Eczema Help

[theuglyduckling]

Sorry, but it is kinda a long post.

So I have eczema on my hands and it drives me crazy. So far luckily it has only stayed on my hands and spreads no where else. My right hand has it worse than my left hand. I can't touch any soap without it flaring up and it is really aggravating. I can not take a shower with out having help from someone because if I don't then the eczema just flares up, I can't wash the dishes without wearing gloves(and sometimes even that doesn't always help), I can't wash my hands with soap after using the bathroom or that will aggravate it(although I still wash them anyway with soap after), and if I need to wash my hands after they get dirty it will flare up again. I feel like if it is impossible to avoid it from flaring up sense it is on my hands. How am I supposed to keep my hands from being germ free when I can't even use soap on them?

Yesterday I washed one of my dogs because she had fleas and I used gain dish washing soap. It was only for like ten fifteen minutes and two hours my hands were red and puffy from the eczema they were stinging and it wouldn't go away. I cleaned her ears and put a little vinegar in them to clean them with and forgot about my hands and my hands felt like they were on fire. It is so annoying

!

After I did that I decided to soak my hands in some cold peppermint tea. That helped when they were in the liquid, but once I took them out they went back to stinging

so I went to bed with stinging hands.

I have gone to the doctor when it first appeared and the doctor gave me some cream stuff. It works somewhat by controlling the flare ups, but I just wish I could get the darn stuff to go away! I plan on going to a dermatologist soon. If the stuff he gives me doesn't work then I want to do some type of homeopathic remedies.

I honestly don't know how I even got eczema in the first place. I just started to get eczema not last year but year before that in October when I moved to Puerto Rico to live with my fiance. Before I moved here I lived in Arizona. In Arizona I never had eczema I didn't even show signs of it. I don't know if the climate here made it show up or what. Before I lived in Arizona I lived in New York and in New York I never had eczema either. I read somewhere that if someone in your family has or had eczema then it can carry in the family and you can get it then. I am pretty sure my grandpa use to have it so maybe I carry it?

Does anybody have the same problem?

 

[TOP KNOT]

Yes but not quite as bad... I now make my own laundry detergent. tipnut.com I mix 1 grated bar of fels-naptha to washing soda and borax. Gain ruins me!!! I will get rashes all over. I also now use either suave (the basic stuff) and or cleure shampoo&conditioner. I only use oil of olay or dove bar soap. My rashes have disappeared!!! I used to get itchy bumpy terrible rashes that drove my crazy. watch out for the foaming agent in soaps like sodium laureth sulfate.Experiment with different products (hypo allergenic) It seems the fanciest most advertised products do me the most harm!! I went simple and odorless and my skin is happy again. Did you change products when you moved? Were you on city water or a well? It may be the fluoride or chlorine in the water. Try to write down(sounds crazy) what you are putting your hands in (daily) to see where the worst flair ups are are coming from. Tipnut also has dish soap recipes I think. my derm helped me none!! You have to figure it out yourself. They only want to give you more toxic crap to put on your skin. Good luck! It does take some time to clear up try not to scratch!! Oh I also like curel lotion(the regular kind) I really hope you find a solution to this!! Not fun to live with!! p.s. I am sure the gain caused you the hand flair up. google gain Like I said good luck!!

 

[theuglyduckling]

Yes but not quite as bad... I now make my own laundry detergent. tipnut.com I mix 1 grated bar of fels-naptha to washing soda and borax. Gain ruins me!!! I will get rashes all over. I also now use either suave (the basic stuff) and or cleure shampoo&conditioner. I only use oil of olay or dove bar soap. My rashes have disappeared!!! I used to get itchy bumpy terrible rashes that drove my crazy. watch out for the foaming agent in soaps like sodium laureth sulfate.Experiment with different products (hypo allergenic) It seems the fanciest most advertised products do me the most harm!! I went simple and odorless and my skin is happy again. Did you change products when you moved? Were you on city water or a well? It may be the fluoride or chlorine in the water. Try to write down(sounds crazy) what you are putting your hands in (daily) to see where the worst flair ups are are coming from. Tipnut also has dish soap recipes I think. my derm helped me none!! You have to figure it out yourself. They only want to give you more toxic crap to put on your skin. Good luck! It does take some time to clear up try not to scratch!! Oh I also like curel lotion(the regular kind) I really hope you find a solution to this!! Not fun to live with!! p.s. I am sure the gain caused you the hand flair up. google gain Like I said good luck!!

When I came here my fiances mother would buy Gain a lot and I have a feeling that that might have caused the eczema start to appear more. The soaps that I can touch without it flaring up like crazy are head and shoulders shampoo and dawn or Palmolive dish soap. Anything that has acidity in it I absolutely can not touch or it will burn. I also can not touch any house cleaning products or my hands flare up badly. I also can't touch lotions that have the alcohol in it.

 

[TOP KNOT]

Good luck on feeling better!!

 

[theuglyduckling]

thnx!

anybody else out there suffering from this? I know there has to be...

 

[sfw2]

My younger daughter has super-sensitive skin, and gets eczema flare-ups, especially in the winter time. She has outgrown it, somewhat, but still gets patches from time to time. She uses Aveeno products (cleansers and lotion), and that seems to help.

I strongly recommend a visit to the dermatologist. He/she can tell you if there is something else going on. The most important thing is to protect your hands from things you know trigger flare-ups. Some people are also sensitive to regular rubber gloves, so it might be worth going with a latex-free option, there.

I sometimes get stress-triggered eczema on my hands. I find a good hydrocortisone cream will help control it, and I try to keep my hands moisturized. If you can't afford an expensive lotion like Eucerin, Vaseline makes a creamy lotion (it's basically whipped petroleum jelly). It's kind of greasy when it first goes on, but it does absorb, and it lasts a long time.

Good luck!

 

[theuglyduckling]

My younger daughter has super-sensitive skin, and gets eczema flare-ups, especially in the winter time. She has outgrown it, somewhat, but still gets patches from time to time. She uses Aveeno products (cleansers and lotion), and that seems to help.

I strongly recommend a visit to the dermatologist. He/she can tell you if there is something else going on. The most important thing is to protect your hands from things you know trigger flare-ups. Some people are also sensitive to regular rubber gloves, so it might be worth going with a latex-free option, there.

I sometimes get stress-triggered eczema on my hands. I find a good hydrocortisone cream will help control it, and I try to keep my hands moisturized. If you can't afford an expensive lotion like Eucerin, Vaseline makes a creamy lotion (it's basically whipped petroleum jelly). It's kind of greasy when it first goes on, but it does absorb, and it lasts a long time.

Good luck!

The vaseline is a good idea. My mom uses that on her lips I forgot about that stuff maybe next time I go shopping I'll try buying some. I hope to go to the dermatologist soon, but the idea of it kind of makes me annoyed because I have read stuff that what they give you doesn't do much.

 

[thaiturkey]

My son suffered badly as a toddler but rarely has a flare up now. A good greasy ointment helps.

Consider anti-histamine as a way to get rid of the lesions rather than just make them more comfortable.

 

[theuglyduckling]

what is anti-histamine?

 

[thaiturkey]

what is anti-histamine?

Have a look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine_antagonist