New Sections Being Created

I thought I wanted to finish with this blog as my skin overall feels pretty awesome though I do need to continue to keep up the life regime to keep the "rash" from ever smacking around my system ever again......but a dude whose code name is Rick researched "eczema" for his PhD and asked me if I'd be interested in seeing if his thesis can help someone out in the big wide world. I thought about it and thought it would be useful to compare the views of those who have tried to understand this disorder and compare it from my own experience.

So am going to share what his research has understood about chronic eczema........atopic eczema.....atopic dermatitis.

However think these are pretty good as stickies. So enjoy the new posts as pages :)

The Train Man

As I commuted on the train back from work, I noticed a man incessantly scratching and applying a "nasty cream" (that is my opinion as it did not help relieve his vigourous scratching on his face, ears and hands). His skin had that odour of skin that had been weeping.....I felt sad as I watched him fight himself. So I thought I'd provide myself as a distraction.....I sat next to him and talked about his condition and my condition. He asked me what I did to drastically reduce my symptoms and I said "hard work/trial and error". I started off with my diet and immediately he told me how he loves his food and likes a couple pints of beer after work. He wouldn't want to change that.

So I told him, at the end of the day it is your choice about whether you want to heal properly or not. The quick "medical" fixes will only be temporary for our long term eczematic conditions. I am thankful that I am able to adapt and change. Not wanting to change and adapt your lifestyle is an obstacle to your healing ability. The sooner you get over it, the sooner you will find out how you can heal yourself.

He then shared with me that the doctors had "given up" on his condition and the only thing was to increase his steroid dosage to get temporary relief.

I smiled and told him to write a blog about his condition so that he can observe/reflect on what is going on. At the end of the day, it is down to you to fix it. The doctors really can only guide you and give you a quick fix.

In my opinion the quick "medical" fixes are a waste of money. I am so much happier with the long term healing I have found in diet, herbal teas, non-usage of soaps, washing powder (non bio), keeping the dust levels low in my room and so many more things.

Anyhow the distraction worked and as we conversed he scratched less and less. By the time he had come to his stop, he had completely stopped scratching :) Distrations are great when we're itchy so that we focus less on the itch.

Ahhh I have not defeated winter yet.

Before I continue this post, I want to talk about the folk who are leaving comments. Firstly thank you for reading my blog posts. However to commenters who want to give me sample products, that is great.  Let's list some of the freebies you have offered:
- Soaps: I am not using them any more except on my hands and down below!
- Creams: I tried using "natural creams" when my eczema was improving, (only ingredients were jojba oil and shea butter). I was so itchy after using it. I will now only use creams that have gone through my test. No itchiness

Winter has always meant my skin quality worsens and the skin seems to tingle more with itchiness with the short days of sunlight, the cold dampness and the dreaded heating. This is true of this winter, however with the healing of my skin going into winter, it has been more resistant to the winter effects. Thus I slackened.

DIET
Last year I had learned about a ketosis diet and so I increased my medium chained triglycerides (MCT) fats in my food (uncooked olive oil; rapeseed and coconut oil for frying) and eating less carbohydrates. This may have added to my skin feeling silkier.  I did not gain or lose any weight. The verdict on whether carbs reduces inflammation or not seems to have a mixed response when researching on the web and might be due to who is sponsoring the research! Anyhow you might find these 2 articles of interest:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/4/774.full
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140508095415.htm

Though the last study is a conclusion of patients with type 2 diabetes we can learn from all disorders that are food related as think these will exerate the things that are going on in our own bodies.

Notice-ably I have been "carb-bing" much more over the festive season and had a whole load of cakes and "crap" left over from the Christmas period which I didn't want wasted. There would appear to be a down turn in my skin quality since the change over of a higher carb diet.

Am now returning to my pre-festive diet - higher in MCT fat and veg and much less carbs and some protein.

OUTDOOR/EXERCISE
I was out most of the time last year winter, doing something. This time round the grey days and rain has kept me inside. The rashes have reappeared on my face and will need to return to taking vit D3 suppliments again or get me arse in gear to get outside. Endorphines are great too to help beat the winter blues.

I am very specific about the sun's effect on my face as I have found that if am indoors for a couple of days working (am a computer programmer), my eyes, cheeks and forehead can become itchy. The sunshine on my face tends to relieve that itch!

SLEEP
Eczema sufferers tend to lack good sleep. I have been taking a quarter of an anti-histamine pill when I feel any itchiness at night. This normally happens 2 weeks before my menstruation but has been feeling a little more regularly itchy with the increase in carbs.. Am now playing with arnica pills to see if that will ease off the itchiness and thus the skin inflammation.

Wishing those who are true eczema sufferers, less itchy days and enough distractions to scratch less.

Well Maybe This is My Last Post because my skin feels amazing

I am sitting here writing an entry with now only one small spot of eczema.

I had to eat better for the last 4 weeks as was traveling. Had very little sugary snacks, very little processed stuff (unless a bag of prewashed leaves counts) and ate a diet high in fat with loads of vegetables, some protein and few carbs. And if there wasn't enough fat, I added olive oil. I'd also been resting more than usual. Well there's not a lot to do when you're just in places for work.

My skin all over feels silky and smooth even where I had eczema.

I have drastically reduced the amount of cream I use. So for all those people who want to provide me pots of cream to help relieve eczema......thank you for the offers. I think my skin is excellent.

Right now am in a good place and need to consider how to keep the diet and sleep as if am traveling now am back home. So easy to fall back into bad habits!

A Positive Mind Keeps A Positive Body

This might be my last blog post.

Before I started this blog, I struggled with Eczema for so long that it became a way of life to scratch the hell out of my skin. I went along with the doctor's prescriptions because I thought they knew better. I now know better!!!

The doctor's prescriptions are temporary relief. This is fine if you have transient dermatitis that disappears after using this temporary relief. This is not the same for folk who suffer from Atopic Eczema. The hydrocortisones/betnovates & petroleum/paraffin based moisturisers (aqueous cream, diprobase) worsened my skin condition and on reflection I believe it caused my ailments to be widespread as I liberally continued to use these moisturisers all over my skin.

My skin became ultra sensitive to so many things that would cause eczema to suddenly appear. The more I scratched, the more I spread it along my skin as I weakened the skin structures of good skin trying to avoid scratching the bad skin.  Now a days I moisturise my skin about twice a day now with a non-specialist moisturiser.

Those reading this blog to help someone you care for, please do not tell them to "stop scratching" - it is a bloody annoying phrase to hear! Negative language creates negative responses. Be positive with your language to an eczema sufferer.....errr saying "scratch more" is also unhelpful. Provide distractions that require an eczema sufferer to use their hands and to think about the task we have to complete. It is most likely they just need some hydration so providing a cup of "relaxing" herbal tea like chamomile or fennel certainly goes a long way with me.

I created this blog so I could record what I had tried and what worked for me. All eczema conditions are not the same but I have noted that there are some things that are consistent for all: sleep and hydration.

If you are lacking in either one, expect itchy skin. I think I have written enough about the healing power of sleep. I used to believe sleep was a waste of time. I now love my sleep and the powers it has. I am frequently having to teach myself to sleep especially during times of stress. Drinking water is another habit I have had to force myself to do. 2-3 mug sized cups of water was all I used to drink. I played sport without drinking very much. I used to itch like crazy after a sweaty session of sport. I have also written much about hydration and the use of herbal non-caffeine teas to add a calming effect to your mind and body.


Carbohydrates may be debate-able but have you noticed how most people eat soooo much of it. In "developed" countries there are large parts of the population suffering from type II diabetes, stroke and heart attacks. This food type is supposed to be used for a quick source of energy.

I am a programmer. I sit on my arse a lot during the day - yet the biscuits and crisps were the ones I used to constantly snack on. I now snack on spinach and rocket....or drink a cup of hot water/herbal tea. Remember vegetables have carbs. It is noted that there are many places on the web that indicate grains, starches, dairy, and sugars can cause inflammation. Personally I have noted keeping sugars and dairy low in my diet has been beneficial.

I run marathons on quorn cocktail sausages (am slow so need slow burning fat) supplemented with a couple of breakfast bars. Gels are chemical crap - another "quick fix" to fool you mentally. Perhaps should only be used by folk who need a quick shot of energy because they are metabolising at a high rate (see earlier posts). In my opinion, now having completed 55 marathons/ultras, the only time I have used gels are caffeine gels as I try to force my body to maintain alertness....really I only took then for the caffeine. In my experience I have seen too many athletes use gels at the beginning and during an ultra and found they became ineffective. Too much blood sugar and the body goes into "lah lah" land. Talk to a diabetic who measures their blood sugar to see the spike they get when they have one sweet.

I am not completely free of eczema, with my hormones screwing with my skin. So I take a quarter of an anti-histamine to keep it under control in those times. However my skin is in a good place and I am thankful for the use of the web to be able to record and journal my healing process and what has worked for me. Without it, I would probably still be struggling with my skin urghs.

Thank you to all those who have commented on my blog over the years and hope I have inspired you to start your own blog about your skin so that you can discover what works for healing your skin urghs. Keep it positive and keep it real.

Oiling From the Inside

With the Keto Adapted diet, I have learned about the different types of oils however I did not really appreciate the impact of uncooked oil until I was in Italy for 2 weeks. I noticed the Italians do not fry with Olive Oil and tend to throw liberal amounts on the before it is served.

My skin has been feeling well moisturised and smooth. I will continue eating more copious amounts of uncooked virgin olive oil and coconut oil to see if the effects will continue the "great skin" feeling.

At the same time the rooms I have been staying in, have been very clean, which also helps.

More in a couple of months time when the oily diet is proven.

Sleep, Breathing and No-Poo Hair

Sleep
So what is new? Nothing really. Have just been understanding how I underestimated the power of sleep. I have observed how everything feels better when you've had proper sleep.....never realised that flu, bronchitis, etc heals so much faster when one can have proper sleep. AND the skin feels calm.

Breathing
Before I get up, I now try to breathe deeply ten times. This seems to energise my body and believe this is because it is a deep breathe rather than our shallow breaths that we take when we are doing everyday things. Worst is when we are doing activities such as running. We forget to breathe and either breath through our mouth (very shallow breaths) or in through our nose and immediately expel everything out through out mouth. If you are a runner, try breathing in and out through your nose.

Result:
- less snot
- more energy in the legs

No-Poo Hair
I have given up on shampoo. It took most of last year to do so. I used to shampoo my hair frequently because it itched and also because it became greasy very quickly. Last year I began to reduce the frequency I shampooed my hair starting from:
1. washing it every other day for about a couple of months until I felt comfortable to go the next step
2. washing it every 2 days etc
3. washing it every 3 days etc

After washing it every other week, I decided to drop the shampoo altogether at the end of October.

I now only wash my scalp with water when I have sweat. It is not greasy. However my hair seems to be a little dry from the hard water so adding oil on the ends seems fine.

Result:
- my head is no longer itchy (unless I am very tired)
- less split ends

Still moisturising skin and take a quarter of an anti-histamine before the "grouchy woman time".

BTW folks keep recommending creams and stuff to me. Great if it has helped you! It does not mean it will help me. An example, I have often been told Aveeno is really good for moisturising eczema. My skin hates it! I have documented what works for me. So thanks for trying to help and forgive me if I respond negatively to "do I want to try a product".

Get back to holistic measures on your own body rather than looking for a fast fix. You will have a long term heal with Atopic eczema when you provide your body the right environment to heal and to fight.