February 1997 Eczema Mailing List Archive

About a week ago there was a discussion on Aqueous cream and there were some people wondering exactly what was in it; it was found to contain emulsifying wax and people wondered what that was... My pharmacist says that emulsifying wax contains cetostearyl alcohol and sodium lauryl sulphate (and some purified water).

Citrus is a common allergen. I've been told that anyone with eczema/psoriasis ("Leaky Gut") should avoid the Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers of all kind, and paprika) and to avoid foods high in fat (counting whole milk dairy products).

If your child is in fact actually allergic to corn it might be worth mentioning that corn products are in a zillion foods--due to corn starch and then corn syrup used as a sweetener. My allergy book ("Allergies Made Simple" by Phylis Austin, Agatha Thrash, MD, Calvin Thrash, MD). lists even things like cough syrup, aspirin, envelopes, stickers, gum, candy, salt, paper cups, vinegar..and some toothpastes. The list goes on and on... 

I use Bold Free with an extra rinse cycle. You wouldn't believe how much more soap comes out of the second rinse ! 

In my experience there is more than one Bag Balm on the market; the name seems to have become generic, rather than a brand name. As I write this I have at home three different jars of something labelled Udder Cream or Udder Ointment: all different, most at least reasonably good.

All were bought at a chemist or pharmacy.

I can never say I'm cleared "completely." The best my skin can be is "under control." And that's where I am right now. I am so grateful for the prednisone/antibiotics 1-2 punch that seems to re-set my internal computer, and allows me to feel in control again with what I have learned to identify as a "normal" level of skin irritation for me; a certain amount of rash, open sores, dryness, itchiness, etc. I go crazy when it gets worse than that level, but as long as I am able to see direct improvements from use of antibacterials, steroid ointments, and moisturizers, I am able to tolerate living with this condition.

In the beginning, when you haven't had it very long over your entire body, the visual appearance gets so much attention. It's easy to put so much energy into how it looks, comparing it to how other people's skin looks, without any idea of what is the "normal" way for their skin to look. People with eczema have to learn over time how eczema skin looks! It doesn't look like other people's skin! And they have to learn over time how it's supposed to feel on the inside, too.

Anyway, after 40 years I have learned how to recognize when I can say my skin is "good" and it is good right now, but as I'm sure you know, "good" is relative for us.

My dermatologist recommended using ALL's Free and Clear (hypoallergenic) version. With double rinsing. Double rinsing always yields suds on with any detergent I have tried.

This product is not seen as much as the standard "All" but I am sure if you ask your store manager to order it he/she would, as it sells easily. As long as you are at it, ask him if he can order the largest bottle possible.

Betadine is useful for prophylactic skin cleansing. It's main ingredient is Iodine. Doctors caution that it might have a drying effect, and should be used carefully as should all stuff we put on our skin.

I like Bag Balm because it acts as an emollient and an antiseptic. So, when I use the product I'm taking care of two things in one application. In the US if you can't get it at a pharmacy, try your local "feed store", look in the yellow pages (phone directory) for an outlet like Southern States. The stuff also comes in a small one inch square can if you want to sample. 

Brigit's right, "bag balm" is a generic term, so there are several producers. I can't remember the brand names, but one comes is a green can, the other in a yellow can w/ red cap. As far as when to use it, it depends on the occasion. It has that healthy barnyard smell. Very different from the fishy smell of the Preparation H idea I got off this list. :-) 

Here in the States, there is only one "Bag Balm", the brandname of one specific product sold in the ubiquitous green can with red roses, put out by the Dairy Association Co., Inc. of Lyndonville, Vermont... I'm sure there must be other udder creams/ointments on the American market, but only one product goes by the name "Bag Balm"... 

I've never seen a yellow can... do you know who makes it, and what brandname it uses? ("Bag Balm" is the brandname of the green can... )

I find Bag Balm has very little smell to it, and what smell it does have I find "medicinal"... I only use it at night due to its thickness and 'stickiness', not due to its smell...

I use Tide Free. I use about half the suggested amount. The only time I double rinse is when I accidentally add too much detergent. With hot washing all the stuff from 3 beds every 2 weeks (plus the curtains and small rugs), I take every possible shortcut in the laundry drill! 

My dermatologist said to avoid Tide. I don't know if he knows about Tide Free. I never heard of it either.

I don't use corticosteroids if I can help it. I have been using Curel as a moisterizer and an oatmeal soap. I always wear make-up. My skin seems to get worse if I don't. It seems to protect it and it keeps me from scratching.

When I wrote the first letter asking about evaporation my face was getting pretty bad, along with my hands, forearms, neck, and legs. Right now, and I'm not sure why, it is completely, without a trace, gone from my face. My arms and hands are much better, too. I started taking B complex last week, and I don't know if that's the reason, but I thought I would pass this along just in case.

I have used the yellow-can-with-red-lid brand named Dr Naylor Udder Balm, made in Morris, New York. The writing on the can says it's a "antiseptic ointment for udder and teats". 

This morning I was diagnosed with KERATOCONUS, which is an eye disorder (specifically, the cornea). I mentioned that I had been using topical steroids etc and the Opto-wozzizname bloke suggested that it was more likely that it was due to the eczema itself than its treatment, although the steroids may have aggravated the situation. He says that the asthma-eczema-hay fever-keratoconus connection is "quite common".

I have years of wearing weird-shaped contact lenses and the prospect of a possible cornea transplant to look forward to. Lucky old me.

If emulsifying wax contains "cetostearyl alcohol and sodium lauryl sulphate (and some purified water)", then this makes aqueous cream sound almost *exactly* like Diprobase! I think those were the two missing ingredients that Diprobase had that Aqueous Cream "didn't". So, it turns out that Diprobase, cost GBP 12.50 for 500g contains exactly the same ingredients (possibly in different proportions, admittedly) as Aqueous Cream, cost GBP 2.50 for 500g.

And there you have it.

Dave, I'm sorry to hear about your eye troubles. What exactly is keratoconus? Had you been using topical steroids on your face, or just on your body? Do keep us posted, and I wish you luck with the necessary treatments.

I've embarked on a wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free elimination diet.

As this is not for life, just for a month, I expect to be able to keep it up; the only real problem I have is in finding something to eat for breakfast/lunch. Bread is out; cheese is out; yoghurt is out; eggies are out-- so here's my question:

Does anyone have a quick&simple recipe for corn-based pancakes (no eggs, no milk, no wheat)? Rye is out, too, but all other grains are OK. It has to be quick&easy, so that I can bake a bunch and freeze them in for use instead of bread. 

I bought a pack of gluten-free bread mix, but the stuff is horrible. There is no way I can stand it for a whole month... 

Please, can anyone help me solve a riddle from the archives:

It's about something called Ultravate. In some posts, this is described as a non-steroid ointment made by Westwood Squibb and containing halobetasol propionate; in others it's referred to as a strong steroid cream!

Are there perhaps TWO different things with the same name?

I have been on a hunt for a new moisturizing lotion similar to Shepard's, but cheaper. So far I've experimented with Eucerin, Jergen's Dual Healing, Lubriderm, and Shi Kai, all because I was able to get sample sizes of them. They were all OK, not great.

The sample that I am now trying seems the best so far: Keri Anti-Bacterial Hand Lotion. I like the fact that it is an antiseptic and a moiturizer together, since I need both. My skin drinks it quickly and so far has no reaction to it, either immediately or over time. But I'm giving it more time before I buy a large size.

I also just bought tea tree oil soap to see if I can benefit from the antibacterial effects of that too. I was talking to a pharmacist who said that it would be good to rotate using various kinds of antibacterials (like Betadine, Hibiclens, etc.) in order to keep bacteria from getting resistant. So I am creating an arsenal of antibacterials. Since I started emphasizing the antibacterials, I am less itchy.

I talked about coffee inhibiting homeopathic remedies. If you're not doing homeopathy, don't worry about it.

Interestingly it's not the caffeine that nullifies the remedy, it's coffee. I can drink tea and eat chocolate but I can't do even decaf coffee, or a coffee nip.

No one knows why.

I don't know if this is related but for as long as I have had eczema (about 1 1/2 yrs) I have been getting conjunctivitis and blepharitis. I just went to the eye doctor last week and asked if there was any connection. He said no and that topical steroids do not affect the eye itself. He said long term use of steroid drops (which I have been using for the infections) can eventually cause glaucoma. Just thought this was interesting.

I know that you're not supposed to drink coffee when taking homeopathic remedies. By the way, I was told that the homeopathic medicated pellets Thyrodium, Graphites, Sepia & Sulphur are supposed to be good for eczema. Has anyone had any luck with these?

Brigit- Can you find tortillas there? Crepes? You might need to look at some bread alternatives while you undertake your "starve and the eczema will go away" diet. Good luck, and let us know how things go. 

The Ultravate I have here is manufactured by Westwood-Squibb and contains halobetasol propionate .05% ; I assume that it's pretty powerful because it can clear up my lips in one application.

I tried a wheat- and dairy-free diet once, though I still ate eggs. You might enjoy cornmeal mush (polenta) for breakfast; just get some water boiling, and add cornmeal, stirring quickly with a whisk until it thickens. Are you eliminating soy, malt and rice as well? If not, you could put soy or rice milk in it, as you would with oatmeal. 

Fry sliced mush leftovers on a greased griddle to make "pancakes". Rice flour makes good muffins (though rugged), and you can use soy flour in place of eggs in baked goods; just use 1 heaping tbsp. of soy flour and 1 tbsp. water for each egg (add flour to dry ingredients and water to wet; don't mix the soy and water together by themselves, because you'll just get a brown paste!)

Have you seen mochi in a natural foods store or Japanese market? It's a glutinous rice cake that you can bake in the oven; makes a hearty, sticky bun with a crust. Make sure it's rice-only, if you're trying to avoid other grains.

Debbie, Thanks for the reply, he was a little worse this a.m. with lots of itching in the night, even spots that don't look bad, the back of his knees always itch at night. 

We don't eat any corn, I make our bread and we eat almost no premade food. I did some natural chicken broth for soup and I think it had paprika so maybe I am on the right track. Are you the one that said earler that yams are not in the nightshade family, he eats them a lot (not sweet potatoes). 

I have been a vegetarian, and occasional vegan, for years. For any who want to try this, let me suggest a few books:

All of John A. McDougall's books are vegan (no egg, no dairy). They include The McDougall Program, and the McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, and at least 2 books of recipe collections. A good portion of these books review the health benefits of the diets, and include simple and quick recipes... lots of tips for substitutions. The recipes are pretty generic, and include lots of canned foods, frozen juices, and vegetables (of course)... they are not all to my taste, but for day-to-day cuisine, quite satisfying.

"Eat More, Weigh Less" - Dean Ornish, MD. Another pep talk on the health benefits of very low fat vegan cookery. The recipes in this one are a collection from various chefs -- they can be quite elaborate, but are very good. Great suggestions for the more gourmet palate... and lots of sauce and stock recommendations.

"The Single Vegan" -- Leah Leneman. This is a British cookbook (Thorson's Publishing Group), and I have not seen it in the US for years! I love this book --- it organizes recipes for one by week, complete with weekly shopping lists. The daily recipes take only about 30 minutes to prepare... the Sunday meal takes a little longer. The food is plain, but quite good -- I resort to this book when I haven't got the time to think about cooking. Added benefit: my grocery bills go *way* down.

"Vegan Cooking" -- Eva Batt... another Thorsons title. Very utilitarian, well tested recipes... but this and the Leneman book use higher fat ingredients, and lots of nuts. Here's a pancake recipe for Brigit:

Pancake or Fritter Mixture

• 12 fl oz water 
• 4 1/2 oz plain flour (or whole wheat, corn, or any other ground meal) 
• 3 rounded teaspoons soya flour 
• Pinch sea salt 
• Vegetable oil for frying.

Beat again just before using. (If required for fritters use only 8 fl oz water)

Fry on both sides in very lightly oiled pan and serve while hot with lemon juice and fruit sugar or syrup.

Footnote: I feel much better on a vegan regime, but don't use it frequently. The eczema is a new problem for me. I have tried several of the supplements and creams suggested by this list, and my condition has improved considerably. Now that I am on my second week sans red wine, however, I have soft skin again on my hands-- imagine! Real skin! No cracks, no redness, and complete feeling!

My understanding is that homopathy treats the person, not the disease. In my history I have successfully treated eczema and my repetitive stress injury with one remedy, Rhus Tox. Now it doesn't touch my eczema but Phosphorus is doing really well against it so far. Also, Lycopodium has been successful for me.

But I'm never given two remedies at the same time. And I *go* to the homeopath. I don't do it over the counter.

Kim, Have you considered having your son tested for allergies? We just had our 2-1/2-year-old tested. We already suspected an allergy to cow's milk and had been feeding her soy formula. Turns out she was allergic to that, too. One week later, with soy eliminated from her diet, and her drinking Carnation Good Start (regular) Baby Formula and a nondairy product called Vitamite, her skin is completely clear! :+)

We had tried elimination diets in the past but these were unsuccessful since she is allergic to so many different foods. Perhaps your son has a similar problem?

My only regret about the allergy testing is not having it done sooner.

Dave, you certainly seem to be taking it well. Does it hurt, itch, look red or can it be seen or felt at all? I am so sorry - I trust you have the strength to deal with this? It seems that we always do when it comes down to it. Stay in touch - the support is so strong here. What's the next step in keeping it manageable?

Me too, Shelley. Except putting Alpha-Keri bath stuff is like lighting a match next to me. Yet, the antibacterial stuff works really well, as long as I don't forget the Nivea skin conditioning oil. When I put that on, I can almost hear my skin gulping it down.

My daughter sent me some 2oz sizes of stuff called Purell instant hand sanitizer: "Kills 99.9% of most common disease-causing GERMS within 15 seconds". Could it be that this beastly stuff is also killing the dust mites or neutralizing the "mite-poop" or something? I'm surprised I can bear it, since the thing is 62% ethyl alcohol. Geez, that's almost all that's in it! Just that and water, isopropyl alcohol, "emollients" and "thickener". Maybe my skin's not so hyper dry and weak after all -- maybe if I just swab the deck more often, I'd be okay without all the gloves and vaseline routines.

I'm one of those opto-wozzisname blokes, so I can fill this in some. Keratoconus is a deformity of the cornea (the eye's surface layer). The cornea is responsible for about two-thirds of the eye's focusing power. In keratoconus, because of the corneal irregularity, light rays entering the eye are bent in odd ways, which blurs the image and reduces the sharpness of vision.

It has previously been discussed in this forum that the potential ocular complications of steroids include cataract and glaucoma. For those of you using steroids, you shouldn't sweat this one - I don't think of steroids as causing keratoconus, but there is some association with atopy (asthma-eczema-hay fever).

For Dave, however, understand that this is a very treatable eye condition. If the distortion is great enough that spectacles will no longer be adequate, the mainstay of treatment is to wear hard contact lenses (they must be hard lenses - I suspect they will want to fit you with a gas permeable hard lens). Hard lenses do not really alter the shape of the cone. Rather, the hard lens surface effectively becomes the new surface for the eye, and the area between the hard lens and your own cornea fills in with tears. Since the hard lens surface is smooth and regular, the blur is eliminated. 

It can be a little tricky to fit a keratoconus patient with contact lenses, but it is almost always possible. Corneal transplantation is only needed if the cornea is so badly deformed that it is impossible to fit a contact lens, or if there is scarring due to the keratoconus that obscures the central vision - that is clearly the minority of patients. If needed, however, corneal transplantation for keratoconus carries about a 90%-ish success rate - it is one of the diseases that we do pretty well with when performing transplants. If you wish to learn more, you should find a discussion of keratoconus in most standard ophthalmic texts - it is not a rare disease.

Thanks for the breakfast suggestions. Real meals are not much of a problem, as I'm a decent cook and work from scratch anyhow (very little ready-made stuff in my food ever); so I just choose things without cheese, cream and eggs. No really big deal, as meat is OK. (Lovely lamb casserole tonight, yummy yummy.)

I will certainly try the pancake recipe. The mush idea I'd stumbled on already, what I'd done is mix 1 measure of corn flour with 2 measures of boiling water and a dash of walnut oil, then bake in the oven for about half an hour, then cut up in cubes. It's surprisingly good, firm but moist, and I can see how herbs and spices would make it different every time.

I just got a tube of Ultravate. The enclosure says it's a steroid - my Dr said I would like it, that it was stronger than the Beta-Val I was using.

I don't see a difference on me. I really only have eczema on my hands, mostly, and I prefer B-V to the Ultravate. B-V is a cream, while Ultraval is an ointment, kind of like vaseline. My preference is only because the cream is a little less "messier". They both seem to do the trick, however.

My eczema looks great right now - no angry, itching patches, no cracks I have had to glue just a few rough patches of skin.

I have been using B-V, Ultravate & zinc oxide, on an informal, rotating basis to calm everything down. Haven't even needed the hot water trick for itching in the past week or so.

Actually, I'm not altogether sure it was the medicine that calmed me down - maybe just a "quiet cycle". When my eczema is really active, the medicine, while it DOES help, doesn't calm it down the way it looks right now.

Brigit, sounds to me that you need some plain chocolate (some plain chocolate has milk in, but the best doesn't). Now melt that over some corn flakes -- I think I could well live on that for a month... but I am a signed up chocaholic... 

I once asked a pharmacist and he looked it up and decided Diprobase and aqueous cream were the same, possibly whipped up to a slightly different consistency.

The ophthalmologist reckoned that the general set of symptoms asthma, eczema, hay fever were not uncommon in people who suffer from keratoconus, and he implied some unknown root cause which probably leads to all of them. I mentioned that I had been using topical steroids on my hands and arms and occasionally around my eyes, but that I had stopped when I read about "alleged" effects these had on eyes based on something I read on this list. He thought that it was unlikely that the steroids would *cause* the keratoconus, but that it might aggravate it, simply because steroids thin the skin etc.

You're right, yams are not in the nightshade family. Neither are sweet potatoes, so I've been told.

Regarding the antibiotic cause/trigger: I've read that antibiotics are rough on the stomach, particularly in an allergic person. With Leaky Gut, it is said that constant bombardment of allergens can cause the Leaky Gut or the porous walls may "cause" the allergies. It goes either way. But then becomes a vicious cycle.

Now, supposedly, there is a connection with certain misalignments of the spine (don't remember if I've mentioned this before). We've taken Julia to 3 chiropractor appts. so far. On the first visit he said she was extremely tight in the area of the spine that corresponds with stomach and liver. At the second visit he said she responded really well (stayed pretty loosened up--apparently it usually takes some retraining of the spine before it stays in the right place). Since the 2nd visit she's been eating better again. He said it will help her stomach area for sure, whether it helps her eczema he's not sure... but agrees it's quite possible if the stomach is the cause of her eczema.

In addition to this, we've once again been using a slight amount of topical cortisone behind the knees (knees and neck often keep her itching all night) and a dose of antihistamine. I needed to resort to some drugs for some instant relief as she was very sick with croup and getting worse because she wasn't sleeping at all due to itching. Before this though we hadn't used cortisone or Benadryl since Aug. (tried 2 homeopathic remedies instead, one she's still on). 

She's never had a clear day since she got eczema at 2 wks. old, whether on drugs or not. Now my philosophy (this week, anyway) is to use drugs for an emergency but to still continue all prevention measures and keep pursuing original cause(s). I really do believe the drugs just suppress the immune system and I want her immune system to find its on way to heal itself, so I don't want to overuse them. I really want to avoid messing up her immune system even more and possibly contracting other auto-immune diseases. Homeopathic routes can just take an awfully long time sometimes, especially for a baby who can't speak for itself.

I hate to buy things and then not like them. Lubriderm does not feel nice on the skin. It hasn't given a bad reaction just not a nice feeling. 

Yes, it's interesting how the drug companies mix and match ingredients and come up with a wide range of prices that don't seem to correlate to what's actually included. We have to become educated consumers and unfortunately waste time investigating these ingredients to see if there are actually cheaper sources for the same stuff. I am in the process of researching antibacterial lotions and soaps and am finding the same phenomenon of very similar ingredients with a wide range of prices. 

I am so happy to hear that you're trying not to use drugs on your daughter. I agree that they suppress the immune system. When I was a child I took so much medicine for my allergies, eczema and a chronic allergic bronchitis (I had a deep mucousy horrible cough which I never found out the cause of but it went away as mysteriously as it came). I think I ended up paying for the use of all that medication I took as a child; I am now allergic to all oral antibiotics (can't take any without getting violently ill and breaking out in hives). If I have to take any medication I was told to take acidophilus because it helps to build up the friendly bacteria that the antibiotics kill. That may help to build up Julia's system too.

I used to get eczema behind my knees, inside my elbows and on my neck only, now it can appear anywhere at all (except I never had the problem with my hands). I watch what I eat (basically stay away from starch or high carbohydrate foods, citric acid, yeast, nuts, most cheeses (I'm allergic to mold) and fermented foods (including vinegar) although sweet potatoes & yams don't bother me.

For the itching, have you tried evaporation at night or zinc oxide. My dermatologist put me on prednisone last month because the eczema was so severe. It cleared me up in 2 days but as I started to wean off the medication my eczema started up all over again. It wasn't until I started using zinc oxide ointment, evaporation and Zinc Pyrithione 2% (SKIN-CAP) Spray that it started to clear up and stop itching. 

These 3 things have helped tremendously. I use them every day on any affected areas and it seems to help it heal and keep it from coming back. Sometimes I take the antihistamine Zyrtec (it's non-drowsy). I also use Theraplex emollient and clear lotion as moisturizers and sometimes vitamin E oil. There's not too much I can use that won't irritate my skin but these moisturizers definitely have helped me. I have used cortisone cream for twenty some odd years and I am so happy to have something else that I can use in place of it (at least most of the time). The overuse of these steroids caused atrophy (at least that's what I think it is) on my neck (the skin is smooth but it's discolored -it looks like dark lines).

As we all know everyone is different; unfortunately no one thing will help us all. I hope the chiropractor etc. helps to prevent the eczema. I will be looking out for any messages you may send on your progress. Julia is very lucky to have someone who cares so much about her. 

Coffee is a homeopathic remedy in its own right and often used for insomnia. My homeo-doc told me that - like mint - it just happened to be particularly potent and would overwhelm any less robust substance. I would not be at all surprised if either substance provoked strong allergic reactions too.

Fingers crossed, but I'm "in remission" at the moment. I have no scrupulous scientific evidence, but I have a suspicion this is down to taking valerian to aid sleep (I've taken everything and this WORKS!) and liberal applications of TCP to deal with a recent bout of folliculitis. TCP is phenol-based and I imagine you can get it in the US. The more I deal with this, the more convinced I am of the bacterial/fungal connection plus stress.

I'm no doctor but I often feel we will find one day that eczema is just the skin's way of reacting to a number of things the body doesn't like and has no consistent cause. And I think the evidence built up by all you good people out there will one day give us all the answer.

I've been on homeopathic graphites and sulphur for about three weeks now (no coffee, and no caffeine for good measure!). Things were going well, the eczema on my legs had stopped oozing, the rest of my body was not noticeable, no itching to speak of. Then last Thursday I was on a home visit and had drunk a cup of coffee before I realised what I'd done. I thought, 'oh well, in for a penny... ' and had two more cups later in the day.

I had no sleep that night at all, I was itching so badly. Even the cold water/damp sheet didn't work, and it usually does. Since then all of my eczema has been burning (it feels better today though).

I also got a new kitten on Saturday, so maybe that has something to do with it. But I'm loathe to have coffee again as I think my improvement might be partly due to giving it up.

I think I might be doing this wrong too, then! I have a friend who's a homeopath, so I asked her what might be good to use, and she suggested those remedies, so I tried them both together. I might drop one and see what happens. In the past she recommended euphrasia when my eyes kept watering for no apparent reason, and that worked really well. But I suppose eczema is a bigger problem.

My eczema covers both of my hands (but nowhere else). I have two young boys, so I am constanly washing my hands throughout the day. Well, this anti-bacterial lotion really makes my hands break out bad!!! What a dissappointment. I am sensitive to most lotions and find it hard to find some type of moisturizer than won't "burn" my skin. Eucerin cream has worked about the best so far but it gets so greasy.

I seem to remember that it took me a day or two to rash up after drinking the coffee. And maybe a week to get better.

The fact that I'm never given two remedies at the same time could be my homeopath's idiosyncracy.It's really beyond me to understand it. That's why I go to the homeopath.

I'm doing really well lately. Just a few traces if you know where to look.

All, What do you know about the UCSF gamma interferon study? Also do you know if gamma interferon is safer than steroids? 

We have had him tested twice (last about 6 months ago). Both times he tested postive only to cats??????? No cats here, however the dr. did indicated that kids don't always show correct test till they are about 5, I wish it would have worked. I hate having him off things that might be ok because it seems that all fun foods are bad for him. I know what you mean about the food challanges there are lots of variables that you have to keep track of.

I'm glad to report that my expedition helped my Jodi a whole lot. ( She has been suffering from E since she was 3 weeks old and will be 11 months in a week.) We were in China getting her Chinese Herbal Treatment. Everyday, I brewed a big bag of herbal mix with 48 oz of water and reduced it into 6 oz of decoction. She didn't like the bitter taste but got used to it soon enough. The dr checked her pulse, skin, tongue etc every day and changed the herbal mix as needed. He also prescribed herbs to be brewed for bathing her. During the whole time when she was taking the decoction, no emollient was allowed.

Jodi's diagnosis was toxins in the blood. The herbs were said to cleanse the toxins and expell them through the skin and intestines via her bowel movements. The first 2 weeks her skin weeped so much I was really worried. But since I was warned by the dr about such a reaction, I was prepared to take on the shock. Then, starting on the 3rd week, her eczematic skin turned from red-inflamed-hard-weepy-acne-like to soft and dry. She looked happy and comfortable from within. She smiled a lot and interacted with people around her. She slept much better and had very good appetite. She was no longer the little baby who scratched and scratched and scratched some more. I had tried Chinese Herbal Treatment on her before when western medicine had failed her but the results had never been so successful. I came back with a full luggage of herbal mixes and just finished them all not too long ago.

Since our return, nothing has worked in her favor. It's so cold, even when I turn my heater down to minimal, it's still very drying indoors. It became difficult not to use emollient. (You see, there is no indoor heat in China.) Then, she had a viral attack. Blisters first developed on her lips and perhaps through her hands somehow got onto her right cheek. Imagine blisters over eczematic skin. It was horrible. [Ann, I can now empathize with your full body herpes infection. It must have been really hard on you.] Thank god the topical antibiotic stopped it from spreading to other areas. No systemic antibiotic or steroid was needed, else, it would have contradicted her herbal treatment. When the last piece of the ugly scabs fell off her face with no signs of scarring, I went out and brought a lottery ticket.(Didn't win, never get that kind of luck!)

Then, the Aveeno Oatmeal Bath... a disaster. Jodi developed full body contact dermatitis. Once again, it proves everybody's eczema is different. She seems to recover from the Aveeno Bath just today and I'm definitely not trying anything new on her for a while.

Right now, this is what I'm doing for Jodi:

• Alimentum formula (I believe in the leaky gut theory) 
• solid food like rice, yam, lean pork, apple, pear, rice cereal, Chinese leafy green vegetables(only available in China town) 
• tea tree oil ointment for dry and chapped skin
• Aquaphor and Eucerin after baths
• borage oil taken orally
• an herbal extract drink (with 23 herbal extracts) taken orally 1 oz a day
• double wash cycle on clothes
• fight dust mites
• leather and wood, no drapes, no carpet, clean mattress
• short nails, 100% silky cotton mittens at night
• 100% cotton clothes
• wash hair everyday [BTW, Jodi perspires profusely on her skull at night.]
• drink lots of water

Would anyone please advise on handling sibling jealousy? My 28 months is getting quite jealous lately. Anything Jodi has she wants too. My husband and I try to maintain a one-on-one situation whenever possible. It's just that Jodi and her eczema gets more attention at times.

Rita, Could you find something your 28 month old could do to help Jodi? Bring ointment, get clean diaper, hold a bottle, etc. If she's part of the care-taking, maybe she won't feel quite so left out. 

Hi Kim, So sorry your son's allergy testing didn't produce more definitive results. One more thought: He didn't happen to be on any antihistamines in his system at the time of testing, did he? Our allergist gave us a long list of medications (antihistamines and others) that our daughter was not to use for at least one week prior to testing, as use of certain meds can alter test results.

It's so frustrating trying to find a cause and treatment for this horrible condition. I keep telling myself things could be lots worse, though. At least eczema isn't life-threatening.

Hang in there. Perhaps the next allergy testing session will produce some answers.

Hi. This sounds kind of disgusting but I figure that this is the place to go for some good advice on this subject. I have eczema on my scalp; it's falky and scabby and I can't get rid of it. I've tried DHS Zinc Pyrithione Shampoo, Nizorol Shampoo, tar shampoos & Derma Smooth (which is an oil based cortisone solution which, in the past, has helped the eczema on my skin).

Does anyone know of a good remedy for an itchy, flaky, scabby eczema scalp that won't irritate my skin and that doesn't stink like tar?

I have found success with Long's Drugs Scalp Itch Treatment lotion. It is marketed under other names also and contains: 1.0% hydrocortizone, menthol, propylene glycol, and SD 40 alcohol. Recently, when I ran out of hydrocortizone cream I put this on my face and it acted MUCH MORE effectively there than the cream--practically the "magic bullet" for MY facial eczema. I can't imagine why this simple concoction would be so much more effective than one of the over-the-counter creams, but it is.

Royce, I have had good results with T-Gel shampoo by Neutragena (leave it on scalp for a few minutes before rinsing, and do a second application if you have time). It really helps control the flakey, powdery areas for me. But if the scalp is inflamed or has sores and scabs, I need steroids. 

My derm doctor told me that scalp eczema is different from other eczema in that the scalp needs to be kept DRY (not oily). Therefore, he gave me an alcohol based steroid for the scalp (I think it was called textacort). It's hard to believe that ANY type of eczema benefits from a drying agent, but the stuff helped me. I eventually went back to just using ointment on the bad spots (I have absolutely no oil in my scalp so I don't think the drying effect is real important for me) but it might help you to get away from the oily meds. Scalp sores and cracks take FOREVER to heal; I have had individual scalp hives that lasted for many weeks! 

When I got eczema on my scalp it was weeping so the dermatologist gave me some prescription medication that was a steroid concoction suspended in alcohol. After that ran out I bought some Dry Scalp Head and Shoulders. The little bit of itchy, flaky eczema that I had left was cleared up using the shampoo. This took a couple of months of use to clear up, but I haven't had any of the eczema return and it is the middle of winter around here and the rest of my skin is flaring up from the dry, cold air. Hope this helps.

Shelley, just a word of caution with hibiclens. They supply the soap dispensers at the hospital with hibiclens and it is murder on my eczema so if you need it for anti-bacterial cleansing I would not use it daily if you can avoid it. A lot of my co-workers cannot use it either and they don't have eczema. It is so drying.

Royce, I've had this same problem. Nizoral did help for a while, but then stopped working. At the moment my scalp is very good, not even dandruffy. It seems to be that way due to a combination of Camille Albane deep cleansing shampoo and dandruff controlling shampoo (both Avon products) and Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner for dandruff. I use the deep cleansing shampoo first, then either of the others. I only began using this stuff when I gave up on finding anything else to help (the tar preparations did nothing). I thought I might at least smell decent! I can't promise they'll help you, but they seem to have done the trick for me.

I also remember my mum using olive oil on my scalp eczema when I was younger. She used to warm it up, then rub it into my scalp, then leave it on for about an hour. After that she'd shampoo it. I presume it did some good (but I can't remember for sure).

That was an excellent suggestion to get the other child involved with caring for the one with eczema. That way they both get the attention they need.

One of my older sisters was just talking to me about how she remembered helping to care for my eczema and how that made her feel special and at the same time close to me. And I had a similar experience with helping one of my younger sisters who had really bad asthma. I will never forget how important it made me feel to know that I was capable of helping someone else and also instilled a value in helping others which is a large part of my character.

I highly recommend getting all siblings involved to whatever degree possible. And make it fun, not just an awful serious chore. Allow the kids to bring their natural playfulness into the experience.

Ann: I know nothing about the UCSF gamma interferon study but your question makes me curious about it. What little do you know about it? Is it a dermatology department study or what? I could call and do some research if I had some basic information to go on. 

I am doing well using tea tree oil soap (from The Body Shop) once a day. And I have stopped using lotion/cream-type moisturizers. My skin seems to prefer ointment-types right now (Aquaphor, zinc oxide, etc.) My skin is the best it's been since my flare-up began last December. I have not relapsed after stopping the prednisolone and antibiotics. Hooray! 

Shelley, How great that your skin stayed under control after stopping the meds - you were so smart to go for it! I read about the study in the EASE newsletter and called out of curiousity. I wouldn't be able to truck over there every 2 weeks. I didn't keep the phone number, but it was a doctor named (I think) Koo and a nurse named Pat McClelland. They said they were on Spruce St. It sounded like it was a private Drs. office but the actual study was to be done by UCSF. 

Julia is doing extremely well!!! The best--by far---since when she was 3 mos. old (when it was all just starting up). She'll be a year old this weekend. She's had 4 visits w/ the chiropractor in the last 2 weeks. He says she's doing amazingly well, that kids often respond/heal much faster than adults. Said it probably would have taken an adult who was that bad a good 3 mos. to get to the same point. Anyway, I can't even believe my eyes. No itching in 8 days. Six nights in a row of no itching. Haven't changed the sheets all week... I've even given her some of the suspect foods (mainly because she begs and screams so I thought I'd try again!). No reaction. Chiropractor says to expect a couple more quick bouts before healing. But at any rate I'm real hopeful now. But this whole thing sounds logical to me. He explained that the misalignment probably did happen at birth--after all, she was 10 lbs. 7 oz. and had a broken collar bone. So, why not a misalignment too? She started breaking out BAD (as acne, etc.) right away at 2 weeks and just got progressively worse and evolved into "eczema."

Still haven't been to the Ped. GI yet. Feel like I may need to bring photos to show him instead!

I'm feeling euphoric (it's probably also due to finally sleeping!). I have my fingers crossed, fully expecting this beast to rear its head again, but at least I have hope now. 

Just this morning I made buckwheat barley pancakes:

• 1 cup barley flour 
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 and a half tsp baking powder 
• approximately 1 cup water, more if the batter's too thick.
• Sugar, molasses or honey to taste

As long as we're talking about breakfast, I've been eating an immune support cereal for 2 or 3 months that I think has kicked me back into health. (I no longer sleep with socks sewn to the ends of my pj's to keep from itching. I don't really itch. I've been waiting to say this because I don't want to encourage a relapse by bragging.)

Who knows exactly what is helping the most. I am staying away from wheat, dairy and eggs, too, but here is my cereal.

• 4 cups grain flakes, usually oats 
• 2 cups oat bran 
• 1 cup soy lecithin 
• 1 cup ground flax seeds 
• 1 cup ground milk thistle seeds

My theory about my body is that after 20 years of using topical steroids, and 6 weeks of using oral ones last summer (to combat the flare I caused by quitting the topicals cold turkey), my liver wanted to speak its mind and did so through my skin. My herbalist pals tell me milk thistle supports and repairs the liver. After investing a million dollars and hours in vitamins, blood tests and every other possible natural cure, I think they are it. Good, that is. And good luck to all who try this.

I don't think many remedy shampoos work once the eczema digs into your scalp -- I've seen two heads, my own and another that bear the evidence. The one thing that helps is putting jojoba oil on it. Jojoba oil is very expensive, but some health food places sell it in bulk, and you don't need very much.

Debbie, I am so happy for you and for Julia. Would you like to share with us what did you/or chiropractor do to make this amazing improvement?

A few unrelated things:

1. There's a Web site where you can "Search for the pharmaceutical of interest by first character of name", at http://www.rxmed.com/prescribe.html. I tried it on a few items; many of the "official" ones (Eucerin, Lac-Hydrin, Aveeno, Eurax etc.) are there, but the "alternative" health-food store ones (Simicort, Herpacine) are not.
2. Can anyone confirm or invalidate my suspicion that the "special ingredient" in Eucerin, which is Eucerit, is also in good old Nivea cream? All I can find about Eucerit is that it's a special form of lanolin/wool wax alcohol. No idea what's so special about it.
3. Aveeno Powder is 100% colloidal oatmeal. Now, what does "colloidal" in colloidal oatmeal mean?

1. I tried Semi-cort because a few people said that it worked wonders. I thought it worked okay but there are a lot of ingredients in it (I think one of which is not the greatest for my skin) so I can't use it for a long period of time. I switch off with cortisones, zinc oxide ointment and zinc pyrithione 2%. Has anyone else had any luck with Semi-cort?
2. I can't use Nivea or Eucerin so maybe it does have at least one of the same ingredients.
3. The dictionary says that "colloidal" is a substance made up of tiny insoluble, nondiffusible particles that remain suspended in a medium of different matter. 

I'm getting married in August, and my grandmother has asked me if I would like to have her make my dress. I'm thrilled, but I don't like this feeling of shame that I have regarding my eczema. It's not weeping; it just looks like patchy, dry red spots. I do manage to keep it under control (it's always worse during winter and during certain times of the month), but I *can't stand* the looks of consternation on my relatives' faces when they see it. My mother always has a new theory about why it flares up, and other people ask why it hasn't gone away, etc. I know that they love me and want to see me well, but I don't want them to bring it up. There's a tremendous lack of eczema information out there, I guess.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone can empathize with what I'm feeling. I don't know what condition my eczema will be in on the day of the wedding, so that has limited my choices of dress styles (I don't trust my back/arm eczema enough to wear a sleeveless dress with a low back, but then co-workers ask my why I would want to wear a dress with short sleeves in hot weather, etc.). I've also felt painfully self-conscious in the bridal salons I've been in, worried that the sales assistant was looking at the spots on my arms.

Heather- for all people who ask terribly personal and none-of-their-business questions, I would respond, "Why in the world would you want to know that?" This works especially well in public places if said in a slightly louder than normal voice. For some reason, it seems to make them realize they are poking their noses... 

Eczema is just a part of who you are, and you are certainly more than eczema (one would assume your beloved didn't make his decision to propose based on how much you itch!). None of us would have selected this condition if given our druthers, but this is what we've got. I'd say that eczema will be the least of your problems once you're married, but then I'm divorced so my outlook might be a shade jaded! 

I wonder why they feel it is any of their business... And why you feel you owe them an explanation... I know women who, for religious regions, never wear sleeveless garments.

Anyways, a way around this is to have the sleeves made out of lace -- it will give you the coverage you seek, yet be cool in the summer.

So what if the sales assistant is looking? YOU are the one spending the money, if she indicates she has a problem with your skin condition, YOU indicate that you have enough of a problem with her attitude to consider taking your business elsewhere... 

When I got married I got on prednisone for it. I figured that those will be pictures we will look at for the rest of our lives so I wanted to look normal. I know what you mean about trying on dresses. I was very self-conscious about it. Fortunately I found a dress that I loved on the first visit. Anyway, it is true what you said that you can never tell how bad it is going to be. That is why I took the prednisone. And of course, my skin hasn't looked that good since! Ah well. Good luck!

Why not have a theme for your wedding then you can wear a dress that covers you and just say you like "traditional" or whatever. Then get yourself something slinky to wear at before or after wedding activities, so you can pick when you think your skin is at its best. I understand my mom always has another cause for my son's eczema and if he has skin out for people to see they think I let him get a sunburn, I want to say, mind your own business we are doing the best we can.

I think but am not positive that "colloidal" means that the oatmeal is ground up and processed so tiny that it acts like it dissolves in your tub. Actually what I've used instead with similar results is: Take a piece of cheesecloth, put oatmeal (I used organic when I could) in it and tie it up tight. Now put it in your tub. It is just as soothing as Aveeno and a lot less expensive. You can just toss it out or compost it when your done. I used to take at least one oatmeal bath a day and it was the only time I felt comfortable in my skin. Great expression: Feeling comfortable in one's skin. I wish it to everyone on the list!

Heather, First of all CONGRATULATIONS. I hope you 2 have a lifetime of happiness which clears your skin forever! 

As Wendy suggested, consider prednisone as this is a very special day. I've used it (or amped up my topical drugs) for less honorable occasions, if ya know what I mean! What ever dress or medication you choose, I think it is wise to have one stock phrase for those who comment on your skin. I forgot who suggested "Why are you concerned about that?" , but I think it's perfectly brilliant. You can choose a tone of voice to suit your mood and/or the status of the questioner. And whether you put the emphasis on the word YOU or THAT also varies the spin. Once you are prepared with a simple comeback, you will be more relaxed and able to enjoy dress hunting and also the big day. I bet you'll look so good at your wedding, no one will even think about your eczema! 

Congratulations on your wedding plans! And I'm so sorry you feel that awful self-consciousness... the last time I went dancing, one of my partners backed away when he felt my hands (strategically bandaged!) and said "I have to ask... is that contageous?" Turned out he was a dentist -- (I laughed and explained, but notice I have not been dancing since.) 

I have recently tried smiling and saying "eczema" when I get "that look" -- and to my surprise, I have met so many other people who have it, who have family members who have it -- I had no idea it was so widespread. So I would recommend being up front with someone like a dressmaker or sales clerk -- their job is to help you find a dress to let the inner beauty shine through, and I expect they will all have good suggestions for your outer looks as well if you let them know what you're up against. (I notice, with new understanding, how beautiful my mother looked in 1945 in her long-sleeved "old fashioned" gown!) And while I'm at it, think I'll revive the fashion for wearing elegant gloves to a dance!

Heather- Congratulations! I'm also getting married this summer and I absolutely LOVE this list and I am sooo happy that you wrote in about this. Sometimes this condition makes me feel so alone in the world and it is nice to know that there are others that can empathize. I think some of us with eczema live somewhat parallel lives. I have the same type of situation with my family.

I actually picked out a dress for my wedding. It's a simple, off the shoulder short sleeve dress and I am praying that my skin is clear for the big day. Everytime I went to go shopping for a dress my skin would decide to flare up and become a lovely shade of sunburnt looking red (really bright against those white dresses).

My family is very supportive but sometimes they say hurtful things and don't even realize what they're saying My father suggested that I make a drappy scarf out of the material from the dress to put around my neck because I have these brown lines as a result of overuse of steroid creams. He didn't realize it but that made me even more self-conscious than I already am. Everyone used to try & make me feel better by saying that I was the only one who noticed it and now I realize that it's not necessarily true. I am super sensitive about my eczema and when it's bad I feel disgusting. One thing I am definitely grateful for is my supportive fiance. He never thinks it looks bad (or so he says).

I'm going to the hair salon next week for some trial wedding hairdos and I am afraid that the woman is going to be kind of disgusted by my scaly scalp. My eczema is the worst there right now. Usually this is a place no one can see; it figures that it's bad now when someone will need to concentrate on this area.

I don't mean to sound like "woe is me" I know things can be worse than this but it is a big time in a person's life and I hope that out of all the people out there the ones on this list will understand.

Good luck with your wedding plans and remember that there is at least one other person out there who can totally empathize. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not alone.

My daughter (age 2-1/2) has eczema and complete strangers are always asking questions about it, so I can empthasize with your self-consciousness.

I encourage you to select the wedding gown that you'd feel most comfortable with and not worry about what friends and relatives think. After all, it is YOUR wedding! 

Thanks for the oatmeal tip. I was going to try grinding some oatmeal in the food processor, but maybe I won't go through the bother. Or maybe I will, and do a comparison test.

Donna is right; if people have problems with your eczema, let them deal with it. It is YOUR problem, not theirs, and is NONE of their business. I've been asked all of my life about mine, and it hurts sometimes (because it is so embarassing), but I've learned to deal with it (as you obviously have). Simply tell them what it is, and if they ask any further, take your business elsewhere. You don't have to put up with people's crap. Trust me, I know this from experience.

Another bit of advice. If, and when you begin to really not care about what people think of your eczema, that is when most will begin to ignore it. It is some psychological thing, I believe. I noticed that when I thought my eczema was some horrible, demonic thing, I rarely if ever dated (and incidentally, it flared up more!). When I began to really not even care about it, I began dating this absolutely gorgeous girl (and its flare-ups decreased). The more YOU care about it, the MORE others will care about it. At least, that is what I have noticed, though I am probably wrong, but at least that is my observation.

I hate these looks too. I dumped a friend largely because she was so goopy feel-sorry-for-me it made me sick. And she always had new stupid theories to make me feel bad, make me feel like I had to follow her out-of-the-blue ideas. It's domineering to offer those theories. Tell them to stop it, that they don't have a clue. One guy was making up theories to me and I told him that I have this list for talking about my rash. I don't need his concern, thank you very much.

I was thinking of making a paste of zinc oxide and hypoallergenic brownish lipstick for covering the rash but my eczema has subsided so much that I don't even use much zinc oxide anymore.

Sometimes I think that my eczema is really everyone else's problem nearly as much as it is mine because they have to look at it -- and on your wedding day, it's their tough luck. The day belongs to *you* and your intended and nothing else matters.

Best wishes for a wonderful life together.

This sounds like a clear case of lace to me. How about whichever dress you fancy with a lace wrap on top? If your eczema shows on the big day, you pin the wrap on with a brooch, if not, you just nonchalantly put it on and take it off as you wish.

BTW: I agree that if you tell people you have eczema, more often than not they say things like, Oh, I used to have it, but fortunately I outgrew it; or, Yes, Isn't that awful, my daughter has it, or things like that. Most people really are not malicious, they simply do not know. And more than you would think do know, and react quite sympathetically.

A colloidal 'solution' is not a solution in the true sense, as the particles are in fact suspended in the liquid, and not dissolved -- but the particles are so tiny that it SEEMS to dissolve.

Thanks to everyone who gave recommendations for the scalp problem I'm experiencing. It has been an ongoing problem for years. Sometimes it will clear up but it usually comes right back. I just went to the dermatologist last night and he gave me a sample of Temovate .05% (Clobetasol propionate .05% in a base of purified water, isopropyl alcohol & carbomer 934P & sodium hydroxide). I'll let you know how that works for me.

Another thing... My derm. also said that they just found out that Head & Shoulders is just as effective as the Nizorol shampoo that he prescribed for me the last time I was there... interesting.

Also, I just figured out that I'm allergic to Polypropylene Glycol which is in the majority of medications my doctor prescribed to me for all these years. I discovered this while using DeSowen lotion- after using it on my face & other areas of my body for over a year. My doctor raved about this stuff because it is weak enough to be used on the face. He seemed to be happy that I figured out (or at lease I think I figured out) one of the culprits but he also seemed a little embarrassed (or maybe even mad).

I'm pissed that my DOCTOR actually caused part of the problem. It makes me wonder why they don't test things on each patient (especially people with such sensitive skin) before just prescribing things at random. As we all know, and you would think all doctors would know, we all react differently to things. I guess I should be smart enough to test new products in one spot before putting it all over but I get anxious and I want to try to make my skin better right away. Sorry, just venting.

The chiropractor seems like he's just rubbing and gently pushing specific spots while she's positioned a few different ways:

1. Me sitting, her leaning against me chest to chest
2. She lies chest down across my lap
3. She lies on her side. 

I'm trying to work on it from both ends. Searching for things (easy-to-digest foods, supplements, minerals, vitamins, homeopathic remedies... MAYBE medication, though less likely) to help repair stomach, intestinal, liver areas. Plus treating the misalignment.

Her face started clearing for 3 days on her own (no cortisone), yet wasn't sleeping due to "all-over-itchies." Looks like a sensation of bugs crawling all over you. So I resorted to Benadryl for a few nights as a crutch to help break the cycle. But if she's really itchy the antihistimine doesn't do a thing--she'll still wake up all night. 

Anyway, this weekend she was completely clear for the first time ever!!!!! In all, it was a total of 9 days in a row of gradual improvement and great sleep. Then the next 3 days were a gradual downhill. She had a disastrous itching fit in the car yesterday. Earlier in the day yesterday, she saw the chiropractor. He was concerned that she was pretty tight again, out of the blue. (Her face still looked real good at this point so he wasn't just reading her.) He hadn't really expected that. Although he did tell me to expect a few more cycles of good and bad times before healing. (Just like with homeopathy.) 

This wasn't a big shock to me since she was showing other signs of stomach distress at home: squirming all over when nursing again, etc... Hmmmm. Two things I did differently at the end of the good cycle were: Let her eat a few things she hasn't had all month and visited a house with a dog again (last 2 itching fits were while visiting a "dog" household and patting their dog.).

I've been noticing a 3 day cycle to the "bad" times. Today is day 4 and she is better so far. She's still way better than before---hasn't gone that far backwards. And she's nursing normally today. So we'll see. I did have the chance to whisk her off to a Portrait studio on her best day--so I had some luck there. I was able to get a beautiful one year old portrait for her birthday! I hate to sound vain about surface looks, etc. but it is important. I want her to look back on her babyhood and not just see eczema in every picture!

Royce, You may want to try Satina 'D' wash lotion - it's good for all over the body and it helped me clearing my scalp problem (most of it). It's manufactured by Bayer, Germany and free of polypropylene glycol. The liter bottle (green front) is sold at approx USD 16.- in the pharmacy. Keep your hair very short while using it. 

Royce, Don't apologize for being angry at a doctor! That's one reason we have this list -- so we can vent our feelings without offending professionals on whom we must rely. I have been fortunate to have doctors who always prescribe ointments rather than creams. Ointments (in general) don't contain things like polypropylene glycol. All doctors SHOULD know this and should only prescribe creams (or lotions or gels) for allergic people when the greasiness of ointments can not be tolerated. 

Here's something I've pondered for most of my lifetime. No doctor, pharmacist or other expert has been able to give me a definite answer. Is it safer to use huge amounts of a low potency steriod ointment or tiny amounts of a highly potent one? Anybody got an opinion? 

Heather, the lace suggestion sounds like a good idea to me. If lace isn't good for some reason, then experiment with other light materials to cover up yet be cool. I'm sure you can figure out something that will be at least tolerable.

But mainly I just wanted to offer some emotional support for what is certainly a difficult situation. I know what a big deal it is. The stress is high enough without eczema! You are right to remember that you don't know how your skin will be that day. Sure your skin could be broken out, but it could be really good because you'll be so happy, right? Try to set up the situation so that you have lots of little reminders that you're happy to be taking this step. No matter what condition your skin is in, the important thing to focus on is the wedding. Do whatever you can do to keep your focus off your skin so that whatever its condition, it won't take centerstage.

One of my sisters still had braces on her teeth when she got married, and I remember how upset she was, moaning about how the photos were going to be terrible, practicing smiling without showing her teeth, etc. Everybody I know who's gotten married has worried about their wedding being ruined by something. Just do the best you can do and keep talking about your fears with your loved ones. When you get overwhelmed, post another message like you did, that's what we're here for. Don't suppress how you feel. Let it out, and let it go as much as possible. You'll get through this...

I also thought that polypropylene glycol was not used in ointments but my dr. was going through all his little sample boxes and found that every one of them contained that ingredient.

At the moment I'm not using cortisone because my skin is pretty much under control except for a few small areas and the usual dry, slightly itchy skin that I don't think will ever go away (I use emollients & zinc for this). I'm not sure what he'll find for me if I need a cortisone cream in the future (which unfortunately I'm sure I will) but I'm not too worried about it... yet. I would really appreciate it if you or anyone else who may know of of a cortisone that doesn't contain polypropylene glycol could let me know the name(s).

I've been using various cortisone creams, ointments... my whole life. I'm not positive but I think I just developed an allergy to this within the past couple of years.

Also, is anyone allergic to glycine/glycerine? I think I am but my doctor says that it's not possible (I think it's possible for me to be allergic to ANYTHING).

I believe that the rule of thumb is to consider the combination of time and potency. A lower potency steroid could be taken for a longer period. In other words potency1 * time1 = potency2 * time2. If potency1 is lower than potency2 then time1 is greater than time2. Whether or not it is safe is relative to your point of view regarding the long term effects of using steroids.

I was using a very potent steroid for about 4 months last year. Then I started receiving this mailing list. I use Lubriderm as a moisturizer (my doctor's suggestion) and Clotriminazole 1% (I got that tip here). This is just as effective as the steroid. My only concern now is that the anti-fungal properties of Clotriminazole will lessen due to extended usage and I may have to start using steroids again.

If you are allergic to *glycine*, there's not anything you can do about it, since it is one of the amino acids that your body uses to make proteins. Even if you don't eat it, your body will make it from something else. So, I think your doctor is right about this one. If you were somehow allergic to glycine, eczema would be the least of your problems, since glycine is in virtually every protein in your body.

Glycerine is a different thing, though.

I used to use a hydrocorozone cream that was in a cold cream type base. I could never seem clear my eczema 100%. Eventually every time I put the cream on my eczema would burn. I figure that I am allergic to some sort of petroleum derivitive in the cream. So I went to my pharmacist and a doctor. The doctor just wanted to put me on stronger steroids. The pharmacist suggested switching to a hydrocorozone mix with a Cetaphil base. I went with the pharmacists suggestion and within a week I have almost entirely cleared up my eczema. Cetaphil is an apparently very hypoallergenic solution.

A good example of a colloid is MILK!

BTW, does anyone know where I can buy egyptian cotton sheets? I have tried a few of the large dept stores. No one seems to have them or even know what they are. One store told me that they have "sheets with all kinds of designs"... !

Date: 11 Feb 1997 21:55:42 From: Faith Subject: colloids - egyptian cotton sheets

Try Lands End (their Coming Home catalog). They carry many Egyptian cotton things, and I think sheets are on that list. Their prices are probably not what you'd find at the local Wal-mart, but they're not outrageous, either. And the sheets are almost always over-sized and really nice.

They also carry natural (unbleached, undyed) cotton sheets & blankets, even a cotton-stuffed pillow (no down).

You can contact them at http://www.landsend.com/ or by phone at (800)963-4816 (international: (608)935-6170).

Am I the only one that notices her eczema tends to calm down considerably immediately after the dermatologist appointment has been made? Twice this has happened to me -- and this'll be my second dermatology appointment!

Incidentally, I'm intending to confront him with my need/desire to find a permanent solution to this -- I want him (or someone he could refer me to) to help me track down the triggering allergen(s). I don't want to always be trying to control this and never hunting for why it happens in the first place. I want the root cause! If it can't be found, then I'll settle for controlling measures, but I want to at least try for prevention first... 

Impatient, aren't I? Frankly, one chronic, poorly-understood medical condition is plenty; I didn't need the eczema on top of the repetitive strain injury problems I already have. I've done enough doctor hopping with the RSI -- time to make a stand against the eczema. If I go down in flames, so be it -- at least I will have tried!

Faith, I couldn't agree with you more, I am of the same mind. Lets find out what is causing the outbreaks and go from there. Our Derm. (for my son who is two) said childhood is the problem. Not foods, not diet, not animals big or small. O.K. I sent him packing but I think a lot of Drs feel this way.

Now how do you control all the variables so you can find causes?

I am thinking of purchasing the book. Has anyone used it and would they want to comment on the relation to eczema especially for a toddler?

Royce, I stand corrected. After sending my posting about ointments vs. creams, I got that uncertain feeling and went to check my Elocon tube. Sure enough, polypropylene glycol is in there! Well, in the good old days, ointments DID have fewer ingredients than creams. I still prefer ointments because for me, greasy is better. The important thing is to read ALL labels. Hope I didn't mislead anyone. 

Look into a book called "Is this your child" by Dr. Doris Rapp. It is a great guide to figure out your child allergies without the aid of high technology expensive dr. visits. Easily done at home with food elimination diets. Four days off, fifth day, eat a lot of the suspected food. Shows up every time. 

This book talks about the misalignment of the spine causing psoriasis and eczema problems. Debbi and I have used this concept on our babies. Debbi went one step further than I by using a chiropractor. I am very excited about her development and will look into it for my son.

Oops... I meant to write GLYCERIN.

Is anyone allergic to Glycerin? I tried a 100% pure glycerin soap and had a reaction.

I don't know which of these might be marketed in the UK, but here are three similar formulations that were on the shelf together. Again, I found the first (Longs proprietary formula) to be astoundingly effective on my eczema, i.e., it's vanished since I started using the stuff. I haven't used the other formulas. The following ingredients I copied directly from the labels.

1. Longs Clear Liquid SCALP RELIEF ANTI-ITCH MEDICINE. 1% hydrocortisone USP; Also contains: Menthol, Propylene Glycol, SD 40 Alcohol, and Water.
2. Scalp-Itch "by the makers of Lanacane", Combe Incorporated, White Plains, NY 10604. 1.0% hydrocortizone USP, SD alcohol 40.
3. Cortizone 10 Scalp Itch Formula. Thompson Pharmaceuticals. 1.0% Hydrocortizone, Benzyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Purified Water, SD Alcohol 40-2 (60% v/v).

Egyptian cotton refers to the fiber it is made from. Egyptian cotton has longer and thinner fibers allowing a higher thread count (threads per inch). The tighter weave makes it feel wonderfully silky. Some have 320 threads per inch. I don't know but wonder if this tight weave makes things tougher for the dust mites.

I would not have believed this was true until I experienced it!

Previous to the Egyption cotton sheets, I had on some occasions changed sheets 3 times (all 100% cotton). Will the flannel be better for me to touch? I am sure many of you with eczema know the frustration of trying to sleep when everything you touch seems painful or makes you itch.

I brushed my hand on the sheets in a department store and couldn't believe the silky smooth feel. They were 100% Eqyptian cotton. I checked the price and asked the clerk when they would be on sale. They were already on sale. Fortunately, I was self indulgent that day and bought them anyway (about $50 a sheet).

Now any time I get into bed I enjoy the feel of those sheets. They seem to last longer than other sheets and still look great after a couple of years of frequent washing. 

I have found them at all department stores: Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, Macy's. I don't think so at Penny's or Sears. Most of the designer brands include Egyptian cotton. They come in dark colors and prints that hide stains from scratching and weeping.

We deserve the treat of something nice next to our skin. Treat yourself.

I've been reading your posts for a couple of months and was surprised to see that there is a link between asthma, allergy, stomach problems and eczema. I have all of them although my eczema is limited to my hands. I can't imagine having it all over my body. 

I want to share with you information regarding a new moisturizing lotion I have been using. It is the best I've found and while it hasn't completely cleared my eczema, I think it is going to. The name on the bottle says therapeutic Atrac-tain with 5% urea. It is made by the Sween Corporation, N. Mankato, MN 56001. I don't think it is widely-used because there were only two bottles on the shelf and they look like they've been there for a while. I just decided to try it because it was one that I'd never tried and it didn't contain lanolin. The ingredients are: water, urea 5%, sorbitol, glyceryl stearate, lactic acid, isopropyl palmitate, octyl palmitate, stearyl alcohol, stearic acid, ceteareth-25, ceteareth-6, peg-40 jojoba oil, quaternium-15, menthylbenzethonium chloride and EDTA.

Just a note to Heather: My niece go married two years ago. She was a beautiful bride and she had a beautiful wedding. However, she still worries that her wedding was ruined because her mother-in-law used coloring in the wedding cake batter and the inside of the cake was pink and blue instead of mauve and green like she wanted. How's that for a "major" problem?? :-)

It is a good book.. In fact, I tried the suggestions in it first. Unfortunately, for some reason it never occurred to me that my daughter could be allergic to soy, so I never eliminated that, which has turned out to be the major culprit in her case. Because of that, even though I eliminated other suspect foods, there never was any profound change in her eczema.

Glycerin is an irritant to many people. It used to be a popular ingredient of many skin-care products, but its popularity has significantly gone downhill since it was found to irritate so many.

The reason it's still used is that it's absolutely necessary to produce a certain type of emulsion; it's not just something that's added, it's something you need when you want to produce a so-called "vanishing cream". These days it's often replaced by one of its components, sorbitol (yes, the sweetener).

A Web search should yield more information than I can give you off the top of my head.

I have always suspected that glycerin may give the illusion of lubricating the skin while it is in fact drying it out. My chemistry isn't great, but if glycerin is one of those substances that draws water to itself (hydrophilic?) from the air, then it must also drag water out of any other surface it's in contact with, in this case the skin. That's how honey and sugar pastes work when they're used as antibiotic dressings - they draw water out of the bacteria and kill them, I'm told. I should have paid more attention to the class on osmosis! Either way, it dried my (very oily) skin and that's the last thing eczema-people need.

1. Someone posted names of some anti-dust spray products. I had been thinking of trying these, and wondered if anyone has already used them and with what results? Can one be equally allergic to their ingredients as to dust? Also, can they be sprayed on clothes as well? Mine pick up a lot of dust in the closet, but I would wonder about having the spray so close to my body.
2. Has anyone had any experience with natural ways of increasing adrenal support (for those of us who have ruined our adrenal systems with too much prednisone)? One health practitioner recommended bovine glandular supplements, but I've heard these are controversial (and possibly connected to mad cow disease). II know there are other things one could do, involving minerals and vitamins. I am already on an extensive vitamin/mineral program, but wondered if anyone had strong feelings about or experience with the glandulars.

I've read it! He's the author that speaks about Leaky Gut... and says along with it there seems to be a little trouble with elimination (recommends enemas or high colonics on a fairly regular basis) and talks about specific spinal misalignments (different ones for psoriasis vs. eczema) and specific recommendations for diet and supplements and topical agents.

I like the book a lot. And like I've explained, I've been doing the chiropractor work, and dietary changes... but no enemas yet! Not on a baby (my opinion). I just give her a little bit of prunes every day. Now she's having one or two (better) bowel movements a day instead of one every two days. This is supposed to be better for them--to have food pass thru more quickly. The author does not speak at all about children or infants so I just use common sense, ask health food store prof. about supplemental/topical info, etc. If you don't already have a book like it then I think it's worth reading. 

That's interesting, because glycerin is one of the few things my skin will tolerate. I use Curel Unscented almost exclusively because it's glycerin-based, with no mineral oil. In fact, I usually add a bit more glycerin to it.

I finally got hold of one of the doctors involved in the gamma interferon study at UCSF. They haven't started yet because they haven't gotten approval from the UCSF review board, but they anticipate starting within the next few weeks. Here's some of the basic information you need to know:

They will teach you how to give yourself a daily injection of gamma interferon, which they said is a synthetic version of what is normally produced by the body. You have to give yourself the injection every day for 3 months. You have to come to the office to be checked 6 times (baseline test, then week 1, week 4, week 8, week 12, and week 16 as follow-up). They will pay $140 for participation. He said they didn't think it would get rid of eczema permanently but would keep it under control (like insulin for diabetes). I spoke to Dr. Siebenlist at 415-476-4701 in San Francisco.

Obviously you have to be in the Bay Area to even consider doing this, but he said there are other places doing the study. I will have to ask him where else so that others could check on the possibility of doing this closer to home.

Criteria for inclusion in the study: Must have eczema for longer than one year, must have family history of related problems, must have 20% of the body involved or 10% of face, feet, or genitalia, must have normal kidney, liver, and blood levels (which they will test), if taking antibiotics must be only taking one type, if on allergy shots must have been taking them for at least 6 months already, must have no heart disease, no diabetes, no vascular or rheumatology problems, no HIV, no cancer, no active infections, not pregnant nor lactating, no central nervous system problems, and never used interferon before.

So that's the basic information. Very interesting. I don't know if I will do it because I'm nervous about giving myself injections, but I'll think about it. 

Flannel sheets seem softer to the touch but they still make me a little itchy. I've been sleeping with a soft, white cotton tee-shirt over my pillow case because it's the only thing that doesn't make me itch! These sheets sound like they're worth a try. Maybe I will treat myself. 

Debbie, I am sorry this GI was a disaster or so sounds like it. The formula he is recommending is the most expensive stuff on the market. The blood test in my opinion means nothing, even my GI never performed these tests on Mac. I do agree with the idea of changing your diet. It does directly affect the baby.

Sounds like they do not like the competition of a chiropractor. So who are they to make these types of judgements of other professionals?

I called my homeopathic MD for a referral for a chiropractor, unfortunately he is unavailable until Monday. Mac has not been well lately, he had a fever siezure on Sunday. This was new to me, I called the ambulance and had him rushed in. He is better now but still not right. He is crancy, flaring up, generally unhappy. He is not sleeping well even with the periactin. They plugged him full of medications, antibiotics, drugs, drugs, drugs. I did complain but they looked at me like I was crazy. That was when I threw the towel in and took him to my homeopathic MD. He said take him off everything. He will get better on his own. Best advice yet!

The homeopathic MD suggested vitamin therapy for Mac, first and foremost the colloidal minerals. These he has been receiving. He also suggested a vitamin high in leafy green vitamins. The first suggested vitamins he will not chew. I am now looking for a liquid form of the same type which can be mixed in his food. Any suggestions? 

I'm sorry to hear about Mac's illness. Scary stuff. Did I tell you that I also broke down when Julia was sick with croup 2 weeks ago, and took her to a derm. for the first time? Thought I'd try it. But it was as expected: topical prescription cortisone, Bactroban (antiobiotic ointment), and a prescription antihitamine (Atarax). They seem to make no real difference in the sense that if she's itchy she still wakes up to scratch regardless of being drugged around the clock (which I did for a week). So, I stopped it, and will do it at just bedtime for a bit longer---just in case it's helping at all.

Julia's clearing again right now. So, she had 9 clearing days (with only 2 actual days of "looking" clear since she started out as mess), then went downhill for 3 days (but not too bad at all really) and now has been going back uphill for the last 3 days. Since she was no where near raw/bleeding/oozing this time she's practically clear after only 2 days of no real itching.

You know, I am really wondering if it's not (also) due to the homeopathic remedy. This is the exact time period she described it would take. And it has been pretty gradual since Christmas... But I've been doing everything else since then too (diet, colloidal minerals, chiro.). But even the chiro. didn't seem to know why she was worse again on Mon. (while she was also starting to flare again too)... All I know is I am thrilled... something is working! Even the rest of her skin is becoming "baby soft" everywhere! Gotta go, off to the chiro.

If you don't already have a liquid form of colloidal trace minerals the one I get is by "Innovative Natural Products", brown bottle, 1 oz., 4 oz., and something like 7 oz., called Colloidal Multiple Minerals. I'm not doing a green leafy thing so I don't know anything about it.

My pet peeve is people who act as if the rash is my fault somehow, as if I rolled in poison ivy or something. My second pet peeve is people who with all the authority in the world announce that it is stress-related. They say this as if it is the same as being all in my head, and therefore still my fault. It would be enlightening for them if they could walk a mile in my shoes sometimes. 

We are going to see a chiro on Monday on next week, while he did not think spin manip was the way to go he had a plan called B.E.S.T. that we are going to try. He read me the riot act about all the antibiotics from last year, but what is a mom to do you work with what you have till you find something better. Sorry to hear Mac got so sick, I know how scary that is last winter. Fever up to 104 about every two weeks for three months, they I didn't sleep because of worry now I don't sleep because of the itch factor. Truth be known I would rather it is the itch, my son is now at the point he can say "I itch" I like having the communication even if it is 2:00 a.m.

Date: 14 Feb 1997 12:58:04 From: Bob Subject: Red wine

I have the same reaction as Diane... Red wine is a problem, white wine much less, and any alchoholic beverage has some irritation.

My skin also tolerates glycerin much better than it does mineral oil. Because of this, the zinc oxide ointments (with a mineral oil base) bother me. I've called everywhere in town looking for Sudocrem, which was a zinc oxide preparation mentioned in the Eczema FAQ sheet, but to no avail. Does anyone know who manufactures Sudocrem? No pharmacy in town could tell me.

Date: 16 Feb 1997 06:00:23 From: David Subject: Sudocrem

The jar of Sudocrem I have says:

Sudocrem ANTISEPTIC HEALING CREAM Napkin rash, Bed Sores, Eczema, Acne, Surface wounds, Sunburn, Chilblains, Minor Burns

Zinc Ox EurP 15.25% Benzyl Alc BP 0.39% Benzyl Benz BP 2.02% Benzyl Cinnam 0.15% Lanolin (Hypo-allergenic) 4.00%

Made in Ireland for:

Tosara Products (UK) Ltd PO Box 5 70 Picton Road Liverpool L15 4NS

Sudocrem is on the shelves of most pharmacies in the UK and is also available in supermarkets and cut price "drug stores". It is usually found with the babycare products as it is used for napkin/nappy/diaper rash.

FYI, I read in the paper that the FDA has announced its intent to ban terfenadine, which is the active ingredient of Triludan (anti-histamine). It seems that in combination with certain other medications, which were not specified in the article, terfenadine can lead to heart rhythm problems.

I for one will not be taking any more Triludan.

My understanding is that Triludan on its own is safe. I understand the problem occurs in combination with certain antibiotics - including erythromycin - interesting since a lot of us have probably had the case of antibiotics and Triludan!

Lynn, Craniosacral therapy () can help in restoring all the hormonal functions. I've just completed a course in it, and my skin is looking a hell of a lot better. If anything, the itch is worse, but I think that's a healing response (I really hope so) as the lesions are healing up, the dry patches and my total body eczema (mild) are practically gone. I'm back to eczema on my legs only.

The theory is that your body knows how to heal itself, and practitioners just provide that little boost of energy to kick start the process. It GENTLY repositions any dysfunctions in your body, and re-aligns the cranial bones to their correct position. This frees up trapped nerves, blood vessels etc, throughout the body and allows the organs to work properly. It's like osteopathy without the force. You feel light touch only. But it has powerful results, including a decrease in tension/stress.

As you can see, I'm sold on the idea! I'd recommend it to anyone.

We are still going to the chiro., although he just cut her down to once a week (after 3 wks. of going twice a week). There are a ton of chiros everywhere, as opposed to the amount of pedi GI's, for example. Although the quality of some might be better than others, I think they are probably all going to be of the same general philosophy. It's just what chiropractic med. is all about. And it is still considered alternative by alot of conventional med... Our insurance does not cover it. It was $45 for the first visit and $35 for the rest.

By the way, I didn't consider the Pedi GI visit a disaster at all. I'm all for the specific tests he's running... and I didn't expect much more since we already got Julia under control once ourselves. I was hoping for tests, actually. And specific nutritional info. I don't know he could tell it's leaky gut or not without specimens. How did your Dr. diagnose it, by the way? If she takes to the formula (which I doubt) they'll give us a prescription for it which will just involve a $5 co-payment for us. We go back in 3 weeks.

Julia just had her birthday party this weekend and was clear for it!!! That night though she started another mild bout--itchy, a little pinkish red----but nothing like she was. I'm seriously wondering about an allergy to dogs/cats. We don't have any. But everyone we know does. I used to visit my sister's house practically daily. Since everyone had one and I was always going somewhere I was never able to connect it. She just had chronic breakouts--every single day, worsenig as time went on. 

Now the only breakouts she's had this month have been after being around them: two bad ones after actually patting two different dogs on 2 different occassions, and then two mild ones after being in a dog family's house and then after dog owners came to our house and held her for a while, etc. (her party). I've been avoiding visiting anyone with a dog for 3 weeks now and these are the 3 weeks she's been clear. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to at least suspect it. However, this is the same month that we've done a lot of other things differently too.

I started flax seed oil yesterday. That stuff sounds great--I should probably be taking it too! Hope Mac's illness is improving...

We think that Isaac's eczema is related to allergies, but we have not been able to pin down exactly what he's sensitive to. He's had RAST tests that identified peas, peanuts, and dairy as allergens, but we know that he has at least superficial (skin irritation) sensitivities to eggs, peaches, tomatoes, and especially mold.

We also think that his eczema got triggered by a series of antibiotics that he was on to fight ear infections that began at about 5 months. Our doctors just put him on one anti-biotic after another, and we went along with it, not knowing we should be concerned, for a few months. Then we began an ongoing "fight" with the medical community that we continue to fight. At first we didn't have much ammunition--we just tried to talk them out of prescribing antibiotics--but eventually we started seeing specialists, and got better information... 

So, about a year ago, we did a while lot of things, which have definitely improved Isaac's skin from being very itchy, red, and cracking over a large percentage of his body, to today's cycle of flares and clear-ups on his legs and arms:

• stopped all antibiotics. He still gets ear infections, but our ENT lets him fight the infections without drugs. We still might have to do ear tubes at some point, but his ears are NO WORSE than they were when he was on the antibiotics.
• wash all his bedding in superhot water once a week, including his stuffed animals, pillow, and bumpers.
• wash all his clothes in hot water (with All-clear, which seems to work for him), and double-rinse them.
• put him on a four-day rotation diet (only gets a particular food once every four days) from age 14 mos. to about 18 mos; now it's a two-day rotation).
• eliminated all known allergens, and also several that the dermatologist suggested we stay away from "just in case". We started eliminating lots: dairy, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, corn, chocolate, citrus, peanuts. Then we slowly added them back in, except for dairy, eggs, peanuts, and corn, which he has an obvious reaction to.
• saw a chiropractor. Not sure if this helped or not. We saw two different ones, and stopped after he became VERY scared of the second one (her adjustments hurt him). We might start this up again, and have a referral to someone with a good reputation.
• see a homeopath. We don't know whether this has helped or not. The guy has a great reputation, and Isaac's skin has definitely improved while in his care, but we've also done all these other things at the same time.
• started supplements. At the recommendation of a naturopath, he was taking all kinds of weird things, most of which we have now stopped. The one thing that we think really worked was the evening primrose oil. We started out with small doses (1/2 tsp. per day), with no results. Then a doctor who knows about alternative medicine (but has since closed up shop) told us to greatly increase the dosage, to 2 tablespoons per day. We usually gave him 4-5 tsp/ per day, and think that this really helped him. However, we recently heard from a nutritionist that large does of gammalinoleic acid can actually hinder brain functioning, which scared us so much that we stopped it altogether. And his skin went downhill, slowly, after about amonth. So we've just started up again, with 1 tsp/day, and looking for ANYONE who might know what a safe dose of this is. I have pored over medical journals, written to researchers, and still can't find anyone who will say what/if the negative side effects of evening primrose oil are.
• footed sleepers. Because his legs are his worse area, I have sewn socks into all of his jumpsuits and pants. This makes it much harder for him to get at his legs, and definitely helps him not scratch. It doesn't seem to drive him to his hands, either for some reason. It's a pain to change his diapers, though--have to take his shoes off each time.
• cool clothing. We dress him TWO full layers lighter than we are dressed. This was suggested by our doctor, and is hard for me to do because I grew up being constantly cold (for economic reasons) and have a big emotional reaction to cold. However, he is not at all bothered by it--he prefers it. So I have to get over my own stuff and dress him lightly.
• "training." This sounds weird, but I began very early to help him figure out how to stop himself from scratching. When he was about 10 mos, he understood the concept of "stop." So we began a game where we would (both) scratch our legs for a second, then throw our hands in the air and yell "STOP!" For a while, say at age 11 or 12 mos, this actually worked to help him stop. We'd play the game, and he'd stop. Now that doesn't work as well, but he's a pretty good talker now, so we have new options.
• "counseling." Our theory is that his eczema/scratching is in part his way of dealing with emotional challenges, and that he scratches because it distracts him from the confusion/fear/pain he's feeling about something in his life. So when we have the attention for it, we have sessions where we lovingly, but physically, restrain him from scratching. He yells, cries, kicks, and struggles, but we calmly hold him, encourage him to keep going in his crying and kicking, and assure him that he's doing the right thing, we love him, and we'll help him through this. Getting his eye contact during this is tough, but important. These sessions seem to really help him. He finally slows down, seems to look at us more openly, asks to get down, and goes to play--without scratching. These can last from two minutes (any diaper change is an opportunity for a session) to an hour or more, depending mostly on our attention, not his.
• home daycare. We had to pull him out of a group daycare setting because his skin got so bad there. We have a person come to our home three days a week. This is expensive, but it's helped him, and we hope that eventually he'll be able to tolerate other environments more easily.

Was your son tested for soy? And is he, by chance on any soy formulas since he's allergic to milk?

I ask because my almost-3-year-old recently underwent allergy testing and was allergic to many of the things you mentioned, including milk and soy. Not knowing she was allergic to soy, we had been giving her soy toddler formula. Stopping the formula and following the allergist's protocol, her skin is the clearest it has ever been. There are still mild patchy outbreaks from time to time, but it's not nearly as bad as it was.

My daughter is also allergic to tomatoes she reacts with redness, itching and hives around her mouth. In spite of keeping her off of her allergic foods (tomatoes, chocolate,peaches) her eczema never cleared up. When allergy testing showed a MILD reaction to potatoes, we took her off of that favourite food and her skin cleared up considerably. Tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are in the deadly nightshade family. Often there are cross-allergies between these foods. 

Regarding Evening Primrose Oil: I took it for 3 yrs for Fibromyalgia and severe PMS. It worked beautifully but I had to discontinue it because it aggravated my irritable bowel syndrome. That is the only side effect that I have heard of, I believe it is generally quite safe.

According to my "Bumper Book of Drugs for Hypochondriacs" or whatever it is called, adverse effects from terfenadine are rare. Occasionally indigestion may occur. Headaches, drowsiness and dizziness are rarer, as are palpitations and fainting.

As for interactions with other drugs, antifungal drugs (including Ketoconazole and Itraconazole) and the antibiotic Erthromycin increase terfenadine levels and may affect the heart.

Terfenadine may increase the sedative effect of antidepressants, sleeping pills and antipsychotics, whilst antidepressants increase the chance of abnormal heart rhythms.

The anticholinergic effects of terfandine may be increased by drgus which have anticholinergic effects. This includes antipsychotics and antidepressants.

(Anticholinergic drigs are used to affect muscle movements and are used to treat urinary incontinence and IBS.)

If you want to read all about it see:

The British Medical Association New Guide to Medicines and Drugs. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 1994 472 pages

Hi Sue, I am doing the exact things you are! Julia's face has always been the worst. During 7 mos. to 11 mos. she was raw, red, oozing, bleeding on her face and it started spreading more to neck, wrists, legs, and elbows. Right now (and for last 3 weeks) she's doing great: clearing completely on some days. Even her bad days now are what good days used to be. Before this, she never had a clear day.

I'm a little confused what to blame the clearing on. She's been going to a hom eopath for 5 months. First remedy wasn't the one but she's doing much better since we started the second one (mid Dec.). But I also started a diet change then. I removed almost everything from her diet except rice, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, squash. We've also been doing the chiropractor for 3 weeks now (twice a week) with great success. These are the same 3 weeks she's been clear. I've just started her on flax seed oil, which is kind of similar to evening primrose oil. I've also been giving her colloidal trace minerals.

As for the other routine stuff, I also use Tide Free, double rinse... hot water bedding... no antibiotics (she either had a bad reaction to Keflex at 7 mos. or coincidentally got a virus then). I wasn't putting on any steroid ointment in those bad months because it wasn't changing anything so I didn't want the drugs. However, I use them occasionally now that she goes a week at a time with no new breakouts, etc. I've been giving her an antihistimine once at bedtime lately too. Although I'm not going to continue this much longer. I started it to help her sleep better while sick with Croup a few weeks ago. If she's itchy, she still wakes up anyway though.

Regarding the chiro: Did your chiropractor describe Isaac's condition to you in a visit-by-visit basis? Was Isaac real bad when he first came in, etc.? Because my chiro. had a lot to say about Julia. Said she was really, really tight in the shoulder blade area, also has said she is making incredible progress--except for one session where he said she went downhill a bit. And sure enough we had just had a horrible night's sleep, which was the beginning of a bad 3-day cycle. The condition of her spine always coincides with the state of her eczema. I don't know if this is just coincidence or what... I'm most inclined to think that it's a case where everything is working together towards the same end cure. The remedy, the diet, the chiropr., etc. We are sleeping now though and she looks great so whatever the reason, I'm thrilled!

Tell me about the homeopath you go to. Do you feel it's successful? Julia's on Bufo (toad poison), a minor one, not many people have heard of it. The first one she was on was Phosphorous. My homeopath feels absolutely certain that we'll get it right and that the eczema will be gone (along with future allergies, asthma... ). Did yours feel that confident about it. After just spending 3 months with an unsuccessful one, though, I wasn't feeling as confident as she was.

Have you been researching "Leaky Gut?" Your info. and solutions are just so similar to many of ours on this list. What have your doctors attributed all the allergies to? Any mention? Any theories of your own?

A friend called to tell me she'd caught the last few seconds of an MD on television talking about Psorelief. She said the doc was saying it was something new & effective for psorasis and eczema. I was wondering if anyone on the list is familiar with this? If so, what can they share? 

I am finding all this very interesting because all these children sound just like my son Daniel. He is 16 months old and has been itchy since just a couple of weeks old. I nursed him for just over 5 months and our doctors all said he probably didn't have food allergies. Just bad cradle cap etc... My husband grew up with fairly bad eczema and is still itchy... The doctors finally said Daniel had eczema when he was a few months old and in the last few months we have been seeing an allergist.

Daniel is highly allergic to peanuts, filberts, cashews and eggs. A little allergic to citrus, beef, chicken, wheat and a few other things. Oddly enough he has no problem with milk and that is usually a big one. When we first took him to the allergist his skin was so bad they couldn't test him there. They had to send blood to a special clinic. He then tested positive to potatoes and soy, but his last test came up negative.

Since removing some of these foods from his diet his skin has improved but not totally. His face and hands are still red and swollen and he gets blotches on the rest of his body that come and go daily.

The other day my husband was in restaurant with Daniel and a man gave him his card and recommended trying enzymes. He said his wife and children were itchy from head to toe and they are totally clear now. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

We use antihistimines at night. Before we did that Daniel was awake every 20 minutes to an hour scratching and crying. Now he wakes up about once a night for a water bottle. I saw on TV that some antihistimines can slow a child down over time, has anyone researched that yet?

We use topical steroid creams when he gets real bad only about once or twice every couple of weeks but they scare me.

His allergies sound exactly like mine, and I'm 15. I still have problems with all of those things, though especially to eggs, and any nuts. My skin is almost completely clear now, thanks to a good vitamin regimen, and a little change in diet. If I will do what I must to my diet, I believe I can rid myself of the problems that I even have now. 

Actually, the summer was normally the worst for me, because I was outside the most. I would recommend that you bathe him very often in warm water (hot water will irritate the skin usually, and cold is unbearable) during the summer, as the dirt irritates the skin, causing itching. I would also recommend that when you clean him, clean him thoroughly. Simply because, from my experience, only light cleansing is more irritative than none whatsoever. A thorough cleansing should help the itching quite a bit.

I've used topical steroid creams regularly since a baby, and I use them fairly regularly now (my eczema is not as bad). Though I am sure it is different for different people; I suppose I am very lucky.

I believe diet is a major factor, as well as regular bathing. I believe (though I may be wrong) that regular bathing would remove some of the bacteria that causes the itching. Also, a vitamin regimen would help sufficiently. I have noticed that a good vitamin regimen has almost eliminated the itching (it got to the point at one time that I wished I had a wire brush to scratch with), as well as induced healing. It has been extremely helpful on my scalp eczema. I might also suggest that "sun bathing" be used as well. I have found this to be very helpful in my case. The summers that I went swimming very regularly were the ones that I had the least problems, if I could tolerate the clorine. Though be careful and to not let the skin burn. That is no good. It can do nothing but make the skin worse.

I would suggest that you find a good allergist, and experiment with many of the therapies that have been mentioned in this group. The "evaporation" therapy that was mentioned by someone in the group has been something that I used in the past, though I never knew anyone else used it. It was a method that I stopped using (for some strange reason) a few years ago, and that is why I could not recall anything about it, until my mother told me that I did that at one time. It is quite helpful. There are so many things you can try. Though, if you are lucky, the condition should clear up as he gets older. Be careful that he does not scratch any particular places on his body regularly though. I have some really glaring scars on my body from when I was much younger from where I scratched a particular area constantly. If you can clear up the itching problem, 90% of the condition is solved. 

David, whatever your book from 1994 says, the FDA is about to BAN the stuff!!

New research has shown it's not as safe as was previously thought. For this reason, it's recalled from the market.

My understanding, from talking to my pharmacist is that it is purely an interaction problem. The killer is that these things are available for sale widely and that you can't check people haven't got the other drugs it interacts with.

Hi Susan, I am also new to the list and felt very moved by your post. I personally suffered very much with my skin problems as a child (my brother had it too but not as bad). When I was a teen, I cleared up and had no problems until about four years ago. Now, I am the worst I have ever and can barely stand to be in my own skin. 

I have a three year old that we were afraid would get it but no problems so far (she had several ear infections until she was two but now can blow her nose and has never has another). I am not sure if you can do this with a toddler but Vitamin C gives me a lot of relief. I takes the burn out of my skin and also seems to promote the healing. I tried Primrose Oil along time ago and don't remember that it helped much but since your post, I think I will try it again.

My son, Brian, is now 6-1/2 mos. old and has eczema on his face, scalp, and a few spots on his body. My dermatologist asked me to stop nursing last week asap ... so I haven't breastfed him since last Friday evening. And I started using Vitamin E cream on his face. Already his face is looking much better -- thank God! The derm told me to see how he is after one week off breastmilk, and if it's not better, he would need to have allergy tests done. So, you've already been down the path that we might need to walk. Could you tell me how they do the allergy testing on a baby -- just curious in case we need to do this.

I also have eczema. When I was pregnant, my hormones went crazy (of course!), and so did my eczema. I was on prednisone during late pregnancy when I just couldn't stand it anymore. Since Brian's birth, my eczema has calmed down a lot. When I read through past archives, I could relate to those of you talking about scratching for hours in bed at night. There have been many times in the past when I couldn't stop scratching. It's easy for my husband to say "stop scratching", but he's not the one who is itchy!

No, Isaac didn't/doesn't get soy formula. Because his strongest allergy was to peas and peanuts, we just decided not to mess around with soy (and our allergist agreed). So he drinks rice milk (on his rice day, which is every other day now), fortified with calcium.

We are trying to distinguish between foods that Isaac's skin is sensitive to, and ones he's actually allergic to. Many, many foods make his face red and blotchy as he eats (he's not too neat). As I understand it, this isn't technically an "allergy"--that word is saved for reactions that involve his immune system. For example, tomatoes make his face red and itchy while he eats them, but don't seem to have a secondary reaction through his skin (ie, his eczema doesn't get worse after having eaten them). We used to get concerned these food "sensitivities," but we've gotten so used to them that we don't get so concerned about them now. We still try to avoid those foods, though.

In the last couple of weeks, we have noticed a change in Isaac's skin--I've even wondered if he even has eczema anymore. His skin used to be red, patchy, raised, and when he'd scratch, it would get very angry red, raised, dry looking, and eventually bleed. In the last few weeks, his skin has been blotchy, but the blotches are not usually raised--they're splashes of color. Instead of that red, raised skin, he gets welts. Welts everywhere, all the time. He almost always has a few on his face these days--isolated little raised circles, whitish, that look like what a mosquito bite looks like in the first minute or two after you get it. These do not then get red and angry--they just disappear. And new ones show up somewhere else. When he scratches now, instead of that red and abraded skin, he gets BIG patches of welts--dozens of small, white bumps, amost contiguous to each other. They are raised by just one or two swipes of his scratching, and they last for about ten minutes, then go away.

Has anyone else ever seen this change? It looks so much more "allergic" than it used to. And he's so SENSITIVE now... just getting excited during play will bring welts out on his face and legs. He's always been sensitive, emotionally, but this physical sensitivity is striking.

What you are describing on Isaac is hives - a condition I also have. If they are left alone (although they itch horribly) they will fade and disappear within 30 minutes or so. They tend to pop out on me when I get excited. 

Sue: You are a wonderful mother to be doing so much to help your son! I am greatly impressed with your efforts, especially what you call "training" and "counseling". If my mother had had the intelligence to handle the emotional aspects I think I would have made major improvement. Keep up the good work! 

Susan, What you describe on your son's skin sounds like hives to me also. Please mention it soon to a doctor. Most of my hive attacks have been of no consequence. But occasionally I've had throat swelling and have needed medical help. Generally, I prefer to deal with hives rather than eczema (because hives go away on their own), but the hives are more medically significant. 

Thank you Chris, for writing to me. It is so amazing how many people have the same problems as our household. And you have been dealing with them as a teen. Ugh! I have already sent away for mailings on how Daniel can cope with all this growing up. What do you find is the hardest to deal with, such as itchiness or blotchiness or food allergies... not being able to eat what other people eat? My husband has a better understsanding on the inability to stop scratching than I do since he grew up with eczema, but not on his face, it was mostly wrists and arms.

I pretty much like our allergist. He seems to know what he's talking about, I think he's scared of overwhelming us though with too much information.

Has anyone out there heard about using enzymes?

Has anyone else heard about antihistamines causing long term problems?

Reading the recent postings on the possible causes of eczema, I have been thinking about the cause of my 11 months' . So far, we haven't been able to pinpoint what causes it. There are just all these theories.

I used to think her problem is leaky gut but am not so sure anymore. The only thing Jodi has benefited from is Chinese Herbal Treatment. Her diagnosis is toxins in the blood. When I asked the Chinese dr where the toxins came from, he said it was from me when I was pregnant with her. True there was a history of atopy. My father had asthma as a child. Several of my siblings suffer from rhinitis. Another is highly allergy to certain food. I had eczema as a child but quickly and luckily outgrew it very early on. Could Jodi's eczema be due to bad genes?

Jodi was born a full term baby at 8 lbs 2oz. Delivery was very very smooth, less than 10 minutes. Could the pressure from the birth canal have caused damage to her craniosacral system? I doubt it. I had acceptable weight gain of 33 lbs during that pregnancy. Felt great all through pregnancy, needed no medication or had no complications at all. Jodi has had no blows to her head or trauma to her spine; couldn't think of anything that could cause any neurotoxin or any malnutrition. She was breast fed till 7 months. Never had any thrush or any sign of candida, no ear infection or use of antibiotic . Never used antihistamine either, only used steroid for a short period. Her formula is Alimentum which has no milk protein or milk sugar or soy. Her solid food only include pear, apple, rice, carrot, yam, very lean pork, Chinese leafy green and rice cereal. She has bowel movements 2-4 times a day, with her poo looking either soft-sausage-like or custard-like. She has no diaper rash from her poo which may suggest undigested food and she has very good appetite. I also cook her food from scratch. Still, something is missing and I don't know what.

Well, the benefit from the Chinese herbal treatment seems to give way to a series of countered epidsodes . Jodi has not had muc