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NFT: Eczema as an adult?

BigBlueDownTheShore : 7/9/2018 11:42 am
I had it on my wrist when I was younger. It went away when I was probably in let's say 5th grade or even earlier, but recently I got it back on my wrist, and I have got it under control using over the counter Cortizone that I apply in the morning, but just these past 2 weeks, I have gotten patches on the inside of my fingers and it is absolutely brutal and I feel like its spreading to other fingers. This is years after not having it at all! I thought I grew out of it!
My wife suffers from that.  
robbieballs2003 : 7/9/2018 11:45 am : link
There are so many different triggers that it is hard to pin point why it is occurring. It could be external factors or internal factors. The cortisone treats the symptoms but not the cause. When I first met her she had it similar to what you said and it didn't last long. Then the next time it came was probably about 2 years ago and lasted for over a year. Good luck. It is a pain in the ass.
It's  
AcidTest : 7/9/2018 12:00 pm : link
more common than most people realize. A dermatologist told me that it often happens because our sebaceous glands naturally produce less moisture as we age. This is a problem because most cleansers are very drying. The combination can make the skin very dry. This is why people can suddenly become allergic to a cleanser they have been using for years. Another possibility is a new laundry detergent.

I don't have eczema, but do have dry skin, especially in the winter. I was told not to use cleansers except under my arms, in the genital area, and on my feet. Water is enough elsewhere. Take short shorts, with cool, not hot water, because the latter increases dryness. Try Secura Personal Water by Smith and Nephew, Inc. Wash hair every other day, and have it cut short if possible.

Hands: Curel Ultra Healing Lotion, or CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin.
Body: Glycolix, 15% Body Lotion by Topix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. This is a 15% glycolic acid lotion.

All products are available on Amazon.

Good luck. I am sorry you are suffering.
Sorry  
AcidTest : 7/9/2018 12:01 pm : link
short showers.
I've had it off and on since I was a kid. Got rid of it.  
81_Great_Dane : 7/9/2018 1:09 pm : link
I knew there was some connection to dairy, but couldn't figure it out. Recently I seem to have pinned it down: I have some kind of milk intolerance, possibly lactose intolerance, but more likely casein intolerance, which is unusual and more difficult to manage than lactose intolerance. Since I went off dairy 100%, I have no eczema at all, which is a big change.

Based on my experience, I suggest trying an elimination diet and seeing whether it clears up.

I only made the dairy connection because I had to cut out milky coffee drinks for other reasons, and very suddenly a lot of my other simmering maladies improved dramatically. When I cut out dairy, they went away entirely. It's kind of annoying, as cheese was my go-to protein. Now I eat a lot of vegan food along with more meat. Go figure.
I get it on my right hand from time to time...  
x meadowlander : 7/9/2018 1:31 pm : link
...initially triggered by a cheap ring! Got a rash around the ring, stopped wearing it and the damned rash spread. Diagnosed as eczema, have dealt with it for years.

OTC Cortizone 10 cream generally works. In recent years, mine goes away in winter.

RE: I've had it off and on since I was a kid. Got rid of it.  
robbieballs2003 : 7/9/2018 1:32 pm : link
In comment 14009028 81_Great_Dane said:
Quote:
I knew there was some connection to dairy, but couldn't figure it out. Recently I seem to have pinned it down: I have some kind of milk intolerance, possibly lactose intolerance, but more likely casein intolerance, which is unusual and more difficult to manage than lactose intolerance. Since I went off dairy 100%, I have no eczema at all, which is a big change.

Based on my experience, I suggest trying an elimination diet and seeing whether it clears up.

I only made the dairy connection because I had to cut out milky coffee drinks for other reasons, and very suddenly a lot of my other simmering maladies improved dramatically. When I cut out dairy, they went away entirely. It's kind of annoying, as cheese was my go-to protein. Now I eat a lot of vegan food along with more meat. Go figure.


I definitely agree with this. My wife definitely has some sort of connection with dairy and her eczema. It also occurred with wheat as well.

My point is that it is different for everybody because there are so many factors that can trigger it but I agree with the elimination diet. You are you own best evaluator. Fast for a certain time period and slowly incorporate one food at a time. Keep a journal of all the food you eat and any reactions you have. You can piece the puzzle together but it is annoying. But once you do it you'll be so happy you did.

Now this is assuming it is an internal issue. If it is not then it could be something external like pesticides, mold, etc. Or even as mentioned above something like the soap you use. My wife had issues with our water too so she'd have to limit the amount of showers she took and tried to take cold showers as was also mentioned above. Hot water removes the natural oils on your skin that wind up drying it out and irritating it further.
Also,  
robbieballs2003 : 7/9/2018 1:39 pm : link
"They" (don't really know who they are) say your body changes every 7 years so I think it is common for people with eczema to have these flare ups years later after they think they got rid of it or at least had it under control. As we get older people start to develop allergies to food, or medication, or even pollen that they have never had before.
Had it on my body as a kid, but only fingers nowadays  
Giants in 07 : 7/9/2018 2:39 pm : link
I'm in the midst of a breakout on my pinky. Flaky skin, bleeding, weeping, skin cracks...the whole 9. It's been a few months so I'm hoping it'llgo away soon.

I use a couple of things, hydrocortizone seems to work, but never fully. It is definitely an inconvenience.
RE: Had it on my body as a kid, but only fingers nowadays  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 7/9/2018 2:54 pm : link
In comment 14009116 Giants in 07 said:
Quote:
I'm in the midst of a breakout on my pinky. Flaky skin, bleeding, weeping, skin cracks...the whole 9. It's been a few months so I'm hoping it'llgo away soon.

I use a couple of things, hydrocortizone seems to work, but never fully. It is definitely an inconvenience.


The pinky is the worst. That's where mine is right now, and I put medicine on it, but then you go to wash your hands and its just pointless.
My wife would wear gloves that looked like Mickey Mouse hands  
robbieballs2003 : 7/9/2018 3:08 pm : link
after she applied whatever medicine she used.
RE: RE: Had it on my body as a kid, but only fingers nowadays  
Giants in 07 : 7/9/2018 3:21 pm : link
In comment 14009138 BigBlueDownTheShore said:
Quote:
In comment 14009116 Giants in 07 said:


Quote:


I'm in the midst of a breakout on my pinky. Flaky skin, bleeding, weeping, skin cracks...the whole 9. It's been a few months so I'm hoping it'llgo away soon.

I use a couple of things, hydrocortizone seems to work, but never fully. It is definitely an inconvenience.



The pinky is the worst. That's where mine is right now, and I put medicine on it, but then you go to wash your hands and its just pointless.


When it was really bad, I would sleep with a sock on my hand. That was when I had it on the palm of my hand and it seemed to work well. The pinky is giving me way more trouble than the palm though.
RE: My wife would wear gloves that looked like Mickey Mouse hands  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 7/9/2018 3:40 pm : link
In comment 14009154 robbieballs2003 said:
Quote:
after she applied whatever medicine she used.


I think I irritated it more yesterday when I had rubber gloves on to scrub my shower.
RE: I've had it off and on since I was a kid. Got rid of it.  
dank41 : 7/9/2018 4:09 pm : link
In comment 14009028 81_Great_Dane said:
Quote:
I knew there was some connection to dairy, but couldn't figure it out. Recently I seem to have pinned it down: I have some kind of milk intolerance, possibly lactose intolerance, but more likely casein intolerance, which is unusual and more difficult to manage than lactose intolerance. Since I went off dairy 100%, I have no eczema at all, which is a big change.

Based on my experience, I suggest trying an elimination diet and seeing whether it clears up.

I only made the dairy connection because I had to cut out milky coffee drinks for other reasons, and very suddenly a lot of my other simmering maladies improved dramatically. When I cut out dairy, they went away entirely. It's kind of annoying, as cheese was my go-to protein. Now I eat a lot of vegan food along with more meat. Go figure.


Had to cut dairy out as well. It sucked at first, but honestly the vegan cheese options seem to keep getting better and better.
I get it on my knuckles and fingers all winter long  
Stu11 : 7/9/2018 4:24 pm : link
the cracks, swelling, bleeding etc... real pain in the ass. Don't usually get it in the summer. When I get it bad I apply this prescription ointment pretty generously before I go to sleep because like you guys said you can't really do much with your hands once you apply it. By the next day the eczema is still there but the inflammation pain is gone and within a few days the rest disappears.
I just had that shit  
santacruzom : 7/9/2018 4:56 pm : link
Well, the doctor and I don't know if it was exactly "eczema" per se, but it was a lot of peeling and dried skin. I was advised to use Aquaphor often, especially after washing my hands or getting them wet, and picked up a prescription for triamcinolone acetonide that I applied twice daily. Within 5 days my hands were back to normal.

Both of these medications (particularly the triamcinolone) are oily as all hell and not terribly pleasant to apply, but damn, they did the trick.
Eczema or Psoriasis?  
SHO'NUFF : 7/9/2018 7:56 pm : link
hard to tell
I should clarify:  
81_Great_Dane : 7/9/2018 11:54 pm : link
My eczema was pretty mild except for occasional flare-ups (two bad ones after eating sushi, weirdly enough). Same thing people are writing about above -- mostly on my fingers. Sometimes painful, but mostly just a nuisance I could control with corticosteroid creams. So I figured it was worth it for all those delicious dairy treats.

Ha! Little did I know...

Somewhere around 2-3 years ago I began having digestive problems. They got more frequent and more painful. Tried probiotics. No help. I was beginning to think I either had the beginnings of Crohn's Disease or of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Also developed GERD (reflux disease). So all in all I was feeling consistently lousy for a couple of years.

For yet other health reasons I had to stop having milky coffee drinks and within a short time my digestive issues were much improved. Not completely, but enough for me to wonder: Could I be lactose intolerant or something? So I went off dairy and ka-ching! Pain stopped. Other digestive symptoms, gone. Eczema, gone. GERD, much reduced and continuing to improve. Probiotics work now as advertised. I found the more thoroughly I avoided dairy, the better I felt and the less I have of all that stuff.

So I'm pretty satisfied I should be off dairy. Looking back, I have probably had dairy intolerance symptoms for many years. Eczema going back to childhood, but other stuff starting 10 or maybe even 20 years ago, then accelerating in the last five years.

I was in pain quite often, but despite the pain I often felt hungry, and was eating to compensate. Now I'm less hungry and feeling satiated with healthier food choices, so I'm losing weight relatively fast. Separately from the weight loss, since I'm no longer bloated, I look 10 pounds thinner anyway. So that's a bonus.

The puzzling part at first: My symptoms never completely matched lactose intolerance. Eventually I stumbled on a description of casein intolerance, which pretty much matches my symptoms, point for point. (intolerance not allergy). Unfortunately, while you can easily get lactase pills at the drugstore, there's no equivalent pill for milk protein intolerance. Also, casein can be in processed foods that are labeled "dairy free" -- it's a very common food ingredient. It's much harder to manage than lactose intolerance.

So for now, I shop for prepared foods that are labeled either kosher-meat, kosher-parve (neither can have any dairy ingredients) or vegan. This is quite inconvenient, even in health-conscious L.A. Plus many of my favorite foods have dairy as an ingredient. (Sweet dreams, ice cream. Au revoir, butter croissants. Arrividerci, cheese pizza. See ya, New England clam chowder. Parmesan on spaghetti? Fuggedaboudit. Cheese it, cheesecake.) But it's worth it to be out of pain, have my skin clear up, and to no longer be coughing constantly.

I'm not going to turn into an anti-dairy crusader but I suspect there are other people like me out there who have a bunch of nagging issues that could be cleared up by avoiding dairy ingredients. I don't think my issues are unique at all.
I had cut out dairy almost completely from my diet  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 7/10/2018 4:25 pm : link
a few years ago, but had to add some back in since my vitamin D levels were super low. I just eat low-fat yogurt around twice a day. I'm pretty sure my first adult Eczema attack.
I get this on my fingertips  
bigbluehoya : 7/10/2018 4:47 pm : link
And sometimes further down in the fingers. Been having this for a little over a year. Tremendously uncomfortable and annoying to deal with. The type of thing that can just put you in a bad mood for no other reason.

Finally went to the dermatologist about 2 months ago. They quickly diagnosed me with Dyshidrotic Eczema.

Currently, they have me on 2 week cycles of a topical steroid ointment (Clobetasol Propionate), with breaks of 1 week in between. So far, the ointment has helped, but it’s flared back up pretty quickly during the down weeks.

The derm mentioned that there is a Phototherapy treatment that has become a bit more ubiquitous in the last few years that a lot of people have success with. I will likely pursue that route if a few more cycles of the ointment don’t provide some longer-standing relief.
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