Eczema

My Eczema clears up when I'm on holiday too! Not sure if it's the heat, the chlorine or being relaxed that does it! I expect a combination of them all!

Mine is stress related, so could that be an option possibilty? I use Sudocrem when I get a flare up, it comes and goes, I don't have it all the time.

The Bodyshop hemp range is good (although stinks!), I find if my skin is in good supple condition flare ups are less severe.

As old wives tales go I've heard that oat baths are good - handfull of oats in the foot of some old tights tied onto the tap and let the water run though. If it's just your feet you could just make a footbath sort of thing with it?

Hope you find something to relieve the situation

I hear cows milk can make it a lot worse, especially for young children, so I assume in adults too?

When I was pregnant and not allowed my steroid cream, my skin was awful and brought me to years. The only thing that cleared it was aveeno cream. Amazing stuff! Lush's dream cream was good too.

The eczema on my ankle cleared up on its own as I moved into my teen years, but it has left me with a white patch and some little freckles.

The bit on my hands cleared up after some very strong steroid cream, Dermovate I think.

My scalp has never cleared up, it moved from the front of my head to the back and top of my scalp oddly, and then just got worse, it went down my neck and then cleared up from there with use of shampoos, but still covers the back of my scalp and in patches on the top. I am finally being referred to a dermatologist for that.

I get the odd bits elsewhere like elbows, knees etc and just use HC45 or emolient creams like E45. Regular Vaseline helps too.

Recently I have been using some products from this site which does seem to lessen the itching http://www.skinshop.co.uk/list.asp?deptid=77

Thanks everyone.

EF- Yes it is, if my google search is correct and that's the same as pomphlyx eczema. The first doctor I saw told me it was that. Despite it being on my file as pomphlyx eczema each doctor has still prescribed me steroids. I'm even more annoyed now if they should know they don't work. Have you had tests to find out what triggers it or have you worked it out? I'm struggling to work out how a blood test will tell me anything.

(Also on a completely different subject, but because we were talking about Schizophrenia misconceptions the other day- I was in a school on Fri and a teacher was telling me that she was doing guided reading in one room and spellings in another and that she'd "be schizophrenic by lunchtime." [:'(] ? )

I found cutting out dairy products cleared my eczema up no end. It only flares up really badly when I am stressed as well so watch out for that as a trigger.

I have those little blister things on my feet as well, I didn't know that was linked to the eczema as well!

Hitched is sorting me right out with my medical issues atm!

My LO has ezcema and has had allergy testing due to the thought that it's dairy related. Hence we have been weaning dairy and soya free (the dietician told us that 40% are also allergic to soya, and 90% to goats milk).

Our GP was useless and refused to prescribe steroids and just thought it would clear up with emollients, his ezcema was head to toe and he was miserable which was so stressful. Eventually we saw a dermatologist who gave us an intense creaming regime with steroids and emollients and things have drastically improved. We are still using the steroids four months on so we're not there yet and we can't pin point what's caused it. We're also reintroducing dairy slowly.

Do you see a dermatologist or just your GP?

Ive heard good things about Aveeno and Lush dream cream.

I don't know about your specific type of eczema but holidays seem to work well for this. So you either need to go on holiday again (yay!) or treat yourself to a foot spa and lots of sea salt soaks.

My Mum's friend makes some potion composed of oats and lavender oil that worked a treat on a weird and persistent skin rash I had years ago.

Which steroid ointments have you tried? I ask as I had awful eczema and had tried a few ointments but only Mometasone sorted me out.

I like this option. Reckon the NHS would fork out for a monthly yearly trip to Greece? I was wondering whether it might have been the sunlight. I've heard that UV/sunbeds can help with eczema. Any science behind this? Shame sunbeds aren't safer really, but I'd still rather have eczema than skin cancer.

Kharv I've had mometasone and betnovate and another one beginning with C. They help at first but it comes back as soon as I stop using it. Also tried antibiotics, hydrocortisone and various emollients.

ETA- I'd better not be allergic to dairy [:'(] though I doubt that's it, I ate my body weight in Feta.

Is feta goats cheese?

I've only Googled it but it seems that vitamin D helps eczema - have you thought about a supplement? For some reason, I thought it was the salt water exposure that was beneficial.

Usually sheep (I think).

Vitamin D tablets and antihistamines it is. I do take claritin when it gets really bad. I've always said I'm solar powered, I don't function well unless the sun's out. I think I just need to emigrate.

Thanks for all the help, I'll update when I get my results, which apparently could be weeks.

I had really bad skin on my hands a year or two ago, like you I saw the doctors many times and tried a stupid amount of creams. I finally got referred to alergy tests to turn out it was nickel (silver coins, golds, paper clips etc) and carba mix (latex/rubber/cement/glues/cleaning products etc). I have to be careful with so much, but it really does make a difference knowing that instead of my whole palms being red raw, peeling, cracking and worst blistering - it's now just the occassional patch (usually finger tips where handing coins etc). One thing to watch out for are shoes, do you have rubber insoles? Latex is really popular to be allergic too so it could be that?

What works for me is ellocon cream and ointment (I have both as it depends how sore my hands are as I hate ointment buts its much softer on my skin when its all sore and red) and diprobase. When I'm really bad I put it on with cotton or latex free gloves to allow it to soak in over night/during the day where needed.

I've got the dreaded asthma/eczema combo, and the corticosteroid creams never really worked for me!

What I do (and it works really well) is: never over-exfoliate, but always wash the effected area with a wash cloth. Immediately after getting out of the shower I slather on a E45 moisturizer basically everywhere, but then I use vaseline intensive rescue moisture locking cream on the little patches of eczema. I reapply the vaseline cream again right before bed as well. I always have a few patches, but they go away in a couple weeks with this routine.

ETA: this probably only soothes the skin as it clears up by other means, and I'm on antihistamines daily for allergies. It's all annoyingly connected. Sucks.

When my niece was a baby she had terrible eczema all over her face. She was but on soya milk/no dairy and it cleared within 2 months.