when they say "stress" can cause eczema......or in my case - the lack of sleep. I steer towards taking an antihistamine when itching is bad.

Hope all you eczema sufferers are blessed with better sleep than myself and if you are not able to get that "beauty sleep" then try to do something about it.

Back to Natural Ways

2010-09-18T23:45:00.003+01:00

Burn up completed.....yes I know the darn stuff thins the skin, but either I dig the bad skin off or burn it off with steroids.

Think my spiritual self must be in an imbalanced state. Work and dealing with politics can leave one feeling very aggressive about life. All very unnecessary but there are horrible people in this world who are jealous of any success you might have, who seek to undermine and discredit you.

It is really pitiful how greedy these people can be and how they can stab you in the back and try to turn the knife. Life can be hard if one were to allow these people to get to you, to change the core of you to bitterness. They want you to be ugly with them. My skin may be bad but I don't have the same heart as them and I am glad......

I am so glad I have God and sport in my life. Both of these keep me sane. I am running a marathon a month over 10 months and have just completed my 6th one. I have discovered beautiful parts of the UK so close to home and watching the seasons change from winter, to spring to summer and now to autumn has just been magic.

Burning Off the Skin

2010-09-12T23:43:00.005+01:00

Skin continually flaking even when I've not scratched for some days. Decided to hit it with some Fucibet (cortesoid cream) for the next 3 days. Doc had given me this last year when the body was infected and only managed to use it for a week before contracting Shingles! Then I didn't use it again and managed to sort out other external factors to heal the skin.....sleep.....drinking more water......eat more fresh veggies......

However work pressures are not allowing me to sort out sleep and am constantly picking the flaking skin off. I forget to drink at times. I know it's bad and at the moment am weak willed and have poor discipline. Perhaps I should stop working.......and I will take a rest from it all in a couple of months!!!

But in the interim, am burning off the dead skin - either that or I exfoliate it off - but don't think that is good either as it also can pull off good new skin. Got to work/sleep.....

Time is a Healer

2010-08-13T22:29:00.006+01:00

2 days I took a step back. I had been neglecting myself due to a lot of work being thrown my way. My skin had returned to being dry, flakey and itchy. The eczema had begun to wrap itself around my body. I had not realised its extent until I took a step back to look at it all. Shame on me, after having fought hard last year to bring my skin back to normal.

This is a good reminder that one cannot let your guard down. I used an emolient earlier this year that put my skin back on the risk register. I changed my emolient at the end of May and then have not had time to fix it, 1/2 expecting it to go away itself. Unfortunately once eczema takes hold it tries to resist going away.

Sleep patterns have been attrocious partly due to work, partly due to scratching at night, partly due to hormones. Now that I have some time out, I am trying to settle sleep back to a regular pattern. I have begun table salt baths back again to gently exfoliate the flakey skin and have been applying mositurising creams and emollients far more regularly than I have done the whole year (about 4-5 times a day and when ever I wake up in the night).

After 2 days the skin has settled a little. There are still areas that are itchy but the itch intensity is more tolerable. It is going to be another hard slog to get it back to normality.

In my head I remind myself be patient with it and try to think more happy thoughts. It might look bad but it will improve better without applying steroid creams. I remind myself that when I have applied steroid creams, the skin becomes delicate and is not a fix until the itch sources are also removed - whether that is diet, sleep, creams, etc. And if I have removed the itch sources then the skin will heal naturally anyway.

Of course there is an expression.....time is a healer :o)

Back on the Road to Healing

2010-07-09T11:56:00.002+01:00

Having got rid of the Emulsifying Ointment and replaced it with Epaderm, the skin has been slowly improving and the thickened skin that reappeared is beginning to smoothen off.

Sleep is the one thing I need to get back on track. I like my work but it sucks to have to work late to complete projects or perhaps am treating it too much like school work!

Hope you all are on the road to healing :o)

Another Late Night Scratch

2010-06-09T23:49:00.002+01:00

It was late, I was in bed and my stomach was feeling itchy. I tried to ignore it and think of other things, but like so many other nights, the itch would be a niggle and then intensify. I can only guess what was annoying my stomach. Interestingly it was warm and as I began to scratch it became hot.

I knew that if I stayed in bed and tried to ignore the itch, it would only become worst. So I got up and put an ice pack on the area to cool it down. This helped to calm the itch and soon the hive symptoms were packing up and leaving!

I now will not stay in bed if I am itchy!

An Hour Itch

2010-05-26T12:22:00.002+01:00

Last night it took 2 hours for the itch to go away. I also iced the area. Everytime I wanted to scratch it, I iced it again with a frozen pack I keep in the freezer. Watched a bit of TV to take my mind of the itch and soon everything settled down. It was 3am when I went to bed with skin feeling calm.

Late Night Scratch - Contact Itch

2010-05-26T01:34:00.003+01:00

Right now it's late......really late......nearly 2am.....my neck has been itching like crazy. Think I might have accidently rubbed dust on it as have been moving dusty stuff around. So I did a light scratch. But it never is a light scratch. So now am up in the wee morning trying to sort it out. Have had a wash, changed my towel and had an antihistamine as I had started with a light scratch that turned into something more aggressive.

Now to keep my hands occupied, playing on the internet seems the best to do at this moment......so have to think soft peaceful thoughts......

Slow Reactions

2010-05-09T21:27:00.012+01:00

I am 99% sure now that I have been having a slow reaction to Emulsifying Ointment. It is now placed in my "evil list" along with sudocream. Neither actually helps reduce the symptoms of eczema nor do they help moisturise the skin. Sudocream acts more like a barrier cream and is just expensive crap. Emulsifying Ointment just seems to be another toxin to my skin and is cheap crap.

I started using Emulsifying Ointment (EO) in February when I finished my last lot of Epaderm Emollient. My skin was soooo much better then. I foolishly thought that it would be okay to go back to my previous emollient of EO. It seemed to moisturise the skin and I really had no reaction to it, so I thought.....

My skin became progressively worst over the next couple of months. I blamed it on everything from the weather to food to my room being dusty. I improved all these and although that helped a little, my skin was still feeling rubbish and began to continually flake. Soon my body was infected from scratching it so much. Spots with heads/pus were appearing all over the legs, arms, torso and some on the neck and face. I started salt baths again. The condition was worsening. I began to think the unthinkable, that I'd have to start applying an antibiotic steroid cream to get my skin back under control but I was admanant that I would keep off that stuff as I had not found what was aggrevating my skin. Using the stuff would only be a desperate measure for temporary relief. I had to understand what was causing the relentless itchiness especially when I went to bed.

Note: doctors prescribe steroid creams and antibiotic because they are treating the symptoms. They are not attacking the source. Using the steroid creams is pointless and damages the skin. Yes it stops the itchiness temporarily and is appropriate for folks who have had an unexpected temporary reaction to something. Eczema sufferers have to become detectives and understand the factors that are exacerbating their own conditions. These factors need to be removed/changed in order for any real long term healing to occur.

It was only a week ago when I had forgotten the EO at home and was working away. Went to the pharmacy for some more EO. They had no more and so I asked for a tub of Epaderm. After I got off the floor when they told me how much a tub cost, I purchased a tub. I needed an emollient desperately as my skin was dry and still flaking. After a couple of days of usage the flakey skin stopped. Yes the flakey skin stopped and the skin actually began to feel moisturised. I now think the body has to work on expelling all the EO that I applied for the last 3 months.

For the infection, I wiped a disinfectant on them. Doc has warned me about doing that as it is harsh on the skin, but sometimes I get a little desperate. I have now calmed down about it and am clearing up the infection with:

- sleep - I am knocking myself out for the week with anti-histamines as I keep waking up at night finding myself gouging out skin. The antihistamines are a necessary evil for with a lack of sleep, the body feels constantly itchy. With sleep, the skin feels rested!

- drinking a teaspoon of tumeric. My mother recommends I also apply it on my skin for its antiseptic properties and it does appear to dry up the spots faster. However it does make your skin yellow and can stain your clothes.

- bathing with coal tar soap.

Reducing the Itch
With having swapped the emollient out, the itch intensity has definitely reduced. However I try to aid the healing process.

Food definitely plays a role in how itchy I am going to be when I exercise and sweat. Eating salads does help as well as trying to drink at least 2 litres a day. I actually have not got to this "magic" 2 litres but at least I am drinking at least a litre, where once upon a time I only used to drink a couple of glasses of water.

Someone has switched off the heating outside despite it being summer and one wonders if the volcano has a role here, spewing particles into the sky that reflect the heat back. However managed to go for a run in my shorts. The legs have thanked me for giving them a little sunlight by also reducing the itch intensity at night. It could also be again because it is colder at night.

I am also cleaning my bed clothes regularly (every other day) and vacuuming my room due to an increase in skin droppings.

The skin is slowly improving again. Sleep helps a lot but I believe when the toxic Emulsifying Ointment is totally out of my system I will get back to a state that I was earlier on in January.....less itchy days and better skin.

So check what you are applying to your skin if your symptoms are still persisting. Temporarily change your moisturiser to see if it is your moisturiser!

Moisturising Effects

2010-04-26T17:53:00.002+01:00

I think Emulsifying Ointment is terrible and in fact promoting the eczema condition. I have an infection in the body that ain't good and the skin is constantly drying out.

Back to doing a dual lotion plus Epaderm.

Also drinking a teaspoon of tumeric in hot water with honey. Both are suppose to be inflamatories and the tumeric is also said to work as a natural antibiotic.

Salad Diet

2010-03-31T16:31:00.003+01:00

Raw food is said to have a detoxifying effect. Sleep also has healing effects.

Been sleeping better (with Antihistamine help) and eating mainly raw food for the last three days seems to have eased the itchiness. Have got the seedlings in to grow my own veggies for the summer.

I now believe I had blown out my system a little with the consumption of 5 mars bars. Going to have to find a substitute diet when running marathons.......since the aim is to do one a month!

Struggling.....

2010-03-25T14:14:00.004Z

Decided the change in weather from UK's cold weather to Rome's hot weather was the factor in keeping me itchy. This in turn caused sleep deprivation from trying to control the itch. Sometimes I try to hold out as long as possible before taking an anti-histamine.

Last weekend I did a marathon and ate 5 large mars bars. Okay was not the wisest thing to do but it was all I had to keep tiredness and hunger at bay. This may have ODed my poor liver. Have had one itchy week and poor sleep. Last night I decided for the next 3 days to take 1/2 an antihistamine before sleep just so I know I will sleep and that the skin could rest.

So weather change somehow has an effect on my system as well as being slack on my diet!
I will return to a salad diet to clean out the system.....

New Sights New Sounds Bad Skin

2010-03-01T21:33:00.005Z

I have landed in Rome and after a day I am itchy.

I cannot seem to calm it down and it is starting to stress me a little. My skin is almost healed and it is now taking a back step. I think it is thru change in diet and weather, and perhaps even the soap the bed linen is washed in. So no more eating out, am going to have to settle for supermarket shopping and some fresh greens.

Taking an antihistamine now. :o(

Soon The Sun Will Come

2010-02-26T18:10:00.002Z

It's been cold, it's been grey.
Am waiting for the sun to shine.
I haven't seen no buds on trees
And soon it will be March.

Come Spring, Come Spring
Warmer climes and sunshine
My skin, it longs for thee
To churn out lots of Vitamin D

.....can someone please put the plug back in the sky!

Work Distractions

2010-02-02T11:43:00.005Z

My worst stress is lack of sleep.

I want more sleep, but have to balance this with work demands. My work has ramped up and so it has been easy for me to spend less hours sleeping, especially when have had to spend time in hot hotel rooms. I like cold hotel rooms! The colder the better and hotel staff don't seem to understand that and repeatedly close my windows and turn up my heating.

So now a flare up has occurred under my eye. I felt a slight irritation but ignored it, or thought I'd been ignoring it, but in truth I'd been touching it and then giving it sneaky short scratches. It feels like I have an insect moving around under the skin. Grrr. The skin is now a little inflamed.

And when am tired my scalp also likes to join in the itch party.

Have also noticed a small patch on the crease of the bum and thigh.

Can't let up even for a little while! GRRRR

Dear work - I need sleep in order to remain healthy and focused.

Right now that I've got that off my chest - time to get sleep back into order.....

Eczema On Hands

2010-01-29T21:04:00.004Z

I am responding to someone's posted query about eczema on their hands:

i have eczema on my my hands im not sure what food causes it or how to stop eating that which provokes it but i have two questions

1. what foods did you cut out,and did it go on your blood group?

2. does exfoliating help? beacuse my hands seem beter after moisturising but now is flaky??

Firstly I am not a doctor so what ever advice you take from my blog is from observations about healing myself. Not all eczema conditions are the same.

I had eczema from my face and scalp to my ankles. Thankfully the palms of my hands and under my feet did not have eczema.

Focused Areas with Eczema
To me eczema in concentrated areas of your body such as only on the hands or on the feet could mean other things other than food and sleep. For example a friend had eczema on his foot (that's what the doc told him). I observed he always had socks on. I told him to try to air out his feet. His condition improved when he began to walk around in sandles and let his feet breathe!

So perhaps the eczema on your hands could be either from:
a) chemicals that you are using - e.g. soap, dishwashing, shampoo, etc
b) excessive washing of your hands
c) dust
d) or just plain stress. I have noticed people who have eczema on their hands scratch it more intensely when they are getting emotionally stressed or tired.

Food and Eczema
For me, I identified food as being part of my problem because my condition is widespread. I do like eating junk food (crisps, biscuits) and plenty of it especially in the job that I do. If you want to try this, then perhaps you might try excluding cooked oils first which will include meat! I also cut out eating most fruits for a good long while as I observed that I was sensitive to fruits like kiwi, peaches and cherries. That's why the raw veggie diet was convenient for me and is one I return to when my skin feels it wants to be itchy. It has worked for me but certainly has taken a while to prove itself.

Exfoliating and Eczema
I wash with salt and don't use soap. In the latter healing stages of my skin, I have definitely found exfoliating with salt has helped. Only because if I didn't exfoliate the dry flaky skin, I'd either pick or scratch it off instead. I'd then apply loads of moisturising creams/emollients which the skin would be able to receive better without the interference and obstruction of skin flaking off.

Do note when my skin was raw and sore, applying salt straight on the skin felt like it was burning it and then made it even itchier!!! Using salty water was easier when my skin was really bad.

Moisturising and Eczema
This is an important step and the amount you apply depends on how dry your skin becomes.

Good luck to you and hope you are able to find the root of the problem of the eczema affecting your hands. Do let us all know if you find a total cure!

My Friendly Advice to First Steps

2010-01-15T16:01:00.005Z

I saw some friends today and was sad to see that one of them has a worsened eczema condition that has had side effects on her physical health. On talking about actions that I have taken to dramatically improve my conditions, it became apparent that there were similar things that were affecting both of us. The difference is, is that I became determined to do something about it.

My dear friend who I think is a wonderful humble person has put everyone and everything before her own health. We have chat before in the past years, but now this has become really obvious. How to let go of trivialities, and make oneself a priority to get better at least for the sake of her husband, kids and family.

It is a hard mental game but sometimes for our own physical health we have to, or otherwise scratch ourselves to the grave.

My dear dear friend please sort out:

1. By the end of next week: Your home helper so that you can concentrate on helping yourself. No more procrastinations.

2. Now:

a) Moisturise your skin much more regularly. With your skin condition, I would have cleaned out a 500g tub of emoillient plus a softening cream after 2 weeks! I was applying the moisturisers ALL the time every waking moment......that included when I found I woke up during the night because I was scratching. It is expensive, but you are worth it!

b) Your sleep patterns. Get yourself back into the habit of sleeping! There is a time when sleep wants to come, note the time and look at going to bed closer to that time. Forget everything else. The web has a number of sites as how to overcome insomnia. Your sleep is priority. Here is what I found out about how sleep helps to heal: http://skinurghs.blogspot.com/2008/12/sleepless-itch.html

I use exercise to help me sleep better. Short term you might consider using a strong anti-histamine that will make you sleep or a sleeping pill - best to get advice from the doc.

3. Once you've started getting your sleep under control, consider the food you eat. You have indicated that you are sensitive to foods, then don't eat the ones and the foods related to that group! Research on the web what food groups they are under.

4. Everything else we have discussed.

All my hugs and positive energy to you that you will want to do something about your condition now and no more excuses about why you can't. If you don't try you will never know if you can be better.

So make the life change and improve your eczema!

Exfoliation

2010-01-10T05:46:00.003Z

Thankfully, skin is better, after not going wild over Christmas and eating a lot of green leaves!

However it is dry from my last niggly scratch session. So since I keep picking my skin as it is flaking, decided to just exfoliate the dry skin off. I don't know whether this is a good or bad thing yet, but the moisturisers I apply seem to take better - that is a cream followed by a vaseline type emollient. Skin looks better!

Merry Christmas Readers

2009-12-24T15:43:00.003Z

To everyone who has been following my skin blog,

May you have a merry christmas and a year with less itch and better skin

Scratching at Night

2009-12-21T13:19:00.006Z

Scratching at night sucks. When I scratch, I scratch hard and this wakes me up and thus I have a poor night's sleep. Any small irregularities on the nail will become a knife and cut into the skin and I'd be sore.

When the eczema was really bad, I used to get myself up and have a cold shower, a bit extreme, especially in winter but a fast way to cool me down. I'd then moisturise the skin. My legs still get itchy at night but are way better. I throw my legs out from under the blanket and look for a cool spot. If it is really itchy, I mosturise and take an antihistamine. Sleep is far more important than getting stressed about sorting it out.

My observation of night time itching appears to be one of 3 reasons:

1. The skin is dry and hence itches - I sleep with a pot of cream!

2. The skin is hot and hence itches - this would become more so due to the scratching.

3. Dust mites - so I change my bedding and vacuum my room. When the skin droppings were excessive, I cleaned my room and sheets every day. Now it is about every 3 days. However everyday I always shake my sheets outside once I have gotten out of bed. Maybe this is paranoia but psychologically makes me feel better about the bedding I sleep on.

One lady I correspond with found French Argiletz clay has helped to heal to clear her eczema and has shared this formula with me: - French pink or white clay (for dry, sensitive skin), melted coconut oil, purified water. Mix into a smooth paste and apply to body parts all evening - use cling film at night. I have yet to try it due to the health food shops not having it readily available. I really should pursue internet shopping. Anyway would recommend you do a web search on the healing powers of clay. Interesting stuff.

Currently still soaking and smoothing in moistened table salt onto skin to exfoliate as well as help heal the skin.

I'm going to start eating raw food again as have found that it seems to help me not itch when am hot and/or sweaty!

Hope this helps you in some way poster Nivea

Travel + Sleep

2009-12-07T06:34:00.003Z

I really hate traveling long haul. I suffer badly from jetlag and my attempts to recover quickly from it, means I sleep very little.

Having just done a 14 hour flight, I slept about 10 hours over 3 nights. My skin has been relentlessly itchy and I can't knock myself out due to work. Night times are restless and long even after having taken my normal knock out dosage of antihistamines.

All the good work improving the skin nearly went out the door. Until someone offered me their place for a marathon. It was hot, humid, there were lots of people and I could feel their body heat and smell their sweat. I suffered from heat exhaustion. I'm not entirely sure whether I enjoyed this or not.

However I had a great 10 hours sleep and today although it is dry and needs healing, my skin is feeling much calmer.

Work Stress...tick tock tick tock

2009-11-25T20:46:00.003Z

Time seems to be ticking by fast. Have not had time to research about an enema. Just need to keep going. Been stressed at work for the last 3 weeks, so much politics, but thankfully this does not seem to cause me to itch.

Sweating, Detox and Exercise

2009-11-03T13:26:00.012Z

DETOX! I keep wondering about a detox, especially when am working away from home and my eating habits tend to go by the way side. Note my "way side" is eating bread, diary products, much more meat than usual, quick foods like chips and biscuits ...

I say this is way side eating as I have changed my eating habits mostly, eating far more salad, fish and drinking plenty of water. This summer was able to grow my own rocket, pak choi, broccoli, tomatoes, beet root, zucchini, beans, and other types of salad leaves.

I have been feasting on salads and my skin has improved significantly. Less skin droppings on the bed; smoother softer skin; less moisturising components being rubbed on. I believe this is partly due to my change in eating.

Sweat, Exercise and Toxins

To me these observations indicate that there are toxins that are being produced. Sweating is a way of bringing these toxins to the surface. The only other way to rid the body of toxins is by the normal toilet method!

When I exercise, I go for a good sweat out. Unfortunately when the skin becomes hot, it becomes irritated. The sweat also has a dehydrating effect and so the itch comes back hard and fast during and after exercise. A cold shower seems to be the best relief I can get. After exercise, my nights are more restful with very little itching.

However, in summer I also observed, for the first time I did not always itch during and after exercise. The sweat appeared and zero itch. This appeared to happen when had been eating salad for at least one meal for a week! My eating discipline was also better, with less saturated fat type foods (such as biscuit and cakes) going into my system.

Saunas: I have read that saunas are suppose to be better than exercise in removing toxins. I have tried saunas and have found they have had a lesser effect compared to exercise. This might be due in part to the release of endorphines with exercise and the known fact that exercise reduces tension and anxiety. Saunas, although they give me a good sweat out, does not reduce my tension and anxiety like exercise.

So I ask myself:are toxins responsible for triggering/inducing eczema?

From observations internal and external toxins can irritate the eczema areas, and so certainly the reduction of toxins can help in reducing the itch cycle, as well as produce an overall "well being" feeling. In part toxins produce "stress" within our bodies and our bodies react by itching.

For example: People I know who suffer from eczema have found having an enema has helped to reduce eczematic symptoms.

So I assume that my liver and kidney functions might not be processing toxins as well as they can. Some foods that produce toxins within us are not being removed as quickly as I would hope. However, this is only part of the picture. I'll be back to write more, but think I need to go for an enema first!

Regular Table Salt

2009-10-31T16:44:00.005Z

My skin wants sun. The weather makes me eat more junk food. Hmmm. Eczema is creeping back onto the skin. Despite the regular moisturising, patches of skin appear as dried out. Sometimes I think I might have some other skin disorder whereby too much skin is being produced and hence the itchy dried out excess skin.

Under the eyes have decided to join in this year, so am bathing with regular table salt. This does seem to have a positive effect in acting as a exfoliation agent and reducing the amount of itching. So much so that I think my past usage of sea salt might have been a little bit of a placebo effect. It was expensive salt - so it had to work!!!

Perhaps I need to boost my vit D and do a couple of sunbed sessions or perhaps I need to do more observations.

Moisturisers, Emollients, Creams

2009-08-26T18:59:00.006+01:00

When my skin was bad, I was using an emollient called Epaderm 5-6 times a day and continuously through the night as I pawed/clawed my skin. If I let anyone put something on my skin such as the sports physio, I get them to use Emulsifying Ointment. Both of these seem to not irritate the skin. I learnt my lesson when I allowed the sports physio to apply a so called "neutral" compound on me. It reacted and as the day progressed the itch became aggressive and soon eczema was all over my skin :o(

The emollients that I used seemed to do nothing so my GP recommended I try Epaderm. This seemed better, however didn't feel like it softened my skin. Instead it felt like it "sat" on my skin, acting more like a barrier cream. When the rash subsided, the skin texture was poor. I found that having rough patches on my skin caused me to scratch.....just because it annoyed me! I decided to be brave and tried out different commercial oils/creams such as:
- coconut oil bought from the supermarket

- some swiss brand don't remember what it is called

- Dove, Garnier for super dry skin, whatever feels okay on my skin

I have settled on using a placenta cream that a friend bought for me from Australia and Dove as both make my skin feel soft after application (and I had thick leathery skin). After applying the moisturiser, I overlay it with Epaderm to keep the moisturiser in for longer. I have now been doing this for 7 months, watching my skin slowly heal and it all seems to be working well. However the effects of sun might also be in play here. Will just have to see if this is still the same over the winter months.

Note 1: One of the clinical treatments of eczema is to use cortesoid cream and wrap with cling film in severe cases.......my cling film is Epaderm! My skin dislikes being hot so I don't use the cling film method!

Note 2: There are still skin texture differences especially in areas that I have scratched for over 20 years but I am gradually seeing it heal and experiencing increasingly long periods of zero itching. I contribute this to having made a number of lifestyle changes by observing when I scratched and the times when hives appeared on my skin.

Note 3: I did use a steroid cream for a short period in desperation. It did provide temporary relief, however got hit by shingles and had to stop usage. Then the eczema flared up badly once again. As far as I am concerned steroid creams are rubbish!

New Skin: Keeping the Itch at Bay

2009-08-25T22:16:00.002+01:00

Gosh it has been awhile and I have been mostly itch free.

Having scratched the skin very little, it is amazing how smooth and soft it feels! I'm so not used to it, I keep having a little skin stroke every now and then! LOL. Still important to keep alert. The skin texture is still not normal from the years of scratching. I am willing it to be normal.

Contributing factors to easing the itch.

1. Being observant about how your own body reacts to environmental factors (see previous posts). This is really important for a long term approach to healing yourself. I am a "happy go lucky" type of person and seemingly "unstressed". However:

Lack of sleep doesn't allow my body to heal (see previous post about The Sleepless Itch) and causes a stress that comes out as an itch.

Poor nutrition. Like many out there, I like junk food. However this creates a stress on the liver and it is interesting that many eczema sufferers have found going on a detox for any period of time or a "body clean out" helps improve their skin. Rather than just go on a detox, I decided to change my diet (and hopefully forever) and reduce the saturated fat I take. Out with the biscuits, crisps and cake - except when visiting other people! My diet has a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit, more so now in summer as I grow my own vegetables. My skin tells me when I've been eating rich foods by itching when I exercise. I have been able to sweat without itching. I have not had that feeling in a very very very long time.

2. Doing something when the itch is triggered - just don't leave it and hope it goes away. That aggressive itch doesn't just go away. My defence has come about from my observations and varies according to the body part.

First Step:
a) If it is my eyes - I wash the eyes, if that doesn't help then I I force myself to rest
b) If it is my neck - I drink at least 500ml of water
c) If it is my face, arms or legs because I've been dealing with something dusty - then I have a wash and cream down
d) If it is because my skin feels dry - I cream down

e) If it is late, I go to bed.

These normally will ease the itch symptoms for me. However I still need to be aware that I can still scratch areas because the itch sensation is still there.

Second Step
Keep your hands and mind occupied. I will do the house keeping, gardening, wash dishes, anything to keep my hands and mind occupied. This normally does the trick of easing the itch symptoms.

Night Step
If I am itchy at night in bed, I will first try to ignore the itch for 1/2 an hour and keep the blankets off me so that my skin feels cool. If that does not work, then I will take an anti-histamine. I hate anti-histamines because they make me feel sluggish in the morning.

3. Cream cream cream. Keep moisturised! The skin will always be prone to eczema so I cream constantly and amazed at how much the skin needs! I now use moisturisers that make my skin feel soft. I used to avoid them because some have a stingy feeling and can make the eczema worst. However I have found applying them when am not itchy has helped me find creams that I can apply and that will make my skin feel softer so that I am not unconsciously scrapping off the dry skin and causing the eczema itch scratch cycle.

I hope these posts help someone else out there :o)

My Skin Hates Dust and Dairy

2009-07-30T22:28:00.004+01:00

Putting on a cotton t-shirt, my skin felt discomfort and then began to tingle. I was okay before the t-shirt and now the skin feels itchy. I begin to scratch. I take off the t-shirt and after a little control, the itching subsides. I put on a fresh cotton t-shirt and the skin was happy.

I can only put this down to dust mites in my t-shirts that have either brushed along a dusty surface or due to my skin flakes inside the t-shirt.

My skin loves clean hotel rooms. When I return to my room after a week of very little itching, I itch. I can only think dusty bedding and have to change to fresh linen and vacuum the room.

Had a sudden change of diet to one consisting of more cheese whilst in Italy. The skin was itchy despite the sun and clean room. Returned back to my normal salads and the skin now seems to be expelling bad stuff in my body via boils on the torso and limbs. However at least it is less itchy.

The traumas of having bad skin.....sigh

Skin Improvements

2009-07-03T20:46:00.005+01:00

My skin tone and quality has improved leaps and bounds with the summer sun and a change in diet and lifestyle. I eat a lot more fresh salad and greens produced from the garden.

The inner body is feeling better and so I suspect has a role in both physically and psychologically making the outer body feel better.

People who want to lose weight need to do more about their lifestyle than just eat less or take a pill. A long term weight control means understanding what is causing the weight gain and then modifying ones lifestyle accordingly forever.

I feel this is just like eczema. We want a magic cream and a pill to make it all better. However I have learnt that eczema also means making lifestyle modifications in order to get better. More sleep, more water, better diet. However, I still find myself taking an antihistamine a couple of times a month, just before my period, to ensure sleep and a reduction of hives.

NOW I feel now that I can start applying the cortesone cream as the itchy skin is under control. Why apply the cortesone cream? This is to burn off the bad skin and to premote healing before the winter months are upon us. However, I am first considering using exfoliation products to remove the bad skin.

Predominate Causes of Itchiness

2009-05-25T04:21:00.004+01:00

Darkness and Light

Having spoken about the effects of the sun, I tried to take vitamin D throughout the rest of winter. Did not find much effect and wonder if like a plant there is an amount of "like" photosynthesis of a version of vitamin D happening within the body that is not the same as the vitamin D tablets taken.

With the warmer temperatures have been sunning body. Spoke to doc about the use of a sun bed during winter and was warmed about skin cancer. Everything needs a balance. She suggested maybe once or twice a week. Perhaps just going away to somewhere warm is the best treatment!

Dust and Animal Hair and Clean Air

Visited a friend in Iqaluit and was itchy for the first 2 days until I swept and dusted her house. Skin settled down and have been sweeping her house everyday as she has a fantastic chocolate labrador. The dog is wonderful, but shedding hair all over the place. Also was very tired after traveling and not sleeping properly for a couple of days. I wonder if this was the other cause of me feeling non-stop itchy for the next 2 days until I took an anti-histamine to control the itch (really hate the anti-histamine). The clean air in Iqaluit has made me sleep really well and so over the next couple of days have been thankfully itching less.

Current Position

2009-02-22T23:38:00.006Z

Having had some healing time, the eczema slowly creeps back. The skin was nearly healed, having had a long break in a sunny tropical climate. Now back in the UK, I find myself scratching more and more often as I sleep. Grrr!

Currently:

drinking a teaspoon of tumeric in the morning becos I heard it is a good anti-inflamatory
eating one 1000mg tablet of Cod Liver Oil for bones and vit D. My theory is that as my skin reacts positively to sunlight, perhaps this is due to the higher manufacture of vitamin D.

Am contemplating having an oatmeal bath combined with sea salt as my cousin is swearing by it. Got to top up on sea salt. Still on my list of "To Dos" is to do a detox. Unfortunately this gets in the way of training as don't want to lose weight. Perhaps I will wait until after the marathon on the 26th April.....hmmmm

The Environmental Itch

2009-01-05T04:30:00.006Z

I wonder if the chemicals we pollute our air with have caused more people in the Western world to suffer from more ailments. We see an increase in sensitivities such as with eczema and asthma.

With respect to eczema, I notice that either external factors or internal factors can make me itch.

Food

Yesterday I ate a piece of lotus seed cake. The reaction was very quick. The left hand side of me began to niggle and then the itch soon became intense. So intense that if I did not do something about it, I would have gouged out my eye and dug holes into my skin.

Antihistamine time plus 1 litre of water to dilute whatever toxin was trying to come out plus a cold pack on the itchy areas. I also lay down to calm myself and by the time the itch was over, my head was heavy due to the effects of the antihistamine but at least the itch attack was over.

One reader has reminded me about Liver Detox and I think I will need to schedule this in at some point. Presently I have also been having boils appear all over the body. I thought it might have been shingles but they have been appearing quite dispersed throughout which makes me think my liver and kidney functions are not efficiently removing the toxins my body holds from eating junk food throughout the Christmas period.

For me some foods are fast reacting - the body has an almost immediate response to something it does not like, such as the lotus bean cake, or even MSG (monosodium glutamate) or cherries for me. Others release their toxins slowly as the body breaks down the foods into their respective components.

External Factors

In a dusty environment we all have different reactions. Some will complain about the dust but no reaction happens to them, others will find their eyes streaming and sneeze constantly. When I contact with dust, my skin becomes inflamed and hives appear. Scratch it and I risk:

- infecting my skin

- eczema

Sometimes I can do something about it. This is mostly to wash off the offending substance from my skin immediately and of course not scratch. Other times it is difficult to do anything about it.

Have been in a tropical humid climate for 5 weeks. The first two weeks was terrible. I was flaking, my body was adjusting to the climate change and occasionally no choice but to eat an antihistamine. Now the skin quality has improved so much and much healing has happened to allow the skin to gain back its protective qualities. However being in airconditioned rooms has a drying effect on me and thus the skin feels irritated unless I am constant apply moisturisers.

In the UK, the heating also sucks up the moisture from my skin. The lack of water vapour in both cases causes itchiness unless moisturisers are constantly applied.

In all cases it is important to keep an awareness of how one's body is reacting to external/internal substances and to do something about it immediately. Leave it and the substance can have a long lasting effect.

I had a sports massage in January 2008 and the oils that were applied caused me to feel itchy. I had other things to do, so continued my tasks until 4 hours later. I was really itchy. I tried washing the oils off but my body must have absorbed it by then. I suffered from an all over body eczema and am still healing from it now.

The Menstrual Itch

2008-12-24T15:35:00.012Z

This is an itch that is again created by some type of imbalance within the body.

I have noticed that about 2-3 days before my period arrives, my body, arms, legs, neck, etc itches constantly. It is like a background noise that is always there. If I dare to scratch any part then the eczema slowly rears its ugly head.

Once the period starts, the itching subsides.

So what is happening to the body?

I found the image on the right in wikipedia (of course).

A couple of things stand out to me:

The core body temperature rises
Progesterone levels are increasing and estrogen levels are decreasing before the period.
On the onset of ones period there is a sudden fall away of progesterone

Again I have found drinking more water when one is itchy has some effect in reducing the itch. The other is being in a nice cold environment. It is no wonder I find myself drawn to the ice and snow! -20 degrees celcius seems so inviting!

As for the progesterone levels, perhaps I don't have enough of it or it is out of sync! I have read it is suppose to have a calming effect and there is a tendency for one to feel lethargic or depressed. Strangely I have quite an opposite effect leading up to the period. I have a lot of energy and when running, can feel like I can run forever!!! Two nights before my period I have insomnia. On the first day of my period, I want to sleep the whole day.

Without medical measurements of the production of my hormones, it would be difficult to understand how it is affecting the eczematic skin. However, a rising body temperature will explain why being in the cold is the best thing for reducing the itchiness, as well as drinking water.

The Sleepless Itch

2008-12-16T07:20:00.006Z

Having identified the "dehydrated itch", let's talk about rashes and itchiness arising from lack of sleep.

I have bouts of insomnia. This has been far more so as I have been taking antihistamines to make me sleep and reduce the itch I feel when in bed.

Right now I have had a 2 week spell of sleep deprivation. Although I am relaxed specific parts of my body take it in turn to feel itchy - body/leg/arm/neck. I can drink lots of water and not much seems to happen. Putting ice on the area will alleviate the symptoms temporarily but the BEST medicine here is sleep.

What Happens to the Body Physiology When it Does not Sleep?
Having looked up this question, it is well documented that within the body sleep deprivation causes:

A decrease in core body temperature
A decrease in immune system function as measured by white cell count and activity
A decrease in the release of growth hormone
Other hormone imbalances (look up sleep deprivation physiology)
Enhanced activity on the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This controls reactions to stress and regulates body functions such as digestion, the immune system, mood, sex, or energy usage

So the above therefore will give some indications that sleep deprivation is associated with many chronic diseases/disorders such as weight loss, heart conditions, growth and more.

Sleep and Eczema
So now focus on the bullet point about the enhanced activity of the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and that this decreases the immune system functions.

Sleep becomes an extremely important factor in order for the skin in eczema to repair itself and become more resilient to the rash symptoms. Studies have shown that the ability to heal is thus reduced when we are sleep starved.

It is no wonder that my skin feels so poor. Fortunately, last night I finally had a continuous sleep period of 9 hours and today my skin feels better. It is amazing how one night out of so many sleepless nights can make my body feel so much better.

Pharmcies out there - we need a cream to make our skin feel calm when we don't sleep!

The Dehydration Itch

2008-12-14T14:28:00.004Z

When hives begin to appear the time can be stressful. And that stress manifests itself to more rash. By the time you regain control over yourself, you have scratched yourself to shreds and eczema begins to take control.

I was running with a friend and for the first 8kms we were fine. I drank lots of water but my friend only drank a sip of water once at 8ks. We headed on and by 15ks she was starting to get a bad case of hives on the arms. She was stressed and she reminded me of me when the rash appears and we just want it to stop.

We stopped at a water point and I got her to down 300ml of water against her wish as it would make her feel bloated. She was looking at her arms worsening and as panic started to set in, so were her neck and face starting to itch. She wanted an antihistamine now! Anxiety normally makes an itch worst and requires a good distraction. I gave her something to hold and got her to drink more water (500ml usually helps me) and then she was to replace the word "itch" with "water" or "ice" if she wanted to tell me how itchy it was. I had hoped using cooling words would take some of the heat of that itch.

I believe my friend's body was telling her she was dehydrated and that she had not recognised it. I normally find that drinking water dilutes whatever toxin is trying to come out of my body and reduces the symptoms of itching. However it is not an immediate effect and can take about 5 minutes.

It was time to talk about other more positive things like:

- What do you like to eat?

- What is your favourite ice cream?

- What is the best adventure you've been on?

I banned her from looking at the hives and feeling the lumps appear. And after a km, the itching subside, but I never asked her about her itch until the end at 25ks if she still needed an antihistamine.

She was proud to say she did not and thankful not to have to knock out her system with it. As those who take strong antihistamines know, it can cause drowsiness and for me a very heavy head.

So in conclusion:

- drink more water when you feel itchy symptoms appear

- distract yourself and never focus on the itch

Cortesone Stopped

2008-12-05T18:34:00.002Z

Oh well. As expected, have stopped using the cortesone for 2 weeks and am now back to scaling itchy skin. Soooo now to bare with it and get back to sorting it out naturally.

Time to Face the Cold

2008-11-21T16:49:00.001Z

So back out to the cold and hopefully will return with better skin and no frost nip ;o)

When Cold Is Hot

2008-11-09T23:31:00.003Z

Hmm having gone down the chemical route, using a cortesone cream (fucibet) to control the symptoms (well had a skin infection last week!), a strange reaction is happening.

Running in the winter is great as one tends to wear less clothes (I was in shorts and t-shirt) and still feel warm! And so I went for a run. A long run for 4 hours. I was hot but my skin was cool as the breeze (@ 12 degs c) stroked my bare legs, arms and midrift (well I was hot!!).

At the end of the run, I stretched and my legs began to feel prickly....itchy. Entering a warm room made everything worst. Soon a heat rash caught hold of the top of my legs, arms and midrift. Had to scratch the unbareable itch......and quickly plunged myself into a tepid bath which seemed to ease the symptoms with......of course sea salt and a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in the water.

This is the first time I have suffered with these symptoms from the cold, and can only guess the cortesone has made my skin more sensitive. Hope my skin can grow back once I stop using the stuff.

Keeping the Regime Going

2008-10-26T15:11:00.002Z

Sometimes it is hard to keep on track. If you deviate a little, you can find you've lost some ground.

It's like a diet or training. You start off with good intentions and when things are going well, then for whatever reason you are tempted to do something different. This might be environmental or of course being a woman, hormonal.

Bath-time:

One tablespoon full of bicarbonate of soda into the bath water seems to ease an itch!
Dead sea salt will bring down a rash. Had a hooouge itchy lump on my arm recently. Bathed it in dead sea salt and it went down pretty soon after.
Currently trying to wash my scalp in dead sea salt water.

Moisturising:
Am moisturising at least 3 times a day now, down from the 6 times a day, with top ups during the night.

100% natural coconut oil. No additives. This seems to have eased the shedding skin even further. Have been using this on my scalp and this has had positive results. Still working on the dry scalp problem.
Epaderm covering after applying coconut oil. I am one very greasy person!

Chemicals used:

Cortesone Cream:This has been cut back to twice a week and only on the legs.
Antihistamines: Twice a week.

Diet:
This is the hardest part of the regime.

Drinking lots of water - at least 1.5 litres, if not 2 litres
Very little diary or wheat
Potatoes, rice, fish and lots of green veggies are regular items in my diet
Suppliments of Thistle, 1000mg Evening oil of primrose and 500mg Cod Liver oil (lovely!!!)

If I can stick to this, the itching eases off and I can even sleep without scratching on occasions. But a bad night's sleep and central heating can make my body begin to feel uncomfortable. And you all know when you're feeling tired, waiting at a train station for your home coming train, it is soooo easy to be tempted by the smells wafting of freshly baked bread, or cornish pasties or croissants.........

Cooky Coconut

2008-10-12T23:34:00.003+01:00

My cousin has been using coconut oil on her child's eczema and found it has been effective in reducing the symptoms and keeping the skin hydrated.

So I took a sample and found it has been really good on the "craddle cap" scalp have been suffering with since all this started. The only downside I have is the greasy looking hair the oil causes. But who cares when the itch has subsided.

So now trying it on the rest of my body to now try to fight the effects of "heating" on my skin as the radiators are turned on for winter. Seems okay 3 days in.

When Pain is Good!

2008-10-02T22:31:00.004+01:00

Had a bad rash attack. It could have been due to being overtired, or having eaten bad food for 2 days and no exercise. What ever it was, it wasn't going away fast. Hives were breaking out all over and the normal distractors of praying, trying to send myself to sleep, keeping my hands occupied were not helping the stress of the itch.

Instead a luke warm shower with dead sea salt rubbed all over my body, substituted the itch for pain. Well by the time I got round to having another shower, I had already created scratches on the skin surface.

The pain was hard, but the dead sea salt did the trick and perhaps leached out something that had got onto the skin surface. The rashes calmed down almost immediately after!

I want clear skin by the end of this year!!!

2008-09-28T23:48:00.004+01:00

The eczema I suffer from has reduced a lot but has not gone and am still fighting it to get rid of it totally. So keeping one's mind occupied helps......praying has been great, thinking peaceful thoughts, gardening, drinking lots of water, doing the washing up, and playing sport.

Talking of peaceful thoughts, am helping a lady in her 60s train for the South Pole race this year. She is intending to take everyone's peace message to the South Pole to read them to the earth. The idea is to follow an ancient Tibetan tradition of flying messages on prayer flags to bring peace and harmony to all.

So all you readers, I would encourage you to send Tess a peace message on any subject such as for personal reasons, your environment, or the world. You can read about this mission here as well as a sample of what other folks have written: http://www.teamsouthernlights.org/12.html

You can also leave your peace messages here:
http://www.climbfortibet.org/peace_messages.cfm

Have a peaceful week.....and of course....."To the pole and beyond!"

Polar Dreams

2008-09-12T23:26:00.001+01:00

Hmm penguins.....just need to sort out skin a wee bit further but it is manageable!

Why do Eczema Sufferers Scratch?

2008-09-06T09:51:00.005+01:00

.....becos sometimes it really is very itchy

.....becos there are bits flaking off, so we start picking it or try to rub it off. Result itchiness

.....becos something has been brushing against it and irritated the area

.....becos it is hot....we like it cold (perhaps that's why am looking at the cold lands!) and without the central heating

.....becos we're feeling irritated at people telling us to "stop scratching" or slapping our hands away or websites like eczematreat that copy our content word for word with zero links back to the websites they have copied it from or people telling us "go or scratch some more!"

Now we know these people care about us and it would be great if they carried on caring about us and gave us something to do with our hands as a distraction. For example like give us a tall cold drink which could help to relieve the symptoms.

Awas Shingles

2008-08-25T12:43:00.012+01:00

Deciding to try out the doc's method was a GFI moment and perhaps an act of desperation and experimentation. You might detect am regretting having gone down the alley with steroid creams and ointments.

So week 1 of the new prescription regime to step down the use of steroid creams had to be stopped mid way. The hydrocortesone was reacting to all parts of my skin, causing rashes. Additionally there was an area on my back where I had been applying both the fucibet and the hydrocortesone that seemed to make it worst.

It started with a stinging, burning sensation. The type of sensation that occurs when you have scratched yourself. I ignored it and went on a camping trip to South Wales to drag a tyre around the Brecon Beacons with a couple of 60 year olds.

3-4 days later some small blisters appeared. With eczema, it is not unusual to have blisters where some infection has occurred. Unfortunately the blisters continued to be sore and looked like they were spreading. They wept, became lumpy and ugly the more the steroid creams were applied. Thus stopped the application of steroid creams anywhere on my body as I thought there was a chemical reaction and now the same blisters were spreading onto my stomach. Really gross to touch (pic on right).

Two days later after the picture was taken, ran a 1/2 marathon. Felt tired, the pain on the back was bearable but completed the run even if it was a poor time. A friend who I'd shown the rash too said it looked similar to shingles (oh dear might have infected thousands as have been going into work)

Decided to drop into A&E (hospital) to get them to evaluate and give me an exact prognosis. L4 shingles it was! And yes the application of the steroid creams was making it worst. However by the time I had dropped into A&E the blisters had already dried out. Doc said I had only been infectious to those who did not have a vaccination against chicken pox or those who did not have chicken pox whilst the blisters were weeping. I could still go to work! Unfortunately as the virus was already on the way out there was nothing that could be done to ease the pain, and that it was possible that I could feel the pain for up to two months.

Doc recommended bathing in bath water with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to reduce the intense itching and taking painkillers if the pain became unbearable.

Helping the Healing Process of Shingles
So having been told there was nothing that could be done, I of course did an internet search to find out about how to quickly reduce the post symptoms. Plenty of vitamin A, C and B to help nerve endings to be healed. So for the week I got through a 500g bag of baby carrots, a bag of
oranges and ate marmite sandwiches everyday.

I really don't know if that helped, but the pain was gone by the end of the week. So hopefully the nerve endings have been able to heal quickly.

As for running, well should have taken it easy as the virus could do further damage with a reduction in the immune system. So I have taken it easy otherwise my running buddies will give me an earful.

Got to find something else to eat!...might as well.

Food Sensitivities

2008-08-12T15:07:00.003+01:00

Always look out for these. No matter what your doing, letting down your guard can be a bad one.....and eating lots of cashew nuts has been a bad one for me. Love them, body hates them :o(

The most common food allergies, in general, are diary, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), soy, and wheat.

Think I should try an exclusion diet for longer. Steroid creams can only do so much but the body needs nourishment to help the skin grow and reduce toxins that affect the lymphatic system. Phew

So.....

2008-08-07T18:12:00.004+01:00

...another visit back to el doctor.

Doc: Skin looks much better

Me: Yeah - expected it as you've hit me hard with steroid creams. The flaking has reduced. My worst fear is that it'll all come back after stopping the steroids and that will be my big disappointment with the whole treatment.

(no pressure!)

Doc: What we will do is step down your treatment and ensure there is no rebound.
So
- Week 1: 1% hydrocortesone now every other day and fucibet the other days
- Week 2: Use only the hydrocortesone
- Week 3: Hydrocortesone every other day and then come and see me for the next stage

Me: Ok (well might as well since I've reverted back down the steroid path)

On the other hand having had the antibiotics seems to have calmed down my system and have been able to sleep at night without the use of anti-histamines. I have had 2 weeks of sleep and the skin likes sleep.....

Starting up a new world

2008-08-03T20:47:00.003+01:00

In my zeal for removing all catepillars from my veggie patch, I sadly removed the aphid "lions" the nickname for hover fly maggots.......the good guys.....I have been like an antobiotic to my plants.

I miss those hover fly maggots, really exciting to watch when they go hunting for prey. Hoping to see them again but knowing, as summer ends, it is unlikely.

However my stomach bugs can be encouraged to grow back.

Probiotics! .......that's what everyone is telling me - "will get the friendly bacteria back in there!"

Lactobacillus Acidophilus
Lactobacillus Casei
Lactobacillus Plantarum
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus
Bifidobacterium Bifidum
Bifidobacterium Lactis
Bifidobacterium Longum

And so I drink up!....MADNESS

....One Bag of Skin

2008-07-30T13:26:00.008+01:00

....so another visit to el doctor, well a different one who has specialised in dermatology. Picture on the left is my arm before the medicines. The skin is flatter compared to the picture on the right in the side bar but texture ain't great and it is now red.

Me: So doc this is what I am using to keep my skin moisturised. 500g tub of emollient and have nearly finished it after a week....and this is a bag of skin to show you why. I have skin dandruff! (displays a ziplock bag of skin to doc)

Doc: Thank you, I don't need to see the bag of skin. It is obvious you have a skin problem.
Your skin is very warm to touch....

Me thinking: Good it means I'm very alive.

Doc: Very dry.....

Me: I only moisturised it an hour ago.

Doc: ......and you've done some damage to yourself.

Me thinking: Thank goodness I had a small scratch session in the night....the last doc didn't take me seriously when the skin had no scratches!

Doc: ....from the notes you've had this since January. Right I think we need to hit it hard.

Me: Yah! Finally

Doc: So I'm going to give you:
- 500mg Flucloxacillin (antibiotics) to take internally to kill the bacteria infection in your body. Take 4 times a day.
- Fucibet (say it carefully) - an antibiotic + cortesone cream to apply externally to clear the skin of any further infection
- Ucerax 25mg - stronger antihistamine to help you sleep and stop scratching in the night
- AND more emollients

Me: Great!

Doc: ....see me in 2 weeks time

I give the pharmacist a small fortune and look at the amount of "stuff" I need to take/apply.
For the whole of my life, I have avoided chemicals like antibiotics. Now I'm about to destroy the good bacteria I've nurtured my whole life.

Killing Bacteria
I decide to only take the antibiotics over the next couple of days to monitor its effects. The antibiotics reek of chemicals. However after the first day of downing antibiotic pills, the redness over the entire body seems to disappear and for the first time, I sleep normally at night.

3 days later the skin is still feeling good. Unfortunately this is the day where I got a bit slack taking the antibiotics. I was doing a 12.5 mile run and it's a warm day (in the 30s). 12.5 miles later the body is hot and I've forgotten to bring the pills to the venue so I miss a pill pop. Socialising, the itchiness starts and the skin is hot and red even after cooling down. I try to make up for it later, but in fact miss another pill pop as had eaten a meal and cake! (must take these pills on an empty stomach).

2 days after the run day the skin is still red and itchy, so decide to start applying the fucibet. I said never again to steroid creams, but many assure me it is only temporary and if applied correctly should heal the skin and the symptoms should not return. You guys BETTER be right!

Stand Still

2008-07-20T18:03:00.002+01:00

So I know I said I would get up at the same time (08:00) every day. After 3 days of this, had to sleep in until 11am-12pm on the weekends to catch at least 5-6 hours sleep.

Fuzzy head + work = Struggle
Little to no sleep = Itchy skin

The brain signals the head to not bother or care how hard one scratches. However constant reminders keep things in check. So giving up a little and will go see doc about insomnia.

Yawn - maybe I should cat nap now....

Reprogramming Insomnia

2008-07-10T22:52:00.004+01:00

The skin is looking much better and slowly beginning to look like normal skin.

The only problem now is the insomnia. An eczema sufferer can suffer long bouts of sleepless nights due to the itching and scratching. I've learnt to exist on 3-4 hours sleep a night sometimes only 1 or 2 hours during the weekdays and then try to do a catch up on the weekend.

Having done this since January, my head seems stuck in the habit. No matter what time I go to bed, I lay there restless but seem to doze off just before the alarm goes off at 07:00. Sometimes I go to bed in the early evening, tired. I doze off but then find I am awake after an hour and then the sleeplessness continues.

Sleep is so important for healing to occur so need to reprogram. Will to try to wake up at the same time every day. No more lie ins and early nights.

Lady DustStorm

2008-07-08T15:47:00.002+01:00

If I were to be a superhero, I'd call myself Lady Duststorm.

It is incredible the amount of skin that falls off daily and that I dust off from my bedding each morning. I have a severe case of skin dandruff!!

So I see myself as swooping in on a crime scene, and to confuse the villains I'd rub the skin off my body creating a dust storm. Thus I would be able to disarm them and save the day!!!

Yah

Controlling The Scratch

2008-07-05T13:17:00.003+01:00

....so why did I ask the doctor for steroid creams in my last post.

Just completed a book (yes I read a book - but it was an easy read with large print!) called "The Eczema Solution" by Sue Armstrong-Brown. It is about how to break free and be free from Eczema for life by the author who had atopic eczema for her entire life, until she went to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Scratching is a normal response to an itch, however eczema sufferers will do other things that lead to scratching. An example is, I hate the rough flaky feeling of the dry skin that eczema leaves, so I pick it and rub it off. This often leads to irritation of the area and then can progress into a scratch cycle end hence the continuation of eczema.

Two things made sense to me in her book:

Become Aware
Part of Sue's treatment was to monitor when the affected areas are scratched, rubbed, picked, or touched and is all placed under one category "scratching". Using a hand logger or tally counter
to log the times when the areas are "scratched" and record in a diary. This way a history is built up and bad times can be actioned appropriately.

Use of Steroid Creams
Steroid creams are used to reduce the red, bumpy, raised inflammation of the skin. They are also known to thin the skin as one of its side effects. Hence GPs tend to err on the side of caution and prescribe low dosage of cortesone or the patient will stop using the cortesone when there are signs of improvement.

Low dosages of cortesone on bad eczema will mean using cortesone for much longer periods of time which is bad for the skin and body. I've seen this in my life of suffering with varying degrees of eczema.

Under a doctor's supervision, the affected areas should be hit hard with high doses of steroids and then stepped down not the other way. Once signs of improvements appear the use of steroid creams should continue until 2 weeks after the skin looks good to really "kill" the bad skin off.

However, the book continues about how to ensure the condition does not come back and each chapter should be treated like a visit to the doc. Definitely would recommend it as a read for anyone suffering.

I've been fortunate that so far my alternate treatment has worked and so now it is learning the "habit reversal technique" to prevent myself from attacking the skin when the dry skin is itchy and after when eczema spots reappear.

What's Up Doc?

2008-07-04T19:31:00.004+01:00

Decided to see the doc about my white nails again so that she could refer me to a dermatologist.

Remember I saw her 4 weeks ago and she was ready to refer me to a dermatologist at the time, but I rejected it at the time wanting to try out my sea salt experiment.

Me: Doc can you refer me to a dermatologist?

Doc: Why?

Me: Well because you said you would the last time and I'm fed up with this eczema and I have a bag of skin to show you that I scratched off during the night. I'm fed up of sleepless nights.....

Doc: Let's have a look at it.

I strip off - behind closed curtains off course.

Doc: Well, have to say it looks more like you are suffering from very dry skin now. I don't see any eczema.

Me: Err yes, I'm at a stable moment, been killing my skin with salt for the last 5 weeks. However, perhaps a stronger dose of cortsone cream will be able to kill off the last parts. Better to whack it off the planet than touching it with weak doses.

Doc: Cortesone won't do anything for you at this moment. You need to intensify your moisturising program.

Me: ???? I moisturise many times a day and in the night. I go though two 500g tubs of thick emulsifying ointment every month....

...and so I get packed off with a prescription of epaderm which is suppose to be more moisturising and forget about my white nails!!!

Well she has given me 3 weeks to see if it makes a difference. I hope she is right.....can't believe I nearly went for the cortesone!!!

Olive Oil - Never Again

2008-06-29T19:53:00.003+01:00

Having tested small patches on the arm with extra virgin olive oil, thought everything would be okay as there was no apparent reaction. So decided to test it on the whole body before I went to sleep. Bad bad bad bad bad!

After 1 hour I started feeling a little itchy on the upper arms, then the legs, then the torso. I tried to ignore it as I wanted to sleep. No way, the itching intensified and here was acute eczema presenting itself. Hives everywhere. After 15 more minutes of enduring, decided to get up and have a good salt out to leech out the oils that had got into my skin. Unfortunately too late as had done damage all over.

The day after was not too great either, salting it again and again, eventually the itching died down and now have to remember to touch or pick the mess! Oh well good thing I had some healing time before this. Time to start again. Must remember if things are going well - not too change too much from the routine!

And to top off everything, Friday night the spinach was looking great, the beans were growing nicely. Woke up in the morning and everything had been trimmed back! Thought my house mate had picked them, but in fact a deer(s) had come and eaten everything. Oh well at least the deer has eaten well.

Cook Me

2008-06-23T11:49:00.002+01:00

Soooo having used the dead sea salt for 3 days (didn't manage to buy oats but bought lots of other things!), the pain is getting more tolerable so that I can bear to keep it on the skin for a couple of minutes!

Have just been reminded about using Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I have used this in the past but found I reacted to the oil. However, since my system now rejects the E45 creams I was using, I have tried olive oil again. If I react to it then I would just cook with it! Anyway applied it on both arms and no reaction.......

So am now salted and oiled - wonder what cooking time I should put myself on?

Not All Sea Salts Are the Same - Dead Sea Sea Salt

2008-06-21T15:04:00.004+01:00

Someone has recommended dead sea salt to help accelerate the healing process. Doing a web search, seems like it may have theraputic properties over normal ocean sea salt due to its higher mineral content.

So I bought 1 kg to see if it would have an effect. I applied my concentrated sprinkling of salt over my entire body as per normal. OMG - intense pain on the scratched areas. I could not keep it left on for long although it appears to have had an effect on the skin. Maybe it has a more acidic nature that a pH test would indicate.

Have just been recommended to mix it with a solution of oatmeal before I apply it to my skin. So off to the shops I go to buy oats!

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

2008-06-18T16:19:00.005+01:00

Hotel Destruction
My job requires me to travel and this means living in hotels and no guarantees about the environmental factors. So I arrive at the hotel late at night, weary and tired and go to bed. During the course of the night I am itchy, restless and have a mini scratch destruction. Unfortunately a sharp edge of one of my finger nails ploughed thru some areas of the skin.

Oh well, alas back to square one.....flaky, over dry skin. Getting up was a chore, my body felt aweful, my face was very red and the eyes red and puffy.

I've had an allergic reaction. Two things:
- the room was warm - got the hotel to supply a fan
- the bedding was feather pillows and a down duvet - got the hotel to replace all bedding with anti-allegenic.

Getting Back on Track
I had forgotten the Aloe Vera and not had time to find any in shops close by. I think great let's see if there is an impact. It took 5 days to get the itching back under control again. Getting up during the night when itchy to have a cold shower as well as using the sea salt treatment. However the skin did not feel as moist as when Aloe Vera had been applied when the skin was at a similar condition earlier on in the year.

So my lesson this week to all sufferers, is to check your bedding before you go to sleep.

When Nothing Happens....

2008-06-14T21:51:00.005+01:00

Monday
Could only find sea salt flakes in the shop so bought them. What a mistake! Rubbing it onto wet skin is far more abrassive. So have to work a bit harder to use them, i.e. wet the salt a little to dissolve rough edges before rubbing it onto skin.

Tuesday
Started detox meal plan today and for the next 4 days ate the following:
Breakfast: Porridge oats with soya milk
Lunch: Jacket Potato plus salad
Dinner: Rocket leaves, beetroot, corn, raw cashews, tuna fish, avocado salad

I lay in bed and did nothing.....normally I am scratching some part of my body, but I did not feel itchy. It was a strange feeling. Unfortunately later on during the night my legs did feel itchy. However it felt as if I was being given a taster of things to come.

Wednesday - Saturday
The skin appears to be healing. The itching has reduced, although there are still flakes of dry skin on the torso.

The improvement in skin quality and tone, leads me to believe that the sea salt has been playing a part of the healing process. I will continue with the sea salt. Diet might be helping.

I have bicarbonate of soda on stand by in case the itching reappears. A friend had recommended I use the bicarbonate of soda on any itchy areas. I did use it once and burnt my skin as I had put a dampened concentrated mush on. My friend had told me I was suppose to have used a diluted version i.e. one teaspoon in a glass of water. Oh well at least I felt pain instead of itchiness!

Slip Sliding Away

2008-06-08T21:52:00.008+01:00

This week the ears, face and neck are starting to look normal!

However, on Friday I was feeling a little down, about being continuously itchy, trying hard to restrain myself from the slippery slope of scratching, taking chunks out of my skin (as had done so earlier in the week on my arm), and the whole eczema cycle. Had taken two baths one in the morning and one at night to ease off the itch and decided to go to bed early.

I woke up Saturday feeling calm, the skin on my torso and legs felt calm, and it was a rather odd feeling. Looking at my email I noticed a friendly mail had come through from a Singaporean friend, saying he had been praying about my skin. :o)

This weekend, I have noticed the skin on the torso has improved although still spotty in areas. I am still following a regime of:

a) showering my skin to wet it and plugging the bath to retain the water

b) salting my skin with sea salt, leaving it on for a couple of minutes

c) washing salt off and now sitting in diluted salty water

d) rubbing balneum plus on my skin to put the moisture back in

e) washing the bath oil off after a couple of minutes

f) relaxing in a salty oily bath water for about 5-10 minutes more.

After I towel dry myself (or if warm enough dry off naturally), I apply aloe vera gel. The one in the picture is from my local health shop and then followed by emulsifying ointment (very greasy) to seal the moisture in and act as a barrier. The skin laps it all up and normally have to do a top up before I go to bed.

Note: During the day I will apply emulsifying ointment as many times as necessary when the skin feels dry or irritated.

My enlightening email, also suggested that since I reacted to massage oils it has got into my system and so there must be some way to get rid of it. A light switched on in my head - I need to additionally do a detox and cleanse my liver. So onwards towards a detox week.

Doctor Doctor

2008-06-06T18:19:00.004+01:00

My nails have gone white, my lymph nodes are enlarged and I have a body rash. A web search indicates that I could have anything from liver disease to lymphoma. So before I die of what ever I decided to visit the doctor.

Me: Doc my lymph nodes are up, nails are white and I have a rash all over my body.

Doctor: Hmm yes your lymph nodes are up - must be due to your eczema

Me: And my white nails. I've not seen them white before

Doctor: Hmm yes they are white! I believe this is also due to the eczema. Nothing to worry about. It should all get better when the skin heals. I can prescribe some cortisone cream.

Me: NO thanks. Am trying to get my skin to heal properly. I already did a one month course in Feb/March. It got better and then it worsened!

Doctor: Well it is the only thing we can prescribe to get it under control.

Me: Okay well I am salting it at the moment to desanitize it

Doctor: Really!!!

Me: Yes I get a fantastic burning pain, which is better than the itching

Doctor: What's the logic for salt?

Me: My skin gets better swimming in the sea.

Doctor: Well let me know after a week, becos as your eczema is so wide spread we'll get you seen by a dermatologist and put you back onto steroid creams.

...and so I leave thinking the salt has got to work. After one week, there is a mild improvement but nothing significant yet. I am going to leave it for another week!

By the way putting salt on the skin is really drying and requires loads of moisturising after. However, I have now been mixing this with Balenum Plus and this seems to be a better concoction.

Watching Hives Appear

2008-06-04T09:47:00.003+01:00

I wake up in the morning and although I had to wake up once during the night to have a cold shower to reduce the itching on the legs, the skin on the arms is looking quite good.

Continuing on with a normal morning routine of creaming down the skin (aloe vera first to soothe and heal the skin, followed by a covering with emulsifying ointment to act as a barrier). I don't know what happened in the next couple of minutes, perhaps I rubbed some dust into my skin or the fresh t-shirt I put on had dust on it, but little bumps started to appear on my arm. My back began to feel intensely itchy and I knew this was bad. A cold shower helped a little but with the whole back now feeling itchy and both arms covered with hives, I needed to take an antihistamine.

So I will probably have to go to sleep soon again!

Salty Skin

2008-06-01T23:07:00.003+01:00

Swimming in the sea has always been a positive experience for skin in general. My friend swears that when he has a bit of dandruff he goes swimming. Well he lives in Italy by the sea.

The sea water appears to have the same effect on my skin. Swim in it for a couple of weeks and the quality and texture of the skin improves significantly. Although one could also argue that the cleaner sea air and the reduction in city stress could also be signalling the brain to heal the skin.

Visiting seems a long way to go and I need to stay in the city and earn my keep in this world of spiralling food and fuel prices. So next option is to test "Does salt water have a significant effect on the skin?"

Today I decided to see if sea salt has an effect and will try this for a week. I have taken a handful of sea salt and rubbed it into my wet skin. It burns and feels very satisfying! I am not a masochist but if does not make me itch further then perhaps it might help santize my skin, since doc has already told me off for using dettol to disinfect my skin!

I'll update you all next week Sunday

8th June: Sneaky update on a past post....however have researched salt on wounds and seems it has been used in medicine since the beginning see http://www.tribunes.com/tribune/sel/worm.htm

Learn To Love The Cold

2008-05-30T21:42:00.003+01:00

Having survived minus 40 degrees and a cold Arctic wind, you'd think I'd be fine about having cold showers.......but ohhhh nooo.

The rashes hate cold water, so when am itchy I dunk my body into the cold water. However it REALLY is a big mental psyche up. I turn on the tap and watch the water flow, take a couple of deep breathes and in I go.....and as the cold eases the itching, it helps to also make a lot of weird noises.

Think it might be easier to have an ice pack in the fridge.

Anyway off to see the doc next week to see if she can make any sense of this.

The Best Defense

2008-05-26T15:29:00.004+01:00

Nails
I've cut my nails soooo short that I can't even peal an orange or open a can of tomatoes using the ring pulls. Yet my skin can still find an edge to cut into the skin.

My best friend therefore is a nail file to smooth out the rough ridges.

Recommend filing in one direction, smoothing off the edges every other day. Thank goodness I'm female, so that I can file my non-existent nails in public where ever I am.

It also acts as a minor distraction as it is a two handed operation. The more intense the itch, the more I file my nails.

Bath and Sleep
Had an itch attack today so I tried a bath with Balneum Plus. This has helped to alleviate my itching in the past. It did not today. So I sent myself to sleep focusing on thanking God that I was not at work today and that my nails were so short that it was difficult to scratch anyway. Meditation on other things is good to remove the focus off the itch.

Reducing Stress

2008-05-22T15:52:00.001+01:00

Stress will certainly exacerbate the eczema condition.

Mentally I might not feel stressed from lack of sleep, but my skin will certainly tell me about it. I have just had a number of months without good sleep and I am suffering.

I have just had in the last 2 days, 2 nights of good sleep and my skin is feeling better.

Eating badly and drinking poorly are 2 other ways to stress the body without realising it. It is very easy to eat junk food and to drink less. I am now trying to drink at least 2-3 litres of water a day. I have found when my body is itchy at night, particularly the neck, the itching eases off when I drink a glass of water.

So now top of my "get well agenda is" eat healing foods, drink plenty and sleep well.

Short Term Cures

2008-05-22T15:27:00.005+01:00

Steroid Creams - Yuck
Western doctors have great short term relief for eczema......steroid creams and anti-histamines.

I started from using very weak concentrations to now far more potent doses. I will not use them any more because this is NOT a cure. It is temporary relief. As soon as I stop using the creams, the itching rears its ugly head and seems to hit even harder.

Each eczema sufferer will have a cure for them and it is just finding what that cure is. A life long dependency on steroid creams is not a cure to me. Scratching or thinning the skin. I guess it is going to be scratching for me.

Antihistamines
This is as far as I will go now with western recommendations. Like hay fever suffers, this can dull the itch and provide some relief. I dislike introducing chemicals to my body as all have a side effect, however after a number of sleepless nights, I take the antihistamine.

Effects that I have suffered from antihistamines: I never take them during the day because the ones I take cause me drowsiness. I tried one of the non-drowsy types and it caused me heart palpitations. I will never switch products again and stick to the one that does work for me. Drowsiness I can tolerate. I have now taken one anti-histamine to ease the itch for the day.

Bedtime
Bed can be scarey. One lies there trying to clear the mind.....that is when the itching can seem to intensify. And when one is asleep, hands move automated by the head to the itchy places. Before you know it, the skin areas are sore and the bed feels like sand paper. During the night, I keep a multitude of creams and powders to hand (some seen in the image, alongside skin droppings)

Prickly heat powder is great becos it can make the skin feel like it is burning and hopefully gives enough temporary relief from the scratch cycle to stop itching. Pain is better than itch. It is probably why you'll see an Eczema sufferer scratch and try to dig the skin off their flesh. You see:

Itching = Bad
Pain = Good

Itch + Scratch = Relief and then pain
Therefore Itch + Scratch = Relief + Good

However friends hitting your hand and telling you not to scratch is irritation and therefore more itching.

Friends if you want to help an eczema sufferer please give our hands something to do as a distraction

Eczema Woes

2008-05-22T11:35:00.001+01:00

Today, I decided to create a blog about skin ughs. Well one in particular that I am badly suffering from at the moment: Eczema.

Psychological Effects
In public places, bad eczema is a cause for concern to the people who are near you. Seeing someone constantly scratching, flakes of skin flying off, one cannot help wondering if the ailment the poor person is suffering from is contagious. Either that, or seeing their skin red, raw or flaking.

Personally, seeing one's own skin in total chaos: red patches; dry patches; cut patches from one's own dagger nails is a challenge for one's own head. Feeling the irritation and dryness is another that plays on one's mind. The body can feel sore; the arms tired from constant scratching and the head can feel misplaced from lack of sleep.

A typical eczema sufferer can have low esteem and not want to go out socially however an eczema sufferer has to balance all these and learn to carry on living life. Everyday I have to tell myself it probably looks worst to me than to everyone else. And in my workplace and people I meet, I apologise to them as I dig up my arm, face, neck, body or legs.

I constantly want to remove the dry skin which causes bouts of scratching and the cycle goes on.