Eczema? (Skin condition)

[linkII]

I have excema on my face which is bad and has been there for awhile. I've been researching a fair bit about it and found out it may come from high stress levels associated with anxiety disorders.

I'm curious if anyone else has this skin condition? I'd like to hear how you cope with it and how you treat it?
Thanks for reading.

[veron]

I have this too. What helped me last time was a visit to a dermatologist. He prescribed me lots of vitamins and a new diet. Cortisone cream works wonders but apparently it's bad for long term use, so I try to avoid it.

[sc47]

I am a nanny, and I the boy I watch has this. He uses special lotion, I am not sure of the name, I will find out monday. It seems to help out a lot.

[Knife]

Recently when I was under a lot of stress at uni I got excema for the first time. It appeared on my hand quite suddenly and lasted a few months. It flared up when I ate greasy food, and I think things like meat and sugary pastry also affected it.
So my only advice really is a good diet. I put moisturiser on it when it looked really dry but I'm not sure that helped in the long term.

[Banzai]

Yup. I have this as well although I don't ever let it bother me much in life. The only thing that it's made me do is wear more baggy/longer clothes although, for me, it gets less and less worst as I get older so I hardly have it anymore but old habits die hard. The least I'll wear is probably a T-shirt and cropped trousers.
However, of all places to get eczema, the face is pretty much the worst :/ which doesn't exactly help your SA since it's most likely going to make you become more and more self conscious.
You should also know what foods you're allergic to as well and avoid eating them. You should also avoid anything else that you're allergic to e.g dust mite and cats are pretty common allergies.
And I'm guessing you've seen the doc right?
Some typical advice would be to drink lots of water/liquids...eat lots of fruit and veg...unfortunately there's no cure for eczema...just ways to make it better which also means that it's forever going to remain in your "blood" which means, even it looks like it's almost gone, it can always come back.
Good luck in treating it!

[BlueAngel24]

I have this too, it use to be so bad that I had it all over my body. I remember I went to my doctor and he prescribed me a cream for it. I stop using them though because they have like steroids in them. Instead I use this lotion called Keri. It is every good for it when it is dry. My doctor also told me I could be allergic to certain things I eat or use on my skin or clothes. It would be good to also watch what you eat. I found out that for me things like shrimp and dish washing liquid irritated it.

[UKPhobe]

I get bloody awful Eczema all over; does anyone else find it annoying when it starts itching while you're trying to exercise?

[SAgirl]

I just be sure to go for a shower afterwards. Do you mosturize often? I use Aveeno. What kinds of foods do you eat? You could have allergies to some.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by UKPhobe

I get bloody awful Eczema all over; does anyone else find it annoying when it starts itching while you're trying to exercise?

Yup. I think sweat triggers it. Friction might have another say it in as well.

[AudreyHepburn]

I actually have this and I've had it since I was 12. That was a very stressful time in my life, also. When I first got it, it was on my shin, and then it went away with prescription cream. It's back again on my shin and it actually spread to my neck, but it's not as bad there.

I had no idea it was partially caused by stress! I should have did some research about it...

[AudreyHepburn]

Originally Posted by BlueAngel24

I found out that for me things like shrimp and dish washing liquid irritated it.

Dish washing liquid... definitely has the same effect on me.

[millenniumman75]

I had it on the top of my left foot (a small patch), but it itched. I think I used Athlete's Foot Spray thinking it was athlete's foot. It actually burned the skin. It went away after that.

[Treelover]

Hi, I used to get it on my back and sometimes my chest, stress seemed to trigger it off. Though sugar has an effect too. I had a really bad flare up last year and tried out umpteen different creams with no success.
Then I noticed a big difference when I began putting tea tree oil and lavender in my bath...I now add a few drops of each all the while. I think it could be the healing qualities of these oils that do the trick.
I also use lavender on my temples when I have a headache, it's really soothing.
Good luck !!

[UKPhobe]

Originally Posted by Banzai

Yup. I think sweat triggers it. Friction might have another say it in as well.

I don't think it’s friction; it's also puzzling why sweat might be triggering it since Eczema is basically dryness of the skin.

[SAgirl]

My skin used to be horrific in grade 7 and 8. Almost everything that I was eating, I was allergic to. I am allergic to anything with artificial flavours and colours. This means no candy for me, no pralines with caramel ice cream, no Kraft Dinner, no rice with food colouring and seasonings. No tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, raspberries, or strawberries, no chocolate. Drinking Milk has a tendency to bother my skin as well.

As far as clothing goes, I only wear cotton clothes, my bedding is 100% cotton. No feather pillows. I don't wear any perfume. I live in a 100% smoke free environment.

I have tried many creams as well. From eucerin to many others. Aveeno even used to make my skin itch. If you get into a routine of mosturizing regularly and immediately after showers, it does help. You may have to mosturize numerous times a day.
I recommend the book The Eczema Solution by Sue Armstrong Brown. It talks about the itch scratch cycle.

I really like cortisone cream 1% and betamethasone 0.05% white cream.
You can buy cortisone cream at your pharmacy without a prescription.

I also recommend an antihistamine for the itch. Benadryl, Claritin, ChlorTripolon (makes you tired, though.) My face is mainly where I get eczema so I can relate to you.

People with eczema should never kiss anyone with a cold sore or you could get eczema herpeticum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema_herpeticum (This is a 1 time thing)
This turns into herpes simplex for life caused by going out in the sun.

[Cla]

Yep have had eczema all my life. This has now mutated into severe allergies and asthma (I'm in my 30s, thought I was too old for this!!)

Creams containing salicylic acid help the eczema, also extract of coal tar.

Good luck

[Canadian Brotha]

I've been getting the itches all over my body during the warmer seasons for a few years now but I never thought to look into it until now. as it's getting quite annoying. I was just looking through my moms medical book under itching & it mentioned Eczema so I checked out the overview of it. Sounds exactly like what I've been experiencing. I'll have to go to my GP & see what can be done about it

[Jaiyyson]

I get eczema in between the knuckles and in between my fingers sometimes if my skin gets particularly dry.

[xDreamer]

I have Eczema on my arms, neck, and sometimes legs(but not that often anymore). What I basically do is I put a cream from my dermatologist on my Eczema when it gets really bad.

[Banzai]

Hm I'd just like to suggest sea water in helping to treat eczema. It really has done wonders for me and alot of other people as well (a quick search on Google would yield similar results). After about 10 days by the sea side, you can really see the difference.
After about an hours soak, have a quick shower, dry yourself and then apply cream on straight after. I would highly recommend it.