Short Term Cures

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