Eczema on the face

[JulieR]

Has anyone done any research on building the immune system to control their eczema? Our Chinese herbalits recommended it and that was one thing that really seemed to help but didn't get it under control 100%.

[ymufc]

hi henry,

i wont bore you with my story cuz we've all been thorough it but recently my skin has been really manageable. i was watching tv and johnson's baby lotion the spray form was on the adverts so i thought why not try it. a few months back i used to carry a little tube of diprobase and i used to run to the toliet every hour to moisterise. now using johnson baby oil it literally moisterises all day! so what i do is spray that on my face, then i use some cocoa butter, and then vaseline but the boots make. now i wake up in the morning and i dont have to moisturise until the night which is just unbelieveable. i hope this will help you and everyone who has posted on here

[randomhiccup]

Have you tried protopic? I'm not sure I'd recommend it after personal experience however I know that many people have benefited significantly from it and it will do less damage to your skin in the long term (I think you mentioned you were using dermovate).

Hi Wiggly can I ask what problems you had with the protopic?

Henry I now call protopic miracle cream!! WhenI get a flare up on my face, I often get weepy patches too, especially on my forehead I use protopic and by the next day its usually gone again. Just be aware that it'll make you redder than you started, and can cause a slight burning which is sometimes as itchy if not more so than the way you started, but if you persevere hopefully like me it'll help you. As Wiggly said you don't get the same issues as normal steroids, I don't like to use steroids on my face if I can help it but this really helps.

[jparnell]

Hello,
I've had eczema all over my body all my life, and I've pretty much now just accepted its part of me. Im going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, for no apparent reason; as far as I am aware, I havent changed eating habits, washing powder etc.

Anyway, my face and neck regularly flare up, almost on a weekly basis, in fact it seems to be every week to the day which is strange? When it happens, and I wake up in the morning, I can feel it is going to be bad before even looking in the mirror, I just have this feeling. Does anyone know what I mean? I can't describe it. The other thing I find, is that its certain patches on my face. I'll have a large red area, and in the middle of it, a perfect clear area. It seems to be the same areas that flare up each time; i guess these areas of the skin are just weaker than the other areas.

When it does flare up, I use protopic, which about 12hrs later has pretty much settled it down again for another week. When first applied, it looks worse to start with so i prefer to put it on before going to bed so it has time to work over night. It was a strange sensation to start with, but the tingly feel as now gone- probably because I've used it fairly regularly.

At times it feels like you're totally alone with Eczema, and no one else really understands. When I'm in the gym, i look at other people and everyone else seems to have perfect skin, and I wonder why mine cant be like that. But then I just think to myself is it really that bad? It doesnt stop me doing much (swimming and maybe eating certain foods are all that come to mind at the moment), I have all my limbs, eyesight, hearing, and with all the things going on in the world, things could be a lot lot worse.

[AnnaB]

My son's face eczema flares up each week also, again nearly to the day each week. What I thought was, it is not what is causing the flare each week, but more that that is as long as the steroids can keep it supressed for. As soon as I stop the steroid it is a count down to it coming back.

[babeshall]

I can definatly relate to this as my husband has had eczema his whole life and is compleetly uncontrolable, he is most distressed when it is on his face and neck as it is so visable, it sounds very much the same. compleetly by accident we have found that applying metatanium on the are at night, greatly reduces the red ness and weeping, we do this when it first apears and it geos within a couple of days but look alot better.
metatainum ( i think that is how you spell it ) is actually a nappy cream and is bright yellow, which is why we only use it at night, but it is worth a try, it has helpped for us. good luck
Natalie

[lululu]

y nephew has had skin problems since he was born, my brother has given up with hospital and has had a test done himself to identify any food allergies, it's a great test and they tested for the 4 nti-bodies involved in allergic rections, not just the IgE antibodies, which are normally associated with sudden reactions, such as peanut allergies anyway, We have been told that IgA tests are more useful as they are the antibodies involved in delayed reactions, usually involved in eczema and as they can take up to 3 days to develop after eating a food it's very difficult to pinpoint what's causing it. The test tests for 400 foods and inhalant allergies, pollen and dustmite etc.

The company usually only give you the IgE results but you an ask for all 4 of the antibodies to me tested. We have found it very useful and we are seeing improvements. The website is www.amatterofhealth.co.uk.

The owner of the site gave us some general advice via email too, she has told us to swop washing powder to Bio-D washing powder as all the so-called sensitive washing powders in supermarkets are full of optical brighteners and all sort of chemicals. We have purchased some and my nephew's itching at night has improved considerably. You can goodle Bio-D to find someone who sells it or there is a link from the above website which takes you to a website selling it. We have also been advised to get a wholehouse water filter ut in, as chlorine is a considerable factor is eczema, we have been told that sitting in bath water which is unfiltered is like sitting in bleach - yuck!!

Anyway hope this helps you

[jothompson81]

Hi, newby JO here.
Oh my God, only just discovered this website as really depressed at mo bout my skin - didn't quite realise there were others out there who seem to suffering just like me.
Backgroubd info: have had eczema all my life - 27yrs, has all sorts of treatments ranging from chinese medicine, PUVA, bandages plus the hundreds of creams i've tried.
Over the last yr / 9months i've had a major flare up. Just can't stop scratching and keep geeting skin infections -particularly on my face which result in getting these horrible boil looking lumps which are extremely painful and not pleasant to look at! my face is particulaly bad, with, as others have said - swollen eyes, bright red cheeks etc. Henry seemed to be describing me down to a 'T'!
AM under hospital consulatant again but there doesn't seem to be anything out there to try - am getting stressed with it all which in tuen doesn't help the situation. Can anyone help me?
With love, jo xx

[AnnaB]

Hi Jo

I so feel for you. I am only a mother of 2 suffering children but feel I have a bit of an idea of what you are going through. All the trials of creams, treatments, wraps, tests etc.

The boils on your face are they from blocked hair folicles? My son looked like he had chicken pox for nearly a year. Test swobs would come back negative. They were painful to touch, but luckily he was too young to realise what he looked like. We finally found that however bad his eczema he can only cope with the greasy emolients once a day, all other times we have to use creams. Clothes are never worn more than once. This has solved the problem totally. The only reason we tried this was due to him overheating within normal activities so we felt his skin could not breath or cool itself. It worked he now only gets the odd single spot.

Does your skin get worse or better in the sun??

I too think this sight is great just to be in touch with others with Eczema is a stress outlet and great support.

Anna

[1635Mary]

Wiggly

Hi, I've just purchased the book The Eczema Solution and have read the first chaper in which it advised the purchase of a tally counter.

Seeing as you've followed this book I was wondering if you wouldn't mind offerring your opinion on if it could work for a 10 yr old, with me (mum) teaching and monitoring. Do you think this is possible?

Thanks
Mary