General Chat

nudged. Claire

I seem to recall that LUSH do a cream which helps eczema sufferers, might be worth looking on their website. I can't imagine how awful it must be to be so debilitated with this complaint, altho from the time I was about 10 for many years, I would get a rash on my palms of my hands, the backs of them slightly, my wrists, my ankles and my feet. The spots would turn into papery blisters and I would not be able to bend my hands in any way, or wash myself or do much at all. The blisters would be so painful and sometimes would come in my mouth too. I was always given penicillin but that would often make a huge coldsore come up on the left upper top lip, which again would turn in to a big blister. It happened about every six months or so, and was sometimes so bad I had to take time off school. I always used to feel so conspicuous and tried to hide my hands. There was never any cause for it and gradually as I got 15 then 16, it eased off and stopped altogether after a while. I had one further bout when I was 22 and had no idea what had caused it. Not many tests done then, more questionnaire things to ask what I ate and drank, but never anything conclusive. Thanks be to God, I have been free of them for many many years now and hope they never come back. My dad used to get me Fuller's earth creme but that never worked either and the doctors were as flummoxed as I was.

I have just mentioned about the Health & Safety people looking into the oils etc at work to Hubby and apparently they are being investigated - the chemicals are being tested apparently? It will be interesting to see what results they come back with - they can hardly grumble at Hubby having time off if it's down to the chemicals they are using. Thanks Claire for the pm - I have emailed you now. Kaye x

epaderm is very good I use Doublebase as a moisterizer, this is excellent. catherine xx

Hi, I can recommend something which REALLY WORKS !!! - Well, it certainly does for me. I have had psoriasis for several years now and It gets very bad at times. I have had ALL the available treatments which do not make it any better. - Steroids are 'awful' - they firstly make it a little better, then they just really irritate, thin the skin, and when you stop using them as it is so inflamed, it has a 'rebound effect' and gets ever worse. There is a product available which I have used for the past few years - I cannot say it has cured it but I would say for me, it produces a 90 - 95% improvement. - When it flares up I start the treatment and once it is under control, I can actually wear my sleeveless tops again - It is so 'under control' that I can stop wearing my 'cover-ups'. The product is 'M-folia' - They do a cream and an ointment + scalp treatments etc and it DOES work for me. - It is a herbal extract of Mahonia Aquifolium and is for the treatment of Psoriasis AND Eczema. (I personally find the cream works better for me). I buy it by mail order from a VERY reputable Company in Hertfordshire, England, although I have heard that it may now be available on prescription.?? You can look details up on Company website .. www*taylor-jackson*com (replace * with .) I know what it is like to suffer from something like this, especially when you are covered from head to toe in weather like this because you can't go out wearing shorts and little tops, but this has helped me enormously. I don't come on General Board very often so may not see any questions on this thread but if anyone wants to pm me for more info , please feel free., and If you do try it and it helps you too - please let me know. I also find it useful to use an emolient alongside this - a good one is 'epaderm' which you can buy or get on prescription and can use also as a soap alternative, Hope this helps someone. Dea x

I definately agree with claire on the health and safety issues with your husbands work Kaye. Eileen-aqueous cream is good I can't beging to tell you the name of the creams I have used, the list would be too long. I do use simple products, their sun cream is good too. I cannot use anything that has perfume based ingredients, one of my friends who I have known all my life, still buys me these packs at christmas with bright red soaps etc. Suntan cream is the worst for me, amber solair do a spray on factor 20 or 30 I think it's non greasy looks just like urine actually.lol. But it is wonderful and no rubbing in. catherine xx

Georgeous suffers from eczema. some days are much worse than others. I use Diprobase on him which is miraculous. The only suncream that doesn't bring him out in blisters is Roc.

Kaye, Sounds like his Health & Safety Co-ordinator needs to investigate at work. I know the H&S Co-Ord for 'Photo Me International' in Surrey [the photo booth people] and he has risk assessments for everything and procedures to people to follow and he has the Materials Handling Safety Sheet for every chemical, including the handwash soap that they use. That sheet shows what the hazards are with the chemical. Even fairy liquid has to have a data handing safety sheet. He does not like them using anti-bacterial hand wash but I've tended to use it in the last year to reduce the amount of cross-infection between me and my family. I also keep separate towels when my skin is sore. It is the responsibility of his employers to reduce the amount of contact dermatitis and allergies within its workforce and to support you all to cope with it, you should get your husband to have a chat with them. Thin weave white cotton bandages can be great at stopping the hands getting at the skin whilst you are sleeping - the superdrug ones are so lightweight they are excellent . Claire

Thanks Claire - would be interesting to hear your notes. Funny you should say about the lubricating oil - I asked Hubby about it and he said they did change it a few months back, but he didn't have any problems then - I'm thinking though that it probably didn't help? He said that a lot of the guys in work have got skin complaints though. He's been having to wear gloves and socks - at first all day and all night, now more so at night. He's been using the latex ones, but cotton ones would be better so I think a trip to Boots is in order tomorrow. As I said I'll let you know how he gets on with my Chiropractor. Thanks Kaye x

Steve, I think the Urea cream you mentioned is the Eucerin cream I mentioned on page 1. My son always had extremely red cheeks due to the eczema and went through hell growing up, being made fun of and after a short while using Eucerin 5% all the redness went from his face. It is excellent cream. M.

Boots do little cotton white gloves that I've worn in the past, sometimes in daytime but more often at night with moisturiser and steroid cream underneath. They are a little bit nicer than the gloves and some people react to rubber/latex. they were in the bandage/first aid section in their store - i wonder if there is a Boots at your airport you are flying from - they will be less hot and sticky in a hot environment. they come in a blue and white square small box. I also can't use bandages that have elastic in them as it irritates me - but there are some good cheap ones at superdrug that I've used that are cotton like and soft on the skin and don't cause me any problems. Have a lovely holiday! Claire

Hi Catherine, Have had excema since my early 20s....at the backs of my legs, under my arms, on my arms, eyelids, scalp and occasionally everywhere at once. But it's my hands that have been savaged the most and steroid creams have broken down the urea in the skin. However for the past year I've had some relief for which I'm grateful as I'd suffered without a break for 4 years without a break. I always use examination gloves for food prep, wash in Simple stuff and sometimes use the Simple shampoo (touching other makes can flare it up due to fragrances, etc) I also use Aqueous and often fill up exam gloves with the stuff and sleep in them (horrible!)-this hydrates the skin. Also once had to wear them constantly for 2 weeks (changing them and applying Aqueous) which helped a little. The blisters are nasty and often fill with pus which is so painful. They crack and bleed and my fingers sometimes resemble sausages where they are swollen. Actually I'm going on hols tomorrow to Greece so am dreading applying sun cream-I'm taking loads of gloves but it does get tedious having to keep putting them on. Aileenx

Hi Kaye, I'm also allergic to something found in an engineers oil - my dad was a toolmaker - he's now retired but i loved the smell of when he came home when i was a child - i knew he was home before he came in the door almost - but I think i may have been allergic to his lubricant oil he used everyday - please do get your husband allergy tested - i can't think what it was but it could be the chlorocresol was in the oil or it is something else. But i'm also supposed to be allergic to something that goes in toner and photocopier paper, but seeing as i work in an office part-time, I can't escape that and i don't think that causes me a prob & now I have a good reason not to change the messy toner in the photocopier! chlorocresol is in that 'Diprobase' and 'Emovate' - try and get the creams changed if he is flaring up again - 'Ultrabase' is a lovely moisturiser that has no chlorocresol but it does have parabens in it, it comes in a big 500ml dispensing tub. Try 'Synalar' instead of 'Eumovate' - eumovate is a weaker version of steroid cream, i've used it around my eyelids before now but the eumovate has the chlorocresol in it again. See if he improves with a change in creams perhaps if it is continuing. yes, let me know how you get on. i tried accupuncture for my shoulder injury last year and the lady always put a few extra needles in to help with my skin and i think it helped but diff to know as it is not always bad. hands are usually dry and crack sometimes/often! but this recent one is a bad flare up. no more strawberries & cream for me now! if i find my notes about my allergies - i'll let you know what it said about the engineers lubricant oil - been looking for them recently but don't know where they went. Claire

Claire - your eczema sounds very similar to what my Husband suffers from. He's been off work over 3 weeks with it and has another week off before he goes back to the Doctor again. His started at about 18 years of age on his feet and the Doctor thought he had Athletes Foot and gave him cream for that, obviously that just made it worse and he realised that it was eczema - he ended up having 3 months off work. We've been together about 10 years and he's had mild flare up's, but this last one has been really nasty and I never realised it could be so bad. He had a huge blister come up on his sole that was almost the length of his foot - apparently it had got infected! He was also on Antibiotics and Oral Steroids as well as a Steriod Based cream called 'Aureocort' and a horrible lard like Emollient and a wash called 'Dermol'. He is now on a slightly lesser cream called 'Eumovate' and 'Diprobase' Emollient which he has to use every time he washes his hands. It is getting better, although his hands have flared up again and it spread up his arms, but I can't see him going back to work in a week? The problem is he's an Engineer (aerospace type of thing) and stands on his feet all day and obviously gets engineering oil etc on his hands. I see a chiropractor who is very 'forward thinking' and believes in alternative therapies, he now offers what he calls 'Chiro Kinetic' treatment and says he can sort my husband out - it deals with allergies and he reckons that he can discover and take away an allergy completely! Just knowing what the allergies are would be a good start. The Doctor told him that Dove, Simple and even Baby products were too harsh for him use, so I wasn't surprised to hear of your reaction to them. I hope you get to the bottom of your allergies soon and that your eczema settles down - I will let you know how Hubby gets on with the Chiro Kinetic treatment - if it works it might be worth you trying? All the best Kaye x

i tend to avoid sun blocks and just cover over with clothes and a hat as I worry what reaction i will have to them but this summer i have tried the Ambre Solaire, sensitive skin, factor 50 cream or lotion and i seem to have been ok - don't think it made it any worse but then my arms were a bit sore in the first place! I won't put it on my face as it is too much of a risk of a reaction and i normally wear makeup due to past scarring from acne. so i hide rather than enjoy the sun unfortunately, which is a shame as sometimes i'd love to go with a shorter sleeve and feel the air on the skin. today I can as i'm on the steroids and it has cleared up loads this week! Hi Catherine - i was on synalar since last oct's testing and it is good but does dry the skin out a lot but it was not strong enough to cope with the flare up of the last 2 months . Joan - I've not tried Liz Earle's products yet. I seem to do better when i have a shower rather than a bath - and I do love to wallow in a hot bath like a hippo in mud for ages but that can't do my skin any good! Thanks Claire

Claire good luck with the allergy testing. I had this a few years ago, my dermatologist was great and very supportive, the cream I use now is called Synalar. It's very good, although you would have to check on the ingredients. I wish you luck. catherine xx

Hi again Claire I discovered Dermaveen on holiday. Do you also find suntan lotions a nightmare ? Btw I don't know if you have tried the Liz Earle skincare range, her orange botanical body wash is lovely it is on sky today or check out QVC website. :0) Joan

Joan, Thanks so much for the info - I could not believe that i was allergic to an ingredient in the creams that I'd had for years to calm down my flare ups! Perhaps other people that have ongoing ezcema may be reacting to ingredients in their emollients and creams, if they are like me? Thanks also to Dianna for her PM and suggestions. It is an effort to try and find out what works and doesn't, and as you guess, i'm too involved with sorting out my family tree rather than sorting my skin and well-being out! I've tried 'Aveeno' bath oil a couple of years ago, felt nice at first, but then i started to get a red back with it so i've stopped using that, but i know the dermatologists like to use it a lot as it helps a lot of people. Claire

I find Echinacea cream very effective . It can be ordered on line from Halzephron ( .) com. I store it in the fridge .

Claire Dermaveen contains the following ingredients : Colloidal oatmeal 2 % in a moisturising lotion base consisting of Sodium PCA, Glycerin, Soft white parafin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetyl Alcohol, Quaternary Ammonium Chloride & Aqua. Preservative Benzyl Alchohol 0.6 % w/w No fragrance no lanolin & no parabens. :0)) Joan