June 1997 Eczema Mailing List Archive

I have had eczema since I was 13. Started small - on the outside ankles - now everywhere but my face and breasts and upper back. Hands are usually pretty bad, but worst spots are on legs. I have never noticed a flare with particular foods, but my eczema is like a barometer for stress. I have noticed it also coincided a lot with my hormonal moods. First started when I started my periods, cleared up with birth control pills. Got bad during pregnancy and really bad with miscarriages. Now I am in menopause and it is the absolute worst! 

Stress makes it even more so - particularly on hands which tend to blister, break, weep, get infected and then crack. My doctor wants me to do PUVA treatments and she is VERY sure this will work. Anybody have any luck with PUVA? It sounds really scary to me because of all the precautions one has to take. I had been under a LOT of stress for the past 8 years. I want to try to see if maybe now that I don't have this stress, it may clear on its own. 

About the really dry skin feeling - my derm. told me to put the lotions or moisturizers on IMMEDIATELY after bathing or showering so it would retain the moisture. This seemed to help. Currently I have been alternating oatmeal baths with tar oil baths and it helps. The more I sleep, the better it gets- but of course, you can't sleep all the time. 

When my son was just over a year old, he got to a cup of tea I'd left on a high unit in my kitchen and scolded his chest and arm. Once the wound was no longer raw, we were given such a pad made of silicon gel, but we were told by the skin specialist that the use of this was not to retain water, but simply to apply a constant pressure on the wound so that it didn't bubble or pucker up on healing. However, the pad didn't allow Rees's skin to breathe and he sweated terribly under it, which made the surface of the skin *very* red and *very* itchy, so we stopped using it. At the time, his eczema wasn't too well established, although he had always been prone to rashes and obviously had very sensitive skin.

I know the opinions regarding stress and eczema vary, but I believe strongly that stress factors into eczema. Not everyone, of course, finds their skin to be affected by stress. But let me tell you, my skin is VERY much affected by my state of mind. Because I am prone to depression, I am taking Zoloft, an anti-depressant. When I first started taking it, my skin cleared up soon thereafter. It remained in good condition until I moved. Perhaps, in combination with different allergens, different lifestyle, stress played a role in the next wave of chronic eczema. I can not say for sure what caused it, but increasing my dose of Zoloft has helped. It has not been a panacea, but at least when my skin sucks, I don't hide in bed for days any more. Not letting my skin govern my life is important to me.

After about 38 years of eczema, many problems with rashy eyes and a naive use of steriods on face (same betamethasone prescription refilled by pharmacist without any renewal for 12 years), I was told I have glaucoma and significant peripheral vision loss about a year and a half ago. This loss of vision has made considerable impacts on my life... poor quality vision, can't safely play hockey anymore or follow a golf ball's flight, difficulty reading signs and books, just poor acuity and visual range!!!! However, I was told by the derm and ophthalmologist at the time, that it is rare although possible to have developed this condition due to steriod usage. I have since found out an aunt and uncle also have glaucoma. There may have been a disposition that was exacerbated by steriod use. I am only 40 years of age and considered young to have this condition.

I would be very cautious regarding steroid use around eyes or face for that matter. After many years of steroid use, skin thinning occurs. My derm indicated that with thinnned skin, even steroids on distant facial parts can migrate to the eye areas subdermally and cause problems. Who knows? I would suggest avoidance. 

I went back to work last week and, I must admit I was very hesitant and anxious of how my eczema was going to react.

Anyway what did I learn from my break... 

First of all I realised I was not going to be cured in any way. I knew that already. I am pleased however how I have progressed in controlling my eczema. The most obvious difference is that my skin is under control on most areas. especially my face. I have also decreased dramatically the use of steroids.

I take vitamin and herb tablets. I drink at least two litres of water a day. I make sure any toxic waste in my body is flushed out daily... i.e going to the toilet regurlarly. I eat five small meals a day so as not to overload the digestive system. All my food is dairy and wheat free. I think my face has cleared because I am totalling avoiding dairy products.

I now use Jojoba oil on my face. This does not irritate and leaves no greasy marks. Beleive me my face is hyper irritant so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this product.

I now shower once every three days AND make sure it is luke warm water. If I use hot water (which I was addicted to) it causes my skin to heat up, go red and then dry out. I am surprised if I stick to this my skin stays supple. This has never happened before. I use to use moisturisers galore in the beleif they were helping. How wrong I was. I now let the body dry itself and BREATH. It is now healing itself and producing it's own oils.

Stress - This is the hardest to control. I do not take and have never taken anti-depressants. Instead I now exercise and try to stay calm.

I now know of the things that really irritate my skin. They are:

• House Dust mites - I have the usual protective covers on my bedding which help. I also need to clean my flat daily... I'm failing miserably here. I am getting wooden floors in then I will employ a cleaner to thoroughly clean my place.
• Sweat - This aggravates my skin terribly. This is the only time I will shower within the three day rule. It will be very brief and slightly cooler, If I don't shower the toxic gumpf that has come thru my skin will start to work on my skin and then it's too late.
• The Sun - Unfortunately over the years I have become very sensitive to the sun. I believe this is due to my prolonged use of steroids, though some people have disagreed with me. If I can wean myself off steroids I believe my skin will become desensitized to the Sun. I hope so. It makes my skin very itchy and it comes up with hives.
• Air conditioning - This is such a bane to me working in an office. This is tied in with the dustmite thing.
• Stress - The hardest and most important to control. I wont take drugs but am reading about meditation and how the brain works.

I have had a couple of set backs in the past few weeks. But rather than getting depressed about it I now sit down and try to figure out why such and such a thing happened. If I work it out then I feel I am one step closer to controlling my eczema.

I have become very motivated in living a better life and having fun again.

I wouldn't recommend cutting out all moisturizers, at least not until your super dry skin on your face is under control. Wait until your skin is in a healthy cycle.

For my face, I use Neutrogena face lotion for sensitive skin. Then in the really dry areas, I put aquaphor on. I can relate to what you are feeling -your face is like a plant that needs to be watered constantly. And still, even that doesn't really help. When you are at home, you might even consider putting a super thin application of Auaphor on your face. If putting things like that on your face irritates it, then this advice won't be of much help.

Sometimes the amount of whatever you're putting on must be reduced for the skin to absorb it without reacting. I use Aquaphor ointment for dryness around the mouth. If I put too much on, the skin can't breathe (at least that's how it feels) so I have learned over time how much is enough. I suggest reducing the amount of whatever you try before giving up on it.

When the skin is cracking, anything you use is going to burn. At least, that's my experience. And it means that the skin is open to infection. I use antibacterial Cleocin-T, which has alcohol and burns more, but to me, that means it's going into the cracks where it's needed. To me, burning is an unavoidable part of having eczema. I try to use it as a signal that action must be taken to avoid infection, and so far, that approach has worked well for me.

I was recently starting to wonder if bananas were an aggravation to my eczema. When I eat more than 1 a day (and sometimes only after 1), I find my forearms getting very itchy. Also, before eczema became a problem, I noticed that if I let a banana touch my lips while I eat it, my lips will get itchy and swell, but if I break it into small pieces and bypass my lips, I'm fine. Sounds like I should give them up for a while and see if things improve. Too bad it's my favorite fruit. 

Bananas are a common allergen.

I have used emulsifying ointment (with a drop of chamomile oil in) and jojoba the last couple of days and it feels better and I have been using water too which is at times out of the question as it can act as skin remover.

In the UK the standard emollients are:

• Aqueous Cream: liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin, purified water, emulsifying wax, chlorocresol (? 0.1%)
• Emulsifying Ointment: emulsifying wax, liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin.

The "dry" skin is not really dry skin, most likely. It probably is just healing skin. It is much like the peeling that follows a sunburn. The skin needs time to heal. The peeling will subside. In the meantime, keeping to the diet, and keeping the skin moist, with whatever lubricant agrees with you, is needed.

In a cool shower use a wash cloth to gently remove the excess dry flaking skin. Use NO SOAP. Before toweling off apply your lubricant. Most people find vaseline helpul. If you can use it, put a gob on your hands and then pat your areas until the gob is gone. Gently spread the vaseline while your skin is damp. Give yourself a GENTLE massage in this state. Dry off with a towel or let yourself dry. Allow the vaseline to absorb for an hour or so, then wipe any the excess if you like or leave it on. You will find a big big improvement.

Repeat at least once daily. Twice may be in order, depending on your state.

At some active severe allergic stages of eczema, and with the effects of certain allergens, and with active scratching this burning does happen, true. It is also true if the skin is broken many things will cause a burning sensation. But burning is not a part of all eczema. If something burns then I think it MOST OFTEN means the cause of the burning should be avoided.

As a rule of thumb, I think, burning of the skin is a danger sign: certainly with soaps. The cause of the burning should be put on the danger list and only retried later if one feels one has to, and after consulting with a doctor.

When you're raw, anything burns.

I had a severe bout of hand eczema when I was under a lot of stress at work, which was also increasing my blood pressure. (Everytime my doctor asked me if I was under stress I had one of those gritting teeth looks that said don't even ask!). I had the opportunity to go on a retreat and while it was a physically tiring retreat, it took me away from stress of home and work, and I had a great improvement on my hands. Now I can tell when I get stressed, my hands break out.

Anybody heard about the use of colloidal silver as a replacement for antibiotics? It used to be used for bacteria, viruses, fungi before the 1930's or 40's until the antibiotic revolution. It is supposed to be able to kill 650 disease causing microbes. I read a lot of literature about its effectiveness so was thinking of trying it to help clean out my gut-I suspect I may have a leaky gut problem due to my years of antibiotic use for acne, as my allergy to milk coincided with my start of antibiotics. For anyone who doesn't know what colloidal silver is check out this informative website http://www.colloidal-silver.com/antibiotic2.html

My 2 year old daughter has severe eczema all over her body (except what her diaper covers, oddly?), as well as asthma and many of the allergies that have been mentioned here. I have been struggling with/tried many of the things I see discussed here. I have 2 questions:

I really struggle with keeping her from scratching herself bloody. Usually during her waking hours I can distract her if she gets real itchy, but I can't do anything at night. She is a real Houdini about getting out of whatever combination of clothing I put her in to sleep and then she scratches herself raw. I try to keep her room cool, even using a fan if it is warm, I have tried cool mist humidifiers in her room (but worry about mold problems), I give her Atarax full dose (which doesn't seem to do anything anymore), I keep her fingernails incredibly short - yet still most mornings she has managed to get out of her clothes and gouge her skin to pieces. I just want to cry for her - I have never had eczema so I cannot imagine how awful it must be to itch so much that it is a relief to scratch until it bleeds!! Any suggestions?

We have been trying the National Jewish Hospital eczema bathing regime for the past few months and have more success with this than anything we have tried over the past two years (except eliminating allergens). Is anyone else doing this? If so, what results are people having, long term? 

About glaucoma and steroid use around the eyes, check out this web site: http://www.dermnet.org.nz/dna.topical.steroids/info.html

It lists the rate of absorption of topical steroids on various places. Note that the rate of absorption on the eyelids is 30%! Long-term use of oral (prednisone) and inhaled (beconase AQ) steroids can contribute to glaucoma, too.

From the web site: Forearm absorbs 1% Armpit absorbs 4% Face absorbs 7% Eyelids and genitals absorb 30% Palm absorbs 0.1% Sole absorbs 0.05%

The rest of this site is extremely useful. 

There are two other web sites I would like to recommend:

http://www.dermnet.org.nz/dna.puva/puva.html This discusses PUVA and its side effects. It gave me more information than my derm did, and in fact, contradicted some of what I was told! I'm glad I stopped PUVA!

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vumcdept/derm/contact/ The is the contact dermatitis homepage. It includes descriptions of the four brands of patch tests, including what each tests for, AND, the best part, a list of allergens, their synonyms, cross reactions, and bibliographies.

The burning I experience comes from general everyday scratching that tears open my skin. Afterwards, anything that touches or enters the wounds burns. The substance that touches or enters the wound does not cause the burning, it is the scratching that has caused the problem. For me, scratching is the major inescapable feature of having eczema. Obviously we all try to control our scratching but the fact is that it cannot be completely avoided. That's why I said that for me, burning is part of having eczema.

For me, burning has nothing to do with allergens. If I get an allergic reaction, I get swelling and redness and sometimes hives. If I don't scratch, I don't get burning. If you usually only get burning from allergens that you can avoid, you are lucky.

I want to reiterate that anything I post refers to my own condition. I am not implying that anyone else's experience is (or should be) the same. I post simply as information for those who are curious about others' experiences. There's no right or wrong here. We all have different situations. 

I spent my entire infancy and childhood doing exactly what you say your child does: tearing off all her clothes and scratching herself raw in the night. My parents couldn't figure out what to do either. They tied up my hands, which just made me more frustrated and made me scratch even harder when I got out, not to mention the psychological damage it did.

There could be lots of factors and combinations of factors involved. The suggestions below may do nothing but they're at least worth trying.

Put less clothes on her. Despite keeping the room cool, which is good, the clothes may be making her feel confined and overheated and the friction against her skin is also a problem. If you have put any cream or ointment on her skin before putting her to bed, that contributes to the overheating and friction problem with clothes. Experiment with different weights and types of pillows, sheets, and blankets too.

Give yourself the task of staying up one night and watching her process of going to sleep. Or set up a video camera and record her at night while she's in bed. You could learn a lot about what seems to be making her uncomfortable.

Could it be the position in which she is placed? Kids with eczema are restless. They need to be able to change their position frequently. If she doesn't have enough freedom to move around, that will cause frustration and scratching.

Teach her to hold something in her hands, something soft, like a piece of cloth, or whatever she seems to prefer holding. She needs to keep her hands occupied. She may drop it when the feelings are overwhelming, but it's a way to start off with a feeling of comfort. Try to get her to grab hold of something instead of her skin when she starts to scratch in the daytime and see if the habit can transfer to nighttime.

Try sleeping with her and holding her hands gently, say by the tip of a finger. Very light contact is sometimes needed to feel safe and at peace. Too much contact is disturbing. Experiment with different amounts of contact to see if any has an affect.

Try soothing sounds in the room, like a tape of the ocean waves. Assess the environment where she is sleeping. Dust and mold could be part of the problem. Experiment with different places for her to sleep where she might do better.

Having this condition is an overwhelming awful experience and your child is expressing her anger and frustration by scratching herself to pieces. Perhaps before putting her to bed, you can try giving her opportunities to relieve some of that rage and tension by banging something hard or hitting a pillow or letting her smash something between her hands, whatever gives the feeling of release using the hands.

Be patient. It's a long hard road. I've been struggling with it since birth. Nighttime is definitely the hardest part. 

I feel like I would be able to get a handle on things if I could just get some relief from the inflammation and dryness on my face. I too used to spend time trying to determine what behavior or food resulted in an outbread, but I found that unless there was an immediate reaction to something, this was an exercise in futility. I used to keep a daily journal of foods I ingested and a record on the scale of the severity of my eczema. What I've found is this condition often has an agenda all its own. I can speculate all I want to, but no matter what behavior I change or substance I try to eliminate, my eczema finds a reason to rear its ugly head. Then, suddenly it may practically disappear for a lengthy time for no apparent reason.

I have now gone to the other end of the spectrum and try to live my life in spite of eczema, not as a condition of eczema.

Also, I've decided to experiment with the " no moisturizer" posture, by eliminating it from a few major parts of my body to see if I can slowly be weaned. I too, have a big problem with the sun. I wear sunscreen on my face and a hat but the sun is so intense here, I'm unsure if these precautions are enough, as I do spend quite a bit of time outdoors. Lately, I've mostly been out at dusk. It's very serene and beautiful and great emotional therapy.

I think many of us may also need to at least know a device called "Electronic Itch Stopper". For information, you may want to visit

http://www.ItchStopper.com

The device helped me and my daughter greatly. To us, it has brought us into a new era in stopping itch. You may need this device for your daughter's itch or at least take some time to know that such a device is there. This is just a suggestion.

I have had eczema on and off throughout my life since I was born. There have been periods of some eczema, none, and onslaughts. I have tried PUVA which has not worked that well for me most of the time. One time it seemed to. What worked best for me is UV-B, but while much better than PUVA, it sometimes has no affect... other times, if I get it two days in a row, it sometimes helps quite a bit. The effect upon me is first characterised by severe itching for a day or two before I get relief. 

Along these lines, relaxation, especially salt water and sun has helped me. I take baths using bath oils (keri or equivalent), tar, oatmeal, sea salt, vinegar in some combination. They always seem to make my skin feel better, and, when it is especially bad (raw, oozing, etc), keep me going. I also make a paste of colloidal oatmeal before the bath to absorb and draw out whatever it can prior to the bath (like a mudpack). 

I have noticed hives "pop up" once or twice recently, and I wonder if I could keep that thread going. Alas, the "hives" have returned, and this time they're much more persistent... very itchy, raised welts that follow definite lines on the back of both legs. I have tried Benedryl for a few nights, and that certainly relieves the itching.

I have no idea if this is related to my eczema, or is a separate allergic reaction. I confess that I do not have a primary care physician, or a dematologist (no health insurance)... the waiting period for a first appointment is about six weeks right now, so any suggestions for relief would be most welcome.

I get hives and have my whole life. My eczema is adult-onset so I'm not sure they're related except they're both skin problems. Hives and the welts they raise will disappear if not scratched. Mine are generally gone within 30 minutes to an hour if I don't start bothering them. If you have problems ignoring the itch, try ice. 

Can anyone tell me if grapes can aggravate eczema? I bought a bottle of grape juice last night and drank half a glass of it. Some time later I noticed the area around my mouth began to itch and in the morning my face looked worse than usual. However, I did get some sulfites and milk in my diet a week ago and have had an aggravation of my eczema due to this so it may just be that I'm thinking. Do grapes have citric acid in them, I know orange juice gives me eczema sometimes. I thought I'd try some grape juice for the pycnogenol that it is supposed to have, but guess I'll just go to the local health food store and get some grape seed extract, anyway I don't like the taste of grape juice, it's too strong.

I began having eczema problems just about a year after I moved far away from family and friends. It began, though, in a very strange way. My fingertips began to crack and peel. This was neither painful nor bothersome, just wierd. My mom told me that the same thing happened to my father when he gets stressed (he has since been diagnosed with depression). About a year ago it started getting a lot worse (just as I started to get more and more stressed). Now I constantly have patches on my hands and while I am sure it is minimal compared to what some suffer (I cannot imagine having this all over my body, knock on wood), it is really annoying. I have had the usual annoying experiences with doctors who fail to really help.

Anyway, I have also wondered whether this is actually eczema or a fungal infection, and have read some things about that on this list. Generally, based on all the descriptions I've read, it sounds like eczema, but curiously enough, I also have one patch of it on ONE of my toes. I have been using vinyl gloves and jojoba oil occassionly on my hands, trying to avoid soap, et cetera. Although this relieves the problem somewhat, it always flares up again.

I guess my main questions for anyone out there are as follows:

1. Does eczema "spread"? If so, what can I do to avoid getting it on othe parts of my body?
2. Should I spend the money on a dermatologist? 

Our 9 month old daughter has eczema. We have been using Nutramigen for 5 months we now think this may be an allergen. She is highly allergic to milk protein. We are going to try goat's milk, but our doctor said it does not have enough nutrients, so we are going to supplement with vitamins. Does anyone have any other ideas, or has anyone tried the goats milk ?

I was thinking of trying goat's milk for a while since I have an allergy to cow's milk, but from a website, "The protein composition of cow and goat milk is fairly similar, although the typical major alpha-s-1- casein in cow milk is absent in goat milk.." I know I am allergic to casein b/c all those wonderfully truthful "milk-free" products that contain sodiom caseinate and casein never fail to give me a rash. However, it would be my luck to be allergic to other proteins as well which are similar in both cow and goat's milk. Does anyone know if it is possible to find out which protein component in milk one is allergic to? Yep, I'm dying to incorporate milk in my diet again.

An EXCELLENT resource for casein and milk allergy sufferers is http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/user/k/e/kevles/www/nomilk.html

I thought I'd also mention a website on cow's vs. goat's milk. The url is http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/
ndd/goat/GOAT_MILK_VERSUS_COW_MILK.html

Like I mentioned before this site says that goat's milk protein is similar to cow's milk with the exception of casein, so unless you know exactly what you or your kid are allergic to in milk it may be risky to try it.

Another webpage that talks about supplementing cow's and goat's milk in kid's diets is http://www.pathfinder.com/@@1thHZgUAxsnXpbWk/
ParentTime/Growing/milkcls.html#part2

Duane mentioned that his doctor said goat's milk is not nutritious enough for kids but this site, written by two doctors, only says that it is lacking in folic acid, which you can supplement. This site also gives good high calcium alternatives to milk.

I recently had allergy test done on my 18-month old daughter, but left a bit discouraged. After visiting her pediatrician, then the derm. dr. (not liking either of them very much) I switched to another peid. (whom I love) and insisted I have allergy tests done (and he agreed). I had not noticed Hannah having any reactions to food, although she did not develop eczema until she turned 1 when I took her off her formula (Carnation Good start, which the pied. dr. said was probably good for her since the protein is broken down in that and makes it easier to digest) and started giving her whole milk instead. I did not make the connection until later though, and I wanted to know any food allergies and also any airborn allergies she may have. The only thing that showed up on this test was eggs and dust mites (not even milk!). I have elliminated eggs and milk from her diet and done my best to get rid of the dust mits and her skin looks OK right now, not great but definately an improvement. I would not say though that it was because of the diet changes, though. I have been doing a lot of things differently than I used to.

I also was very frustrated with this specific allergist. I explained to him why I was bringing Hannah in to have the tests, one reason being that I didn't want to keep using the topical steroids if I could combat the eczema another way. When I left the first visit he gave me an even stronger oral steroid to give her and her skin at the time was almost clear. That aggrevated me... 

I was interested by the person that mention not to have the prick test done on eczema people but to have the RAST test. I went in requesting the RAST test but the told me that it was terribly innacurate and they preformed the prick test on Hannah. Afterwards she did break out again but I thought maybe it was the stress of the ordeal, it was very hard on her (and me too). 

I was changed from cows milk to goats milk when I was an infant and it worked on me. Later, when my eczema reappeared at age 8 or 9, my mother tried to reintroduce goats milk, and even went so far as getting some goats. I ended up not drinking any milk as the doctors at the time said that one gets the same nutritional values elsewhere and I couldn't tolerate the thought of drinking something from those goats. 

I have also heard on radio talkshows (medical) that the human is the only animal who insists on drinking milk after it was intended (in other words, when infants, milk is produced by the mother in mammals and than children are weaned from it when it is no longer necessary). Therefore, one might say that continuing to drink it is an "unnatural act." 

We have used baking soda in our son's every-other-day or daily baths, and have seen a remarkable difference. We have also started putting evening primrose oil on his skin that scratches him a lot.

I guess the medication you referred to is an antihistamine? I never gave my son antihistamines before he went to sleep but was very tempted to do so. Now his skin has gotten much better. What does your doctor say?

I am planning on taking my 21 month old son into a chlorinated pool for the first time this summer. For all of you who vouch for this treatment: Do you moisturize yourself immediately afterward, or can you wait a while? 

My son is looking great with no corn or rice, baking soda baths at least everyother day, Aquaphor, and evening primrose oil on areas that are erupting.

Marilyn, My son has had the same problem too. It may have beent that we were putting cornstarch on his rash (with Aquaphor underneath) and, since we've taken him off of corn, his skin is much better. So we may have been putting something on him that he has a reaction to!

I am allergic to bananas. They make any skin which they touch sore. Even a small amount of banana hidden in food makes my throat and stomach sore. Whilst I was feeding banana to one of our children some years ago one of my eyes swelled up and half closed and my face went all red and blotchy. That was my last close contact with a banana. Now even the "fumes" from bananas make my eyes sore.

Naturally I avoid bananas all the time, so I doubt whether it contributes at all to my eczema.

I have been using a product called Alba botanical toner on my face for several years now. (My face is one of the few places where I've never had any eczema) I was looking at the bottle last night and noticed that it claimed to restore the proper pH balance to your skin. I think that this is related to witchhazel extract, which is the primary ingredient. 

I have been trying very hard not to use a lot of soap, and to cut out moisturizers all together, but my legs (where the eczema is concentrated) have been very dry as a result. So, last night I applied some of the toner to my legs with a cotton ball and amazingly, the dryness still has not returned (when I use regular moisturizers my skin usually feels dry again several hours later). So, my question is: has anyone else ever had any luck with products containing witchhazel? I looked witchhazel up in an herb dictionary I have but I couldn't really find anything to explain how it might alter skin's pH, although it has plenty of other medicinal uses.

As you probably know, there's no "cure" for eczema, and if you do go to a dermatologist, chances are he/she will only give you a prescription for a steroid cream to alleviate the symptoms. I'm no doctor and can't really tell you what to do, but without insurance, dermatologists cost a lot of money since they're specialists, and it has been my experience (from days when I had no insurance years ago) that creams are among the most costly of all medicines. I am fortunate that I can buy a tube of it for a $7 copay, but I wouldn't be surprised if it costs $50 and up. I guess it all depends on how bad your symptoms are and whether you need this medicine or not. While it will usually make the symptoms go away, there are drawbacks (like thinning skin and having it rebound once you stop). 

As I mentioned, I firmly believe that my eczema is exacerbated by my state of mind. When I used to get upset, I would break out in hives and the overall condition of my skin would then continue on a downward spiral. I tried to look on the internet for such articles. It was my dermatologist in Chicago that first mentioned the benefits of zoloft/antidepressants for people with eczema. My current derm is aware that I am on Zoloft and encourages me to continue taking it. 

As for whether or not you should spend the money to see a derm, I would highly recommend it. Just write down a list of questions you have. Get your money's worth. They are there to help you, even though they often need a little nudge to remember that. It may be that you don't have eczema at all. And if you do, you can learn how to deal with it. Peace of mind alone is worth it. Don't you think?

My son has had prick tests twice once at about 13 months and again when he was about 20 months. He tested positive to the control and cats. That was all. We have taken corn and dairy out of his diet and it has helped a lot. I read that prick test don't alway work until kids are about 5 years because their skin is still maturing. I wish I could have more positive info on the prick test, I have wondered why blood tests were not standard with young children due to the skin maturity question but I have never got a good answer.

My son typically would make it to about 2:00 a.m. and the scratching would start. I would go get him and he slept between us holding my hand and "probing" as my husband called it, (Kind of like in the movie ET) I learned to sleep with it and I can't imagine leaving him in his bed to scratch tell he bleed. Did I get enough sleep, NO, has it been a real long year, YES. Would I do it again, YES. Shelley wrote about her folks restraining sister and hearing her cry, it broke my heart and while the days can be real long with no sleep I can't think of another way to have handled it.

I'm with Sue about the derm. I have seen about four different derms in my area. I have not felt that they helped my condition. I had terrible full body eczema--and no insurance. I tried the derm, he gave me prednisone. When I came off it I got worse. The creams aren't effective for me anymore at all. I can't remember how bad you said your case is. I do suppose it is necessary in some cases to gain control over your eczema to use cortisone, but there are other options. However, if saving money is your aim, this is not the disease to have. One treatment may work for someone, but not for you. Or you find one that helps for awhile, then aggravates.

Right now I'm trying the jojoba oil, fewer baths, and grapeseed oil route. I haven't felt this soft and been almost free of redness for years. But my eczema wasn't in a very extreme state before I tried this. If I'd been flaring I don't think this would have worked the same.

I don't know if anyone else has ever had this reaction to Atarax, but one time I was sure it gave me a seizure. After that I've never taken it again. When I was little I remember taking the little green triangle pills to calm my itching, but when I took it again as an adult it seemed to make me crazy.

In my searches on the internet for info on eczema the Nat. Jewish Hospitals page seemed to suggest a bathing routine that I'd figured out on my own as something that worked. I was happy to find someone who was offering eczema information worth something. I get so tired of derms and docs that only see steroids as an option for helping eczema. Sorry to be negative, but this has been my experience. As far as long term help, I eventually switched to baking soda baths followed by aquaphor. Now I'm using fewer baths, only grapeseed or jojoba oil. This is working great for me.

>>I guess the medication you referred to is an antihistamine? << Yes, it is. I don't like doing it, but sometimes it is the only thing that helps her relax enough to sleep. Nights are the worst time for her eczema. The meds are definitely less effective the longer we use them. I am cutting down and hope to eliminate it. Do you know of any long-term negative problems?

My doctor pushes using more antihistimines and steroid creams to control the itching and was extremely dubious about the allergy tests until the results came back so strongly positive. I like her because, despite past resistance, she has come to respect my efforts and accept that I am determined to keep investigating until I am convinced I have done everything possible to help my daughter. She resisted allergy testing for months and months, but finally agreed as I did more research and became convinced of the role of allergens in eczema - how can it be that a physician could be uninformed on this? I am dumbfounded. I now see her as a partner in helping me help my daughter, a partner who has the credentials to get the lab work and write the prescriptions and to more easily than I get some of the medical literature I want to see. 

There are only a few allergists here and none of them will treat children under 7 years of age, which also mystifies me. I really want to get my daughter to the National Jewish Hospital's intensive program, but the $$ is prohibitive. I haven't yet heard of anyone else here who has gone there - is there anyone? They have a program that treats 'atopic' disease- the combination of eczema, allergies and asthma that my daughter has. We have been using as much of their program as possible here at home. It is featured in the current Life magazine.

Just had to tell you all how frustrated I am with eczema, dermatologists and everything else!

I had to use Betaval in order to recover from the irritating, drying effect of some other spray. I used it, in combination with jojoba oil, for three-four days, and my skin felt great. I could even wear a bra again, and my skin was soft. But, after maintaining that softness with jojoba oil, and only showering every 4th day, the eczema returned with a vengeance on my back, and now I'm as itchy as ever. Had to use the Betaval again.

I'm wondering if it was something I ate, because the area below my lip is itching as well. Then again, it could be the unseasonably cold weather, or the jojoba oil, or the mold in the walls, or anything else! This is what drives me crazy about eczema.

And my dermatologist... I had to talk him into recommending an allergist by interrupting him as many times as he interrupted me! Finally he said that maybe I should try an elimination diet, and I made an appt. with the allergist. Sometimes I think that the dermatologist just doesn't want to deal with eczema sufferers; it's easier just to send me away with another prescription. I'll bet that long-time sufferers on this list could have told me that before!

Anyway, I'm trying not to get too upset about this flare. It's hard, though, to accept the reality of it after having perfectly clear skin for almost a week. It reminded me of when I was younger, before this hell started!

I have a prescription for Buspar, which is an anti-anxiety plus anti-itching drug. I only take it occasionally as it's really expensive. But what's nice is that it's not addictive, so I can take it on a prn basis.

I have had the same response from our dermatologist regarding allergans as a cause for eczema. She would not say that that could be the case. She was uncomfortable discusssing dietary restrictions for our child. "Your need to speak to your pediatrician regarding any changes in his diet." I did, and I'm actually not cutting out foods that are terribly important to maintain a healthy food balance (rice and corn). If it were milk or wheat, which is consumed more in this society to provide calcium and carbs, respectively, the pediatrician would be more concerned. And doctors are very prescription drug happy. The only thing they've recommended that does not have drugs is Aquaphor and Crisco shortening for moisturizing.

Baking Soda - I put in 1/2 cup in a regular size bath. If your baby is getting mini-baths in your bathtub, then I would put 1/4 cup.

Evening Primrose Oil - Can't tell you why it works. We just take the oil out of the capsule and smear it all over. Believe it or not, my 1 1/2 year old asks to have it put on (or play with the pills; I don't know if that is the true alterior motive!).

Duane, I think you should reconsider your doctor's comment "our doctor said it does not have enough nutrients" regarding goat's milk. As far as I know (I have a 11-month old by the way) and have read, goat's milk is as close to breastmilk as you can get. Even if you had to give your daughter vitamins in addition to the goat's milk, I think that would be better than her having allergic reactions to wanna-be formula. Good luck, and hope you find what's right for your baby!

A while ago Steve wrote about reducing house dust mites, including replacing carpets with wooden floors. I wrote something about this at the time, and it subsequently occured to me that an air filter with ioniser might be a good idea. The ioniser makes dust particles adhere to surfaces instead of being airborne. There are a number of different models on the market.

For anti-allergy, anti-dustmite products of various types - bedding, anti-mite covers, filters, household cleaners & polishes etc, the company called "The Healthy House" produce a good catalogue, worth looking at for those in Britain. The address is: The Healthy House, Cold Harbour, Ruscombe, Stroud GL6 6DA. Tel 01453 752216 Fax 01543 753533.

Here's another elimination diet to add to the list.

One of the health professionals ( P.C. for quack) that I see thought that the cause of my eczema might be a salicylates/tartazine/sodium benzoate intolerance. Something about my digestive system not producing cynan ( sp? ).

So I am on what is called an A.S.A. elimination diet and I take vitamin B-6 supplements to stimulate my body to produce cynan ( sp? ).

Here's the list I have:

Substances to avoid: Salycylate: Anything with 'mint' or 'wintergreen' flavor. Tartrazine: anything with artificial 'color' or 'dye' like Kool-Aid. Sodium Benzoate: Preservative. Pretty common in commercial foods.

Many commercial sudry items such as prescribed medications, over-the-counter preperations, toothpastes, mouthwashes, cough drops, perfumes, suntan lotions and soaps may contain the offending substances.

Any medication that is not white or colorless may contain tartrazine.

Foods that contain natural salicylates: Vegatables: Tomatoes, cuccumbers, green peppers, tobasco peppers, Potatoes.

Beverages: Tea, cider, beer, diet drinks, chocolate malt, instant drinks.

Breads and Cereals: Flavored or colored cereals or commercial baked goods.

Meat: Prepared luncheon meats, BBQed self-basting poultry, dyed or colored fish.

Fruits and Nuts: Apples, apricots, black-berries, boysenberries, dew-berries, gooseberries, cherries, currants, citrus fruits, grapes, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, fruit drinks, almonds.

You will need to take Vit-C supplements and eat fresh greens. Fruits that are good substitutes for what you useally eat are pineapple ( pineapple juice is good ), bananas, pears and blueberries to mention a few.

Tomatoes are the hardest to avoid.

Anyone else ever heard of this diet? I haven't had a nasty flare since I have been on this diet. Food for thought.

Can anyone suggest some form of exercise to me that doesn't involve sweating? I'm not trying to lose weight or anything, so it doesn't have to be strenuous or aerobic. Sweat makes my eczema go crazy, so it's out of the question (and yes, I do drink a ton of water). Do yoga or tai chi make one sweat?

Has anyone found that even minimal exposure to sun a major irritant to their eczema? I'm not talking about prolonged sitting in the sun while reading a book or eating lunch outside. I'm talking 5 minutes in the morning between 8 and 9 walking to the subway station, maybe a few short trips during the day to do errands, and 5 minutes between 3 and 4 getting back home. My eczema has been pretty good lately on my body (although still on my face and neck), so I decided to try wearing shorts (something I haven't done in 4 years!) and t-shirts for the last week. Now I have eczema on all my exposed parts, arms and legs. Guess I will have to wear pants and long sleeves over summer, which I find too hot, which makes me sweat, creating other problems with my skin.

Does anybody find that their eczema areas are hotter than relatively clear patches of skin? Also, does anyone find they are always hot even when everyone else is perfectly comfortable? In winter I never turn on my heat, and when I have lived in buildings where I can't control the heat, I've been known to open windows in the dead of winter. Summer is horrendous because the heat drives me bonkers and my sweat makes it worse.

Yes! My type of eczema (widespread among teens and young adults) is caused by sun. Today was the first real hot day right? well, eczema galore for me the first time this year.

FYI, antidepressants are not addictive either. The only psychotropic drugs that are addictive are the benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety drugs, including Xanax, valium, ativan (not to be confused with atarax, which can help with anxiety also but is not addictive), klonopin, tranzene. Buspar is the exception, as noted above. It's not a benzodiazepine.

Antidepressants generally don't work if only taken "as needed", but then, that would be when treating depression. I don't know if that would be the same if using it for eczema.

Karen, What about some light weight training? There is a program that does quite a bit of that on public tv--Homestretch. She also does a lot of other types of workouts that really make me sweat, but the programs where she does a lot of reps with light weights still feel good. I don't have eczema (my little guy does) so I don't know how much sweat is too much or what exercise is good for each person.

In the US there is the National Allergy Supply Inc. 1-800-522-1448. I haven't bought anything yet, but their catalog seems to have reasonable prices on filters, dust-mite covers, etc.

Here's the address of the eczema page from Nat. Jewish. http://www.njc.org/MFhtml/EcZ_MF.html

Their information about hydration I found to be similar to what I'd discovered after years of having dermatologists tell me not to bathe very often (which now seems to help ironically) and to use cortisone creams--what bothers me is that they didn't help me with a bathing, hydration routine that would help me stay sane.

So, I guess that my bathing routine has evolved a bit. The baking soda started when a nurse suggested I use it for folliculitis--I had huge yellow pustules all, all over my body, was pregnant, it was Saturday (has to be the weekend when your health gets worse) and I didn't know what to do about the itching and sorry state of my skin. After that episode I changed from what I'd been doing. I used Julius Roth Foundation's treatment for about six months during my pregnancy and then stopped that was what I do now.

I also cannot tolerate sweating!!! Ughh. It drives me crazy because I used to be very active--especially enjoyed dance. Anyway, both yoga and tai chi are good alternatives to "regular" exercise. They both move you slowly enough that any sweat produced is negligible. I have a yoga tape from Ali Macgraw (I think that's her last name) that is quite enjoyable--although a bit overloaded on the leg stretches) and I got a tai chi video for Christmas that I've watched once. It just didn't grab me. Maybe I'll try it again someday.

I have always felt too "hot". And yes, I do get it in the winter. I think it is worse in winter, but it always feels like crap! Any good tips on how to get through the summer? How are your friends about doing stuff that doesn't involve a lot of heat or sun? Most people I know love to sit outside and bake in the noonday sun (I guess because winter is so long and cold here). This sometimes makes finding someone to eat lunch with not that easy and participation in sports outside pretty tough. What do you usually wear in summer?

Karen, How about swimming? When I did some "bioconditioning" which included yoga and taichi it was a lot of stretching and positional stuff that wasn't strenuous but made me sweat to hold the positions very long. Afterwards I felt so good, though, so relaxed, like I had had a gin and tonic! 

Scratching FEELS GOOD BUT SO DO OTHER BAD THINGS. SCRATCHING IS BAD. There is no doubt. If they can understand, kids should know. that. Scratching damages the skin, sometimes permanently scarring the skin. Scratching causes infections which could cause very serious problems. Infections caused by scratching may be allergens. Kids should know how much damage a little scratching does.

Don't scold them for scratching. Help them find relief. Show kids how to use ice held in a wash cloth. Show kids how to apply a wet thin cotten cloth to the itchy area.

There is an armada of weapons to use. Help kids to learn these weapons. Every kid should have a long checklist of things to do/try when they feel they have to scratch. The list should be easy to read and/or easy to remember. 

RE: Evening primrose oil: I got some capsules of EPO, cut one open, and rubbed it on my hands. It smelled so terrible that I had to wash my hands several times, and that didn't eliminate the smell, just lessened it a bit. Is it just the brand I bought, or does all EPO smell like this?

I also bought a book about EPO. It says it must be taken with vitamin E to avoid oxidation in the body.

RE: derms. When I first got medical attention for a small itchy, bleeding spot between two fingers of my left hand, I was given *latex*! gloves to wear at night and referred to the derm nurse. When I *finally* got into to see the nurse, she thought it was contact dermatitis and recommended allergy testing, but couldn't authorize it herself. After treating me unsuccessfully for several months and suggesting Eucerin, the eczema spread to both hands. She then referred me to the two derm docs in my HMO. When I *finally* got in to see the derm docs, they urged me to use Eucerin even more, and the eczema spread to my whole body. PUVA added to this dried my skin out completely. Two and half years after I originally requested allergy testing, they finally did patch testing. I discovered I was allergic to Eucerin. My eczema is now almost completely limited to my left hand again and I no longer see the derm docs.

My advice: take what a derm doc says with a grain of salt. They will latch onto anything you say you come into contact with and say that that's what causing the eczema. They will do *anything* to avoid allergy testing. I should add that they authorized the patch test ONLY after I demanded a referral to an outside derm. I was told that "They haven't done all they can do for me." Well, WHY HADN'T THEY DONE IT? Two and a half years of misery because they dragged their feet.

RE: heat & sweat: I also am intolerant to heat- which is one reason I quit PUVA. It was *too hot* in that box! In winter, I wear a light jacket and then only so people don't stare at me. Otherwise, I could go without one altogether. I'm always hot when others are comfortable or cold. I have been told that sweat irritates the skin, which leads to itching. I work out a lot and very intensely. Somehow I've managed to resist itching when I'm sweating.

Sounds like you got a rancid bottle of EPO, return and don't buy it again but get Borage, don't waste your money any more.

Ethan, now 18 months, is the youngest of six and the first to have eczema. We have been on this e-list since he was about 8 months and able to accurately scratch. The list was invaluable for us to develop wisdom and discernment in helping our little guy recover from the misery of eczema. We found these things to be true for EJ:

His eczema on his ankles, wrists, and behind the knees was ABSOLUTELY food allergy related and directly tied in with MY diet (he is breastfed) and the solids we tried. Many specialists renounced the possibility, but they were in error.

In treating his skin, we discovered that Aquaphor worked very well initially in the first month. Then a severe pore-clogging phenomenon occured which caused us to try many skin lotions. The best, hands-down was Lac-Hydrin 5%, which can be bought over the counter. (The larger the container, the better the value... ) We grease him up at all offending points EVERY time we change his diaper. If we forget, his eczema goes ballistic!

EJ has weaned down to one-two feeds a day, now. With every feeding he dropped, he seemed a tad more content and rested better at night. (I did NOT have the self-control to avoid all the things to which he was allergic and-BOY!-could you tell when I strayed!) He slept ALL night again last night. In the early months of his eczema, he would get up two and three times a night.

EJ can still not tolerate any glutens in any form. +sigh+ He does steamed fruits and veggies, water and some pure juices, plain turkey and organic chicken, and simple baby foods without flour, milk, etc. He can occasionally tolerate beef, but not two days in a row.

We plan our days around avoiding constipation since EJ truly loves potatoes and bananas in all forms and has no grains for fibers. He couldn't eat raw veggies and fruits until his molars had sufficiently erupted at 16 months.

If he does get plugged up, he will have small BMs on the hour and seriously irritate his anus (small trickles of blood around sores at each diaper change.) When we have been careless, we have to give him a ped. enema. That has happened about four times, now.

I tried flaxseed oil by mouth, but his eczema became unmanageable.

His drinking skills are great, but he is my first child to shun cup, bottle, straw, etc. He is not wild about water OR juices. He is merrily weaning himself, so continuing his fluids in that manner won't be practical. (Drinking a lot can help reduce constipation!)

EJ was born into the 100% of weight at 10 lbs. 3 oz. and has recently settled out at the 25% . We dropped to the 15% there for a while. He is very active and bright, just smaller than any of my other children.

Well, this is our semi-annual report for now. So nice to touch base with you folks again and not need to talk with you all DAILY! Good luck, moms and dads-- there IS life after eczema for our children!

As a child, one of the quack doctors my desperate mother consulted instructed her to allow me to wear only white clothes and have contact with only white things. I don't remember having to eat only white foods, but that would have been consistent with his theory.

I still wear all white on days when my skin is the worst. It doesn't improve my skin, it just makes me feel better mentally. It's a psychological thing for me. 

I personally get very easily overheated and must avoid the sun. I wear lightweight long sleeves and pants year round. Where I live the weather is very mild, about 60 degrees year round. Our hottest times of year are generally May and September/October, when it will occasionally be in the 70s and 80s. I live near the ocean which is the coolest area, getting fog and ocean breezes. But I still have to make sure to walk on the shady side of the streets, and not sit in seats where the sun is shining on me, even through a window, and certainly never "sunbathe" outside! I must avoid sweating and just walk in the shady park for exercise.

When it's sunny, after even just walking in my neighborhood for local errands, I must take off my clothes and cool down with fans, or ice, or a cool washcloth, or else I have a scratching frenzy.

Regarding the Salycilates diet:... Wow that looks like a tough diet to follow!!

I just bought some of the Johnson's Baby Cream yesterday and have used it twice on Daniel. He has not cried at all while putting it on, and he does not get red and bubbly like with Vaseline. I like this stuff. We used it last night after his bath and he slept clear til 4 am, though he has been doing better at night lately anyway... thank goodness!

I recently met with a nutritionist for my son's food allergies and was amazed at all the terms used for ingredient labels. There are so many things to look for. The one that stuck out in my mind was citric acid -- it's corn based. It's in pears and some of the other baby foods. Looks like I need to start making my own baby food from fresh fruits. When I gave Brian pears the other night, his mouth got all red and puffy, so I read the label -- pears, citric acid, and Vit. C. When I mentioned this to the nutritionist, she said citric acid has corn in it, which Brian is highly allergic to.

Also, when I went to buy a new bottle of Benedryl for nighttime sleeping, I read the label and sure enough, one of the first things listed is citric acid. Also common in liquid medicines is corn syrup (Tylenol Elixir has it) so beware of that if you have corn allergies. Now I don't know which is worse, the itching from the medicine (Benedryl), or giving him the med. so he'll sleep somewhat better.

I see the fun of having a food allergy child is just beginning, UGGGH!

I've found that when Brian is very itchy, sometimes he just wants cuddled and will go right back to sleep. He was up twice last night and just cuddling him or bringing him to bed with us one time to comfort him was just what he needed and was back to sleep in about 5 min. He didn't even want his bottle, he just wanted held/loved. I think it's a very good idea that other moms might want to try.

Citric acid is corn based???

It is true that most of the time Daniel just wants to be snuggled at night, maybe a water bottle refill. But, it is hard to sleep with him in our bed because he likes to sleep on my chest, full body, while lying down. I can hardly breathe like that! But, we do what it takes to get sleep! Usually, we bring him in, he falls asleep on my chest then I slide out from underneath him slowly, then he most likely sleeps through until morning. I just hope he outgrows this before he gets too much heavier or becomes a teen... ha ha ha... 

Night time used to be so long and exhausting.

When Jodi was younger, I mean under a year old(she is almost 15 months now), we used to hold her sleeping in a way that her hands and legs couldn't scratch herself, not even when she woke up briefly twisting and turning through the night. Naturally I didn't get to sleep well but at least her skin was protected. These all changed one day when she wanted her own space and identity and learned to say 'no'.

You see, our bed time ritual includes bathing her and washing her hair. She would close her eyes when the luke warm water runs over her scalp while my fingers massage her scalp. I'll give her a bottle of water to suck just to keep her hands busy. I notice that only when her hands are busy would her fingers give her skin a break. I put her silky cotton mittens on as soon as I get her out of water, then put her on her silky cotton top and bottom. I tuck the front of her top into her pants but skip the back so air can be in direct contact with her skin; then a pair of elastic silky cotton socks on and tuck her pants into her socks to make it difficult for her to pull her pants up and scratch her legs. I realize that overalls are too warm for her and do not regulate body heat very well. With this attire, even if I am asleep when she wakes up, she would be scratching her skin through her mittens over her outfits and minimize any damage her scratching could otherwise do to her skin. [I also realize that 100% cotton clothes that resembles silk are much more breathable and most importantly, don't cause so much skin damage if she rubs against it. Plus, they are more durable and stay that way wash after wash.] Often, by the time I am done air drying her hair with my hand massaging her scalp, she would be sound asleep. I would then put her in bed right next to me.

Then came the day she discovered that mittens are not part of her and she could take them off. She was about 12 months old and was really eager to walk around holding on to anything she could get her hands onto and she hated her mittens. Mittens were pulled off her hands as soon as I put them on. One night, I fell asleep holding her in my arms while watching the late night local news. It had to be a real brief 5 to 10 minutes nap 'cos when I woke up, it was still local news. I was shocked to find her hands and clothes full of blood from her scratching her arms raw. I was so angry at myself for letting that happen I almost lost my mind. I blamed myself for not insistent about her mittens and I swore I would never let this happen to her again.

I took the advice from my day care provider who used to be a registered nurse and head of a pediatric ward using the 'pin her down' tactic. [You see, Drs would never know about these tricks.] I dress her in the same tops except slightly oversized. [Too oversized clothes allow her hands to get out of the sleeves altogether and therefore is a no no.] After she fell asleep, I put her in bed, put on her mittens and pull her sleeves down to cover her hands and pin the sleeves' opening with safety pins onto the area of her pants which is just above her knees. That way she would have the freedom to roll around, spread her legs, stretch her arms half way to her face and scratch herself on her arms and knees when she feels the itch, yet would not cause major damage to her skin. And when she wakes up in the morning, I unpin her, take away her mittens and ask her to clap her hands for me. And she'll start her day with the brightest smile I'll never get tired of. I know things will need to be changed again when she's older but this has worked for us since and we have had no accidents.

Lately, watching Jodi sleep is something I really enjoy doing these days. And I'm sleeping at least 4-5 hours every night now. I can have more of that.

I have an 9 month old daughter who has had eczema since she was 2 months old. At two months, I started doing elimination diets because I was breastfeeding her. I did this for approximatley two months, and I could not pinpoint exactly what was causing her to itch and break out, except for perfume and fabric softeners. The only foods I thought did it were milk, wheat, and corn. After a frustrating two months for me and her (try breast feeding on an elimination diet), I insisted that she have a RAST test done. My pediatrician said that it may give false negatives because she was less than one year old, but we could try it anyway. We went to an allergist and found out she was highly allergic to milk and peanut, moderate to egg white and wheat, and mildly to cheddar cheese.

My pediatrician suggested we put her on Nutramigen or Alimentum. At that time the RAST test showed no reaction to corn, but I thought she was still allergic to it. There is corn in Nutramigen. I put her on Nutramigen because she did not like the Alimentum. In about one month her skin was somewhat better. That was in March. Recently we tested for 12 other foods by RAST. She is now allergic to banana, oat, and corn moderately, and mildy to rice and soy. I was getting very frustrated with trying the solids, so I wanted the test. Now I realize the main reason she was still having the eczema was the corn in the Nutramigen formula. So now we have to probably go back to Alimentum.

So, to answer your question, Yes, you sometimes have to insist on testing. My pediatrician told me Nutramigen would be safe for my daughter. I guess not in her case. 

I am just heart-sick today. Since my 28 month old daughter tested allergic (RAST testing) to wheat and eggs and a slew of other things about 6 months ago I have been using applesauce and oat flour to bake for her (muffins, pancakes, etc). Today I got back more RAST results - allergic to oats, apples, garlic, watermelon, canteloupe, raspberries, house dust!! What do I do now?!?! So far, *everything* I have had her tested for has been positive.

I am afraid to test for rice because she is practically living on it and if I have to eliminate that, too, I don't know what we'll do. I know that doesn't make sense, but denial seems to be the only solution I can come up with at the moment, I am so depressed and angry that my little one has to put up with this. Why can't she have a normal life? The pediatrician is saying that since some of the tests only show a "mild" allergic reaction I should not worry about those things, just focus on the "strong" ones. This doesn't seem right to me - if I can eliminate enough of these things doesn't that help the eczema? And I keep hearing that the best opportunity she has for outgrowing allergies is if ALL exposure is limited. Is this true? And does anyone know how to interpret these RAST tests - or have a reference source for me which might help? Can/should 'mild' results be ignored?

Her eczema has improved since I eliminated all the stuff she tested positive for the last time. Should I just ask for RAST testing for *everything* so I can at least have a baseline? I guess I'll have to mortgage the house to do so if that is what it takes...

People always comment that my daughter's fine motor skills are very advanced - which they think is wonderful, but I don't because I know it is because she will do anything to get to her skin and has become very adept at getting out of whatever combination of snaps/buttons/zippers I can come up with for her sleep-wear. If I put her in bed with me, she will not sleep - she can stay awake for HOURS to play, sing, bounce, open my eyelids and grin at me if I pretend sleep, etc. I tried this off and on for months. 

You would think exhaustion would kick in, but it never did. She used to cry and whimper in her crib when she scratched at night, so I would go in and put her clothes back on and rock her, which she fought heartily. Now she has learned to not cry or whimper, just scratch silently, so I don't hear and come interrupt - I know this is true because sometimes I tiptoe in in the middle of the night, thinking she is asleep, and discover her scratching insanely - and perfectly quietly. She hates it when I find her because I cover her back up - she doesn't want to be comforted, she is angry that I stop her scratching. She is having a really rough time right now because of the summer heat. Ugh. But she is a completely charming, happy child most of the time - I don't know how she manages it. I get really sad when I think that she's coping so well because she has never known anything but this misery, and maybe thinks it is normal. 

Don't laugh at this one. One of the stories in a reader in a classroom I taught, had a story about puppies. Their sleep was aided by a ticking clock which was wrapped in a blanket. It replicated the heartbeat of the mother. Perhaps the next statements are a corollary. I know several people who sleep to music. There are many electronic devices which play soothing sounds of the ocean. They sell well apparently. You will not be surprised to hear that I usually sleep to music. There is a local FM station which plays very relaxing music. But sometimes I just need absolute quiet. I think absolute fatigue and the music don't go together, but if I retire with TV, then switch to FM music, then perhaps nothing, I can get to sleep. A friend of mine played music constantly during his wife's first pregnancy. The child is very calm. But maybe would have been so otherwise. It is just food for thought. Tick Tock.

A couple of days back we took my 8 month old son to see a ped derm at the hospital and this is what the derm recommended for the next 2 weeks before she sees him again.

• put him on a steroid for a few days to clear him up of the redness (this of course did not get us too excited) and a prescription strength antihistamine twice a day to help him cope with the itch.
• take him off all commercial cremes and lotions. I bathe him twice a day. So now I have been asked to use a polytar bar for bathing and apply vegetable shortening (Crisco) on his wet skin after bath and then towel dry the excess fat. This I thought was very unique. I have never heard anyone suggest this!!!
• take him off all solids for about 4 days to just keep him on his soy formula. Then reintroduce solids in the order of cereal, fruits and veggie, each for a week's length. But this time it is a completely new set of solids - barley cereal, peach and peas or beans.

So far, he seems to be a happier child - but it is too early to say whether this method of treatment is going to work. As far as allergy tests go, the derm was not too keen on it, as she felt that it is produces a lot of false negatives and false positives.

I'd like to offer some encouragement. When my daughter was quite small, it occured to ME that her constant problems could be allergy related. I talked with her ped about seeing an allergist, and got the same response I'm hearing from all of you now. Too young, won't work, outgrow, give it time, etc and etc. As I was unable to get his blessing much less a referral, I found a ped. allergist about 150 miles away - the closest one. I'm glad I did. I told her ped. what I'd done, and he wasn't happy, but he wasn't in charge of her well-being either; I was. He continued to be her primary care physician and except for this, I was always pleased with his care. The moral of this story is that sometimes you have to buck the system to get what you need for your kid. 

I've been told normal IgE level is up to 30 (u/ml).

I've been bathing my 15 month old in baking soda for the last couple weeks and it really seems to help the degree of itching and the look of the rash immediately. 

When our daughter was 7-12 months old she had her worst symptoms. Yet her disposition was always remarkably pretty good. I attribute it to just having a sunny dispostion. She did, however, have her most difficult disposition at THAT time. She was clingy, whiney, didn't want to be out of my sight. Yet, when she wasn't itchy (or suffering from what appeared to have been stomach cramps) she went off and played quite independently... smiled a lot, etc. Everyone remarked that it seemed odd that a baby who was plagued with this awful thing could still be so happy (her face looked like a burn victim). She ate poorly, was not interested in eating, gained very little weight, slept very poorly... However, the week she started walking (at 11 1/2 mos.) she cleared up the most she ever had. Also, she began walking the day of her first chiro. visit. I've often wondered about the crawling factor contributing to it because she crawled from 7 to 12 months and that was her worst time. Once the eczema calmed down, she started sleeping better, gained 2 lbs in 6 weeks, and was much more outgoing with strangers.

She is now 16 months and doing MUCH better. She's still flaring though from teething and all kinds of foods as she won't eat the foods that are good for her. But she's nowhere near as bad as she was.

Once I finally got mad---screaming my head off while alone in the house, crying, hitting pillows, etc one day---This release somehow helped; I had truly had enough! I finally took control of the reins instead of feeling a little victimized and sorry for myself. I realized that while I had been doing many things in the right direction and being patient, I could've done a lot more. Once I got truly serious (and accept some responsibility for being able to educate myself even more and make more dietary sacrifices) big changes for the better began to happen. Since disease just often gets afflicted on to us, it's easy to get caught up in the victimization thing--even subtly. I'm sure I probably still do it, but not as badly. 

Antihistamine is more than just for helping the itch it also helps stop an outbreak.

Just a question for you all... I'm curious to know, how many of you come from a family with lots of autoimmune diseases, especially those of you with eczema that does not appear to be inherited?

Our 16 month old daughter has severe eczema and no one on either side has any known food allergies or eczema yet we do have lots of other stuff... Two of those people hate milk, always have, even as a baby his bottles were filled with Apple juice. I love milk, thought I couldn't live without dairy--but that was 9 months ago of being dairy free! Seems like it could be significant in light of the notion that we usually either crave or are repulsed by what we are allergic to.

What I'm wondereing about is the connection between autoimmune disease & eczema (eczema also considered to be an autoimmune disease by many). Which comes first? Is SOME inherited thing causing all these autoimmune complications--different manifestations (being different diseases) in different people? For families in which the eczema is inherited, it seems to make sense for them that the eczema is the inherited thing, but what about all the cases (30% I think) in which no one in the two families have it? Could it be some faulty immunoglobin levels or something, for example, that effects any aspect of the immune system?... IgE is the one often looked at for eczema but there's a bunch of them: IgA, IgM, IgD, etc.

I am glad you still have a since of humor. I find mine lacking when I don't get enough sleep. Do you get the "natural baby catolog"? The owner writes a letter every new issue and her last soap box lecture was how good it was to sleep with your kids, gives them security etc.. I loved, validation for life style. However, this will have to change if we want another child as they don't happen when three are in a bed.

Someone asked: Citric acid is corn based???

Maybe I'm wrong that it's corn based -- all I know is that it was on the list of things to avoid for a corn elimination diet.

Thank you very much to the person who advised me to use a thin layer of vaseline on wet skin. This has helped enormously, my skin feels almost normal and looks pale (it still has lots of lines) and this has proved the most non-irritating and long lasting 'moisturiser' I have used. (I would not advise using vaseline on very irritated skin - I had tried this once years ago and it just blocks the healing and itches terribly).

The jojoba oil does not keep in the moisture for nearly as long, it also is not as comfortable on the skin.

I have not only used this method after bathing, but as my problem area is on my face I have been splashing on water and applying another thin layer several times a day. It is a bit shiny but thats a small price for the incredible relief.

This was also the method mentioned earlier this week by somebody else and listed in the Jewish Medical Research Centre http://www.njc.org/MFhtml/EcZ_MF.html

My skin is a lot better since following an elimination diet for the past 3.5 weeks - I have now got to commence the re-introduction of the suspect foods to see which I can tolerate.

Citric acid has been part of my corn elimination diet that I have been on for years.

Robin: Your description of your daughter sounds like myself at that age. I hardly ever slept, just scratched all night long, escaping all confinements that my parents devised.

Stop covering her up and putting her clothes back on, she's just going to tear them off. Overheating may be triggering her scratching attacks. Experiment with the lightest weight clothes and bedcoverings. Don't enclose her entire body, her skin needs air to breathe. Try having some part of her body exposed, while the rest is covered. My internal thermostat is all messed up. I often need to wear a hat to bed yet have one leg exposed. Maybe she needs a similar strange arrangement. Experiment with windows open or closed, etc. Carefully observe her position when you do find her asleep. How has she made herself comfortable? Is she propped up on pillows, away from all covers, on her side, or what? She may require a very specific combination of elements to feel comfortable.

If she's angry and doesn't want to be comforted, then teach her to express that anger. Give her clay to squeeze, pillows to punch, teach her to make a fist and hit or rub with it. She's obviously a very smart little girl. Her intelligence will help her survive if she is taught some tools. Give her things to hold during the night. Sometimes I just hold the end of the blanket or the edge of my pillow, but as a child I grasped handkerchiefs and small rubber balls. Pinching, slapping, shaking, etc. are alternatives and she should be encouraged to be creative and come up with her own ideas.

As a child, I came up with the idea of slowly pressing my fingertips together, thumb to thumb, first finger to first finger, down the row of fingers, then separating them one by one, and pressing them together again, over and over, while deep breathing, and this became a meditation! This was the first thing I'd ever done that gave me a sense of itchless peace and calm that I'd never experienced before. So perhaps teaching her deep breathing in connection to some slow physical action, which could be anything, like holding the hands up in the air for a slow count of three and lowering them.

The basic idea is to show her how to SLOW things down. Her insides are going too fast. Everything is agitated for her. Scratching is normal to her. She doesn't understand why you are stopping her from doing what seems necessary and normal. She needs to learn there is a different pace at which scratching doesn't need to happen. At least, that was what I needed to learn. Your daughter may be entirely different. It's just a suggestion.

I was allergic to practically all foods as a child too, but in addition to avoiding them, I had to learn alternatives to scratching, which had became an uncontrollable habit regardless of allergens. I am now 40 years old so I'm living proof that someone can survive this disease from birth. I wouldn't say I've had a "normal" life, but on the other hand, from what I've heard about normal lives, they don't seem very appealing anyway. Sour Grapes, perhaps. But when you have this condition from birth and never know any other way of being in the world, you don't really know what you're missing. 

There are no other people in my family with eczema. My grandmother was sensitive to the ink in newspapers (she wore gloves to read the paper), and my dad and I have mild springtime allergies, but I'm the only one with eczema.

Interestingly enough, when I was *much* younger (8-9 years before the eczema started), I used to get facial rashes from sleeping on my grandmother's old feather pillows. I also couldn't tolerate the polyester lace that is used to trim most little girls' nightgowns and underwear; it made me scratch.

There's a little arthritis and diabetes on my mother's side of the family, BTW.

HAS ANYONE TRIED ZONE A DIRECTLY TO THE SKIN WHAT KIND OF RESULTS

Robin, I know how desperate you feel about not being able to feed your child and I to am scared that one day my son will be allergic to everything.His skin tests have certainly not been as detailed and I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I don't have anything concrete to offer other than to say go with what you feel is right . I really feel for you!! 

Each lab has its own scale of "normal ranges" based on results from the patient population it serves... 

My lab reference for IGE was up to 220... mine was astronomical and greater than 13,000... Hyper IGE is common in eczema, my allergist was not impressed!

Our daughter's derm told us basically the same thing your son's did, even the Crisco part. Only his suggestions never really helped that much. He wasn't too keen on the idea of allergy testing either, but we did it anyway, without his permission.

Turns out she was allergic to soy, which we had been feeding her because we were pretty sure of a milk allergy (that too). Soon as we stopped the soy and started the allergist's treatment regimen, her skin started clearing up. It's the clearest it has ever been.

Of course, she still has occasional flares if she's exposed to an allergen, but it's nothing like it was just 6 months ago. So you may want to consider allergy testing without the dermatologist's blessings.

Patsy is soooooo right! Our family doc didn't think our daughter needed to see a derm, but I took her anyway. The derm didn't think allergy testing was necessary, but I took her anyway.

We found out the specific problems--all of them. Now it's no more guess-work and following a simple routine of creams and oral meds, and her skin pretty much stays clear!

I'm sooooo glad a friend talked me into having my daughter tested! By the way, she was 2-1/2 when tested. I understand tests can be done on a child as young as 6 months. So what if her allergies change and we have to have her retested in a year or two? We'll do it. The cost of all the $$ wasted on derm visits and treatments that didn't work more than paid for the allergy testing.

As our allergist explained to us, the higher the number on the test, the more severe the allergy. At least that's the way it is with the prick test. Did they give you a sheet listing all the allergies and the severity of each? Our allergist also told us not to be overly concerned with the less severe allergies. For example, she tested a 2 on wheat and yeast, but we still let her eat bread. After keeping her off the "biggies" for a few days, you should notice a huge difference in her eczema and in the scratching.

Which leads to that subject... My daughter, too, learned at a very young age to undress herself during the night and scratch. It was horrible. She still does some but not nearly as badly now. Did you tell the doc about this? Did he give her any meds for scratching? My daughter has taken liquid Atarax at bedtime.

Nancy, I understand totally your frustration at the seemlessly never ending battle against the causes of eczema. In the past I have also gone down the route of living my life the way I want to, regardless of my eczema. But I'm afraid my eczema did not like being ignored and soon reared its ugly head with a vengeance.

I try to compromise. I try and do the things I want but ensure I take proper steps to keep it at bay.

In my religion, Islam, there are two main sources of knowledge we have, the main one is from our religious text - the Quran - and the other is from the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. There is one saying, or hadith, that recommends the use of squash (loukee for those of you if there are any who speak urdu) for skin diseases. Well, I finally got hold of some yesterday (light green in color and oblong) at my cousin's house and smeared a slice of it all over my face which was extremely red, itchy and rashy after playing with a friend's cat, and this morning when I awoke my face looked better than it had in a long time. My rash was totally gone and I had used no Zyrtec or anything else. There was hardly any bumpiness, dryness, and redness left. I was really amazed, I am going to look for some in my grocery store and try it again to give it the true acid test.

I am an eczema sufferer of some 34 years but only now do I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Here's a little testimony... excuse all the active constituents mentioned but not knowing what they are and the unique domestic terms of some products may not help anyone. I haven't had a bout of eczema since I was in my early twenties, but now am in my mid thirties where my eczema reocurred some three years ago. In my resignation to it never going away I used the strangest variations of creams and oils, from Rudducks Cattle ointment zinc oxide, boric acid (very popular here with psoriasis sufferers but not fda approved, hence the "cattle" term... used for cow's teats and udders and cracks and sores) and the regulation oils. 

Two weeks ago a doctor prescribed diprosone cream (first time to a doctor re: eczema in years)..betamethasone/chlorocresol. It's amazing!... having not used cortisone for years it appears my body is reacting well to it. However, the same doctor suggested upon my eczema clearing..and with my first tube of diprosone now finished to apply urederm (high potency 10% urea cream) liquid paraffin, glycerol, carbomer 934, Triethanolamine, Methyl Propyl & butyl hydroxybenzoates, waxes, alcohol and distilled water. Within hours all the good the diprosone had done was eliminated with an itching episode that night to beat all others. 

Returning to the diprosone upon my repeat prescription all is well again. My right leg, formerly covered in eczema is now nearly completely healed. I guess the doctor used a precedent in prescribing for eczema. I do not believe we are supposed to feel ostracised or made to feel very ordinary because of our eczema. 

Carol, The more I use almost nothing on my scalp the better it gets. I start an evening wash in warm water and finish in cold water. In the morning I put on Vaseline and massage it in. During the day I brush my hair/scalp, when I used to scratch it. The longer I do this "Nothing" the better my scalp becomes.

Anjum, Do you know what kind of squash that was? Sounds like a Japanese variety that my mother-in-law grows.

I am surrounded by 200 miles of corn fields on all sides. I've never had worse allergies in my life than I've had here. I tested positive for a food allergy to corn... I wonder if that translates into a problem with airborne corn as well?

I am asking the same question but I have not seen a flare up in the summer during taseling time (which is what I would expect). Let me know if you see changes in yourself over the summer and we will do the same. Are you not eating corn too? This whole concept really gets me because last year when we were putting up corn, my dad let my son have some on the cob which had just been blanched. I figured that he would go crazy but it seemed to have no reaction. However, it appears that if he eats foods with corn meal or corn sweeteners we have a big problem. This are things faced by all who try elimination diets. Things don't always make sense.

Well, I am sure your corn is higher than ours now, typical is about three inches out of the ground (we had a really dry spring).

Dear Robin, Each post I read on here from eczema moms is heartbreaking! Last night I was crying again over Brian (10 mo.) because he was so itchy and miserable and just couldn't relax to take a nap. It took awhile, but he finally went to sleep. It was probably one of the worst episodes he's ever had of itching/rubbing his face, fighting his sleep, etc. As you said, this is normal to him but it's so frustrating at times for his loved ones. It's so hard to see him suffer. Then I came to work and read the posts this morning, and I want to cry for you too! Please know that we care and you're not alone.

I've just had a horrible reaction to Neutrogena Healthy Scalp shampoo. My scalp is OK but my entire forehead, neck, and skin around my ears is bright red and irritated. I bought it because it didn't have any lauryl/laureth sulfates, but it just shows that substitutes for those compounds can also be a problem. Damn. Another $7 wasted.

I've continued to do well using the Sativa Critical Care lotion and thought I would post the ingredients for anyone interested. It's promoted for the use of oats, but I thought it was interesting that it also contains borage oil.

Deionized water, Oat Extracts, Oat Beta Glucan, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Glycerine, Cetyl Palmitate, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Mixed Glycerides, Deodorized Borage Oil, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Dimethicone Copolyol, Barquat MB-80, DMDM Hydantoin, Iodoprophynyl Butylcarbamate, Tocopherol, Retinyl Palmitate.

Anyway, who knows how long it will work for me, but so far, so good.

I was just diagnosed with nummular eczema a few weeks ago. I am currently trying to get it under control with steroid cream ( Lidex) and lots of Eucerin. I am looking for others who have this type of eczema. I would like to know what other treatments are that have worked and how difficult or easy it is to keep this under control. I had it under control until I went to where it is hot and sweaty. Anyway, any help and information would be appreciated. Also I have no family history of this. Any ideas what causes this type? 

Robin, is the heat of the covers aggravating the symptoms? Is the child's body heat warming up the bed "nest" enough to kick of a scratching frenzy? Also, when you pick up the child and rock, your own body heat may not be comforting? Also from the point of view of the scratcher, anyone interrupting and stopping the scratching would not be welcome.

Try having something cool with you when you pick up the child to comfort in the night. (i.e. ice pack in a towel). Also, I know from experience that when a person is reacting strongly to one allergen that they become sensitive to almost everything. When/If you ever get it under control the body will not react to the same things.

Just keep plugging away.

Karen wrote how she finds eczema area hotter than unaffected areas. I find that also. This makes it difficult to sleep a night through for me because of what I call the "nest effect." As my body heats up the mattress, pillow and sheets I get HOT and itchy. My solution has been to sleep with 4 gel packs that I have kept in the refrigerator (not the freezer). This is the type of pack that would be put on an injury in the emergency room to reduce swelling. I bought them from a wholesale company that sells massage and chiropractic supplies. I put them in be for a few minutes then tuck them in a pillow case or T-shirt.

I also am very sensitive to the sun. It is the UV rays since they can affect me even on cloudy days with white clouds. Sun screens are not a lot of help as SPF-15 is 15 times nothing equal almost nothing. Months when the sun hits the area with a low angle of incidence is much better. I Love spring and fall. Summer is hell.

Donna, Read the label on Slim Fast, it is mostly refined sugar. I am told to keep my son away from refined sugar as this aggravates the eczema. Also you are loading your body up with empty calories, in the long run it will do you no good. Want to loose weight fast? Exercise and eat non- processed foods.

Kim, Although I am not a doctor, the irony with Tums is the sugar counter balances the calcium so you end up with no calcium at all! Dr. Bob is right, find the calcium elsewhere.

Robin, A few of us have already been there, believe it or not the 6-12 month stage will be the worst. It will get much better, our thoughts are with you too.

After hearing so many of you discuss food allergies that are affecting your eczema, I decided to make an appointment with an allergist, especially after noticing flareups after eating particular foods. Are there any particular tests that I should ask them to do that have been helpful to some of you, but might not be in the normal realm of testing for allergies? Has an allergist been particularly helpful in alleviating eczema flareups? 

I am new to the whole kosher thing and I bought a box of dark chocolates that say VKC parve. The girl on the phone said that meant that it was dairy-free. However, I got a little rash after eating them and a look at the ingredients showed that it contained a non-dairy creamer and natural ingredients. I am suspecting that it probably contains casein as most non-dairy creamers have this. The people at the store were not very helpful, so I was wondering if any of you out there know the kosher lingo, like what exactly VKC and parve means-does parve mean totally dairy free?

I had already discounted TUMS as they have corn starch in them.

Hi, Gayle brought up an interesting point earlier, and I'd like to talk about it some more. Like a lot of us, she says heat drives her nuts and her eczema spots are hotter than the rest of her. I've been wondering if any research has been done about this idea. Is excessive body heat a symptom or a cause of our problems? In other words, I'm wondering if anyone has looked at why or how our internal thermostat has gotten out of kilter. With this in mind, would eczema moms & dads be more likely to get some sleep at night if they kept their kid's room cooler? Instead of trying to find ways to keep the kid from reaching the itchy spots, what if the room was so cool, the kid didn't itch? Feedback? 

My skin has been acting very strange lately. Perhaps, a new phase in my eczema. My skin is so dry it feels and looks like rubber. When I stand up after sitting for a while, my knees look all crinkley. I switched from Eucerin to Aquaphor as my main body cream hoping to improve the situation. Alas, it has not proven to be succesful. When I scratch, lots of skin comes off and then it gets oozy. It feels pretty gross and unpleasant. When I wake up in the morning, I'm peeling everywhere. I leave a trail of skin wherever I go and I hate it. I'm really feeling defeated/ frustrated/ angry/ depressed. Any suggestions? Any miracle moisturizers? HELP!

I'm going on vacation in a week. Obviously, I'm pleased as punch. But I'm also dreading the sting of the salt water, being blotchy, etc for the first week. I was hoping to get my skin in a bit better shape before going, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Your suggestions would be welcomed with a red carpet.

As you all know, my son Brian has severe eczema, and he also has scalp eczema. The derm gave me a special shampoo to use alternating one day with it and one day with Head & Shoulders. His neck and skin around ears is always red and irritated (and forehead somewhat) as Shelley said. It makes sense that it's too strong, especially on baby skin. So I don't know what to do. A couple weeks ago I took Christine's advise to just wash with warm water and use shampoo only 1-2 times per week. I tried it and only went 2 days without using shampoo and his head was more flaky than before. However, when I think about it, I don't thik his scalp was as dry, but flakes of skin were coming off more easily -- maybe new skin growing underneath??? Anyhow, we just returned to the shampooing daily but maybe we should give it a try again. Any insight/testimonies would be helpful (especially for effects of shampoo on babies).

I tried the baking soda in Brian's bath last night and what a difference it made! A regular bath always did soothe him, but nothing like this. He seemed so much more relaxed after the bath -no longer rubbing his feet together constantly to scratch them and he just laid and drank his bottle without scratching!

So, thanks for the tip. Does anyone know if it's safe to use the baking soda daily in a bath or are there any harmful effects?

I've found that Aloe Vera Gel (100% fragrance free) is a soothing anti-itch solution. This works especially well in the summer. All you have to do is apply it to the irritated areas. The best thing of all is that it usually cost less than $3.00 a tube.

Sue, I started exhibiting eczema as an infant. I've had three sets of skin scratch tests and a rast test from the time I was a toddler til I was an adolescent. The very early tests showed allergic reactions to peanuts, eggs, and mildly to a few other foods, as well has various grasses, molds and mildew.

My understanding is that the allergy shots I received for years in childhood was supposed to prevent escalation of allergic conditions, such as asthma. At the age of 12 I had my first asthma attack. The eczema was present sporadically and in various levels of intensity throughout this whole process. In my opinion, all the years of allergy shots were useless.

As a college student, I once again began allergy shots for periodic flare ups of eczema because that is what the allergist recommended. I never saw any improvement. A couple of years later, during a trip to another allergist, I was taken down the hall to the office of a derm for the first time and was told that chronic eczema was not an allergic response but something related, but instrinsic. I was given various doses of cortisone creams (which had already been prescribed for years) to control it.

One more time, in my early thirties I sought help for what had become excruciating full body eczema. My family doctor referred me to an allergist. I explained my history and told him that if he intended to use allergy shots as a remedy, we were wasting one anothers time because I had been down that road unsucessfully and was unwilling to expend the money or time on a therapy that was expensive, time consuming and ineffective. He I became a bit indignant about which of us was the doctor professional and insisted on doing some allergy test saying we'd cross that treatment bridge when we knew what we were dealing with. Sure enough, $300 + later I sat in his office incredulous as he recommended allergy shots as a course of treatent. I became furious. I confronted him with the fact that he was knowingly recommending treatment that was ineffective for me, because when it came right down to it, that was the *only* treatment he knew of, regardless of its efficacy. I also confronted him with the fact that I had recently read that up to 30% of patients who are given allergy shots are unresponsive, and that knowing my history, he already knew that I was in this percentage . He conceded every point I had made, and then incredibly still recommended the allergy shots. This was in 1989 and I swore I would never subject myself to this kind of pompous, arrogant attitude from any so called medical professional again.

The severity of my helath, eczema and asthma had hadsuch a huge impact on my life, that I moved house in a desperate attempt to a return to some semblance of normalcy. That worked- for about 2 years. Then the full body eczema returned. Since then, I've run the gamut from being almost free of eczema, to full body eczema.

I do want to emphasize, that *my* experience may not have any resemblance to yours. Just beware. Often medical professionals prescribe a treatment because it's all they know to do, regardless of efficacy or individual circumstances. Personally, I would like to hear some success stories.

Many of us have taken different roads to reach this point in our lives. Last year at this time I had full body eczema. I was red as a lobster from head to toe and expoliating skin like there was no tomorrow. I was finally admitted to a hospital. They did steroid wraps for 3 days and that calmed me down to where I was not very red except my face.

About 6 months ago, after a long battle with my HMO, I got on a medication called interferon which an immunologist had recommended while I was in the hospital. No derm dr had recommended it at the time cuz it was not widely used for eczema. I was on the alpha interferon for a couple of months but showed no improvement and I asked to get on the gamma (more pure form and more expensive) and it was approved. I have been on it for 2 months and am doing a lot better. I am entirely cleared up below my head. My face still gets red from time to time but that goes away once I cool down.

I've been using baking soda for almost a year now--usually on a daily basis. (I have had eczema since I was little.) I use it for bathing my 7 month old. It's great. I recently have tried every other day bathing. Less shampoo has helped my hair and scalp quite a bit. I use Jason's Tea Tree oil shampoo. I don't love it, but it doesn't irritate or smell too much. My skin has been so great lately (except for the past couple days-- I ate lots of chocolate.) I've been using GRAPESEED OIL as my moisturizer. I don't like the jojoba too much. This grapeseed oil feels great. I feel so soft.

Regarding lotions in general--especially ones made for people with sensitive skin--WHY HAVEN'T COMPANIES FIGURED OUT THAT FRAGRANCE IS NO GOOD FOR US???!!! Sorry to yell. I am just so tired of finding good lotions ruined by the fragrance. It just makes them unusable for me.

Two months ago I decided, among many other things, to stop drinking coffee at work. Today I had a cup and WOW what a reaction. Within minutes my arms started itching which was no surprise but I wasn't prepared for the next hour. I became very agitated and snapped at two colleagues for no reason whatsoever. My heartbeat increased also for no reason.

I have actually had this experience before when I was tested for potatoes. Again, I became agitated and actually swore at the nurse who was giving me tests.

I'm certainly giving coffee I miss. Has anyone else experienced this kind of reaction from food before?

Rachel, When my skin was flaking off all over a friend gave me a bottle of eucerin plus--this has alpha hydroxy in it, which in other lotions has almost always burned me, but this one is soothing and creamy. I used about a bottle a day when I first got it because my skin was so flaky. It helped. I don't know if it will help you. I hope so. It costs about seven dollars and I can only find it at certain grocery/drug stores. For me it was a miracle moisturizer--for a while. I feel for you, on one my vacations in the car I brought along a little vacuum to get up my flakes--I feel like Pig Pen from "Peanuts" sometimes.

I'm not very flaky these days. I use grapeseed oil and baking soda baths. Hope you find something that works for you. Have a great trip.

I went for the allergy shots, but after about 3 months I couldn't take it anymore... my face was falling off! My skin was not reacting well to the allergens.

Knowing what to avoid has been helpful. I'm not especially good at avoiding everything I should, but at least I know what not to fill up on. I tend to be ok with just a few of the things I shouldn't touch, i.e. milk and wheat, corn, sugar, chocolate.

Now things are better for me. It may have been a move to a new home. Urine shots! which are supposed to work better than allergy shots. Or maybe it was the vitamin and mineral routine. I did use some cortisone and prednisone in my worst state. I'm still working hard each day to keep my e. at bay. Now I use grapeseed oil, baking soda baths. No cortisone, no prednisone. And I try to stay relaxed and grateful to the Lord for allowing me to come through this trial with my faith still intact--and grown stronger.

John, I am somewhat familiar with interferon since I am very close to someone who suffers from hepatitis C virus, that being virtually the only recommended treatment and only marginally effective at that.even then in proportionately few cases. From what I know of it, it can inflict different people with many side effects that range from minimal to severe nausea, fatigue, headaches etc. Also there is (in these hep cases) a danger of what is referred to as a rebound effect, that is, once the treatment is dicontinued, the condition comes back even stronger than before treatment. Many of us have experienced this effect when weaning off prednisone. I'm guessing that you are on a much lower dose than those with life threatening illness.

My questions to you are, how long have you been taking it (and in what form)?

• How long and how frequently do you have to continue taking it?
• Are you experiencing any side effects?
• Are there any permanent consequences from long term use?
• Might you be subject to a rebound effect when you discontinue treatment?
• Is this considered a stop gap measure by your doc until the eczema is more controllable with other treatments?

Steve, I am always VERY careful when at the dentist's to be certain that any time he uses Novocaine on me that he uses the version without Epinephrine in it. Epinephrine does the same thing to me that coffee just did to you. And I have since discovered (the hard way, I might add) that any local anaesthetic that is used in minor surgeries will often have Epinephrine added to it; after I had a mole removed from my back, my husband practically had to scrape me off the ceiling. My husband reacts similarly to it -- after his wisdom teeth were extracted (before which he EXPLICITLY told the surgeon not to use Epinephrine!) he came quite close to biting the heads off the nurses in the recovery room. Come to find out the doctor had forgotten his request and had used Epinephrine after all.

If you have that strong a reaction to the caffeine in coffee, you might want to be careful with Epinephrine, too -- it's significantly stronger than caffeine... 

I'm not sure if Daniel has scalp eczema--it is flaky but not red and bumpy like the rest of his skin.

We use Johnson's Sensitive Baby shampoo (not sure of the exact name right now) and a generic form of Head and Shoulders and a lot of the time just run water over his head with no shampoo.

He scratches mostly his legs and arms, sometimes his face, seldom his head.

Do you think that babies with eczema have less patience than babies without? Just wondering..

Johnson & Johnson has a new product of babies called Ultra sensitive baby cream. No fragrance and no lanolin. It is working good for us.

My skin is known as super hypersensitive by docs and that's putting it mildly and the only product I can can use topically currently is Neutrogena Emulsion fragrance free but I mix it with Glycerine but the point is that I don't react to the Neutrogena, stated above, any other product by Neutrogena, I react to.

Another interferon anecdotal story: In 1986 my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer (which had metasticized to his brain) and given 4 months to live. He had surgery to remove the affected kidney and the brain tumor and then started an "experimental" course of interferon and his cancer was cured. In 1995 he developed a form of leukemia which his doc said was likely a result of the interferon. Three months ago he passed away from complications of the leukemia. For him, it was an acceptable trade - he got 11 years of mostly good quality life thanks to the interferon, but, please be aware that this is potent stuff. 

Nummular means coin shaped- so my eczema looks like small circles on my arm and legs. They are anywhere from the size of a dime to a quarter and unfortunately look like ringworm. In fact, my first two doctors spent two months treating me for ringworm that I didn't have. I don't have any family history of this. It just appeared at the end of January. I have had a lot of stress lately. I wondered too if anyone had found any associations between stress and eczema. 

Anyway, as I said before, I am interested in how others got this stuff to clear up and kept or are keeping it under control. My dermatologist acted like it would go away, but when I called back and said it had flared up again, her physician's assistant said that it would just come and go. Also, I wondered about trying to become pregnant and steroid creams? I wondered how much danger if any was involved - I am not using too much Lidex, but I would like to eliminate any risks.

Hi Rachel, I'll bet that Kelly's right about contact dermatitis; at least, when my hands get super-itchy and dry, it's usually after I've been rooting around under dusty furniture, retrieving cat toys or storage boxes :-)

Have you been doing anything differently lately? Working in a dusty place, using new detergent or cleanser? My mom used to itch from filing old documents (paper lice, which aren't like human lice but can make you itch just the same, hang out in old books and papers).

I've found that I can relieve the itchiness by washing my hands (plain H2O) & using Sarna lotion (OTC anti-itch cream -- but read the ingredients before you use it). When my body itches, I take a 20 min. (tar) bath. Now, my derm. Dr. wants me to put on cortisone and a plastic bag after I bathe, but I prefer just to put on the moisturizer of my choice (usually Eucerin and/or Vaseline, but sometimes jojoba oil; depends on the part of the body) and a nice soft robe.

Aaahhhh... I feel better just thinking about it. I hope your vacation works wonders.

Jodi used to have bad eczema scalp but ever since I wash her hair everyday with luke warm water (shampooing 2-3 times a week) and then air dry it afterwards with my fingers, she never has eczema on her scalp anymore. I think by air drying her hair with my fingers, the natural oil from her scalp was massaged evenly back on her scalp. I also noticed that when I scraped off the dry and flaky skin on her scalp when it was wet, the eczema spots turned raw but healed better the next day. Eventually, they never return. Of cause I link that also to her elimination of dairy and stuffs and my cooking from scratch and a lot of other things I did. Brian may react differently but thought I throw it in for you anyway.

You might consider adding the plastic bag (Saran Wrap was my choice though) wrap at night. Eczema can't survive in a moist, non-oxygen environment but it can be hell to sleep cuz when you moved you'll make noise and I tend to wake-up.

Before anyone starts saying that the moistness will irritate their eczema, you have to oxygen starve it to work.

I think the Drs hide behind the "stress" issue. Was there a cologne, food, environment her husband regularly exposed her to? I think it is an easy out for the medical community.

I tried goats milk with no fear of the vitamin issue, my brother was raised on it as well as my niece. IT MUST BE RAW GOATS MILK. My son was on it for several months then tested allergic to it. He now drinks alimentum.

Hi, Coffee is a highly addictive drug. When I stopped drinking it I was irritable for several days. A good alternative is green tea, which (according to a homeopath I went to) gives you the pep without all the toxins. On the bright side, since I quit drinking coffee on a regular basis I find it easier to get up in the morning and I am much more pleasant in the mornings than I used to be.

Well, I don't know about calling it "less patience" - but perhaps lack of impulse control (if babies have any! <G>)... which leads me again to wondering if it's true that there is a correlation between ADHD and eczema (both of which my daughter has) - by the way, she does seem to be responding well to the Ritalin - even she notices the difference in how people react to her now! Her eczema is *very slowly* improving, although her legs are still pretty bad... the dermatologist still thinks cortisone cream will do the trick if we keep using it for a while after her nightly Aveeno baths.

I've really vowed I must never again let her eczema go as far as it did without aggressive treatment... we just ignored it for several weeks. I guess we were paying too much attention to her ADHD testing - I'm also wondering whether the whole testing process was a stress for Becca, even though the testing mostly took the form of "games" with adults, and she loves to be the center of attention, especially from adults... 

Nancy, Thank you for your personal story about the allergist. I went to an allergist several years ago because of horrific hayfever. They did a lot of skin testing and decided that I was pretty much allergic to everything under the sun. However, the brief food allergy testing they did showed nothing (at the time). She recommended allergy shots too, and I did a lot of research on them and found out, as you did, that many people do it for years and have no results. So I decided I'd take my chances and not have the shots. So I already know that no matter what they tell me, I will not take shots. I just want to have more comprehensive food testing done, as I know allergies can change. I am told that as an infant I was allergic to milk, eggs and wheat. I "grew out of" those allergies, but am wondering if they've come back (causing my eczema to go out of control), and I eat a lot of all 3 of those things. I'm sorry you had to pay $300 to find out your doctor was an idiot. 

I am having a similar problem with my hand eczema on two fingers. It started being so dry that I couldn't bend the finger, and now it's in this annoying stage. I haven't been able to get it to go away with oils or moisturizers, but when it gets blistery and oozing, I find that Aveeno anti-itch cream helps it. It makes it even more wet at first, but then it seems to dry up the wet spots and make it stop itching temporarily. The Sativa hand cream (the stuff in the bottle, not the lotion) seems to help in the short term with the flaking skin, but not for very long. I just wish I could find a way to make it go away! I asked my dermatologist about it to see if it might be infected, but she just wrote me a prescription for some tape that has cortisone in it to wear at night. Haven't tried it though. 

Dear Folks, I need an opinion and I feel this is the right place to ask. My derm is being very insistent about me taking PUVA treatments. It's almost as though she is giving up on me if I don't do them. They scare me. The pills are supposed to make you VERY sun sensitive so that the UVA will - for all intents and purposes, burn the eczema out. I am already on Prozac for a long-standing depression problem that is under control and the Prozac already makes me light sensitive. 

Some of you mentioned that it seems even a small amount of sunlight aggravates your eczema. I find this too. If I forget and hang my elbow out the car window in the summer, my left elbow area goes nuts with itch and redness. All summer long, I have a permanent patch of eczema around my neck - even with sunscreen. For some reason, however, it doesn't affect me when I am swimming - maybe its the chlorine. I am very fair, but don't burn. 

Anyhow, back to the PUVA. My derm is from UK and does a lot of holistic stuff, too. So it surprises me that she is so insistent on it. She says five weeks of PUVA and the eczema will be GONE. But for 24 hours after taking the pills, you have to wear UV glasses or get cataracts and stay completely out of the sun - What the heck kind of summer will THAT be? 

Incidentally, I understand that a lot of derms are prescribing antidepressants for eczema itch. My Psych thinks it's neuro-dermatitis (caused by stress and nerves) and I tend to agree. She just put me on very mild tranquilizers to see if she could fight it from the source. Opinion Please: should I start the PUVA and keep the derm happy? 

Judith, What's the rush? If being drugged up to your eyeballs doesn't work, won't the light therapy still be an option? Why not put it off until at least cold weather? Just an idea. 

Judith, This is sure a tough thing to deal with--but it can be dealt with. I believe alternatives to drugs are at least the first route one should try. If I were you I think I'd give some other things a try. But I am not even willing to go to my dermatologist anymore. I think a lot of the things people have tried on this list are more helpful than all the money you could spend at the derm. Check the archives. Read up a bit before you decide to add more for your body to deal with.

Rees has been almost totally itch-free for 2 months now and his skin is looking the clearest it has for about a year, so I feel it's time to sign off and follow up my strong desire to explore homeopathy further. I know everyone here is different, both in terms of how their eczema manifests itself and in what works or doesn't in individual cases, but for anyone interested I've listed below all the things we've done/do for Rees:

• We took Rees to a Nutritional Therapist who used Kinesiology to diagnose a dairy & dust mite allergy 
• We stopped using all steriod creams, all emollients, all moisturising creams - everything in fact:-) 
• We took Rees off all dairy products, declared war on the dust mites at home, and gave him the homeopathic remedies for dairy & dust mite intolerance as prescribed by our therapist 
• We started giving Rees a food supplement of Evening Primrose oil 
• After about 4-6 months of near sanity, a wheat allergy surfaced, so we removed wheat from his diet also, and gave him the wheat intolerance remedy. At the same time we increased his EPO intake to 240mg, morning & night, and gave him a stronger than recommended multi-vitamin supplement (RDA's are for *healthy* people) 
• After trying vinegar & dead sea salts with no effect, we tried Baking Soda in his bath, and this has been the final chapter in our success story, so far... 

I too am afraid of the PUVA. I cannot accept the idea that a man-made light is superior to the sun. I don't think we are that omniscient. I would like to read more about the PUVA lamps' effects, but the little I have read says that there is a potential for harm. I chose to avoid using PUVA until I read some long term (years and years) authoritative study saying the harm is not permanent and is outweighed by the benefits.

Try sun when you swim. At first, a little at a time. Try ten minutes of sun at noon, build up to twenty minutes in two days until you can get up to forty minutes, every other day or at least once a week. Twenty minutes on one side, then flip over. Then flip on alternate sides and expose as much of your body as you can. I think once a week might be enough. If you can keep a very light tan I am pretty sure you will feelmuch better. If you can get into clean ocean water a great benefit will be derived also.

I also sleep in a non-carpeted apartment. I think this has made a MAJOR contribution to my massive improvement. I was a MESS before all this.

I agree with Thomas! It is an easy out. For sooo many years ALL the experts said ulcers were stress. It turned out to be a virus. Now we are suspecting eczema is caused by a virus. This stress thing does contribute to problems, no doubt, but in my mind it only does so if you do not have outlets for the stress and you scratch for an outlet. The scratching then admits the virus.

Of course one MUST avoid allergens. THAT is KEY. Allergens cause itching and all sorts of turmoil and a variety of physical problems ranging to death. Avoid allergens at all cost. Make dramatic changes in your habits and lifestyle if necessary until the eczema vaccine is ready and if necessary long afterwards. It will probalbly not solve all allergy problems and is many years away. Isn't it? What is the latest news and how can we keep up with the latest news on the eczema vaccine? Someone tell us.

I started to have slight hand problems a few days ago after eating a whole apple pie over the course of a day. It didn't have corn in it. So it probably was the apples or the wheat. To be sure, I would have to try it again a few times.

My Mom got severe hand eczema too shortly after getting married. It started from her ring finger and spread. She still has it long after my Dad died. More than 60 years total. But she has never admitted to allergies, although she distinctly hashad debilitating reactions to shellfish. I think she does not want to admit having allergies because then she would think that she was a part of the cause of the children's allergy problems. In any case she has made no effort to approach the problem except to avoid cleaning raw meat and getting treatments symptomatically including steroid shots which probably contributed to the collapsing of her thigh bone and need for a hip replacement.

"Allergic to everything" sure seems to be part of the problem - so far, everything I have had her RAST-tested for turned up positive - got more results today, positive for avocados, bananas and potatoes. We saw a specialist Saturday (an out-of-town visiting pediatric allergist whom my pediatrician arranged to have see my daughter) and he did skin testing. The skin test was *negative* for 8 things which the RAST testing was positive for and only positive for one thing (egg) - I don't understand this. The specialist's explanation was that my daughter's system is so highly allergic that things "cross-react" on the RAST test - meaning that if she is allergic to a particular type of grass, she would react on a RAST test to all grasses and wheat, but not really be allergic to wheat. ?? He wants me to do dietary challenges to soy and wheat, which we have been avoiding for 9 months based on the RAST testing. I did this with soy at dinner last night and she cried and scratched from 1-4 a.m.

He also changed her antihistimine to Zyrtec and increased the dosage. Anyone else taking this? He seemed very compassionate and sounded reasonable, he highly supported the National Jewish bath regime we have been using, and he suggested steroids but didn't push when I explained my hesitations. But I am uncertain about this RAST vs. skin testing stuff. Have others had inconsistent results like this? I feel like I am experimenting on my daughter - NOT a good feeling. I am very interested in your suggestions about a gastroenterologist - I know what they are, I would be very interested in hearing how they help with allergies/eczema? Thanks again for all the suggestions on this list - we are trying baking soda baths and I am working on some of the anti-itch meditative ideas that have been suggested.

Our six month old son Alexander has had full body eczema for a few months now. However despite this he has always been a very happy little boy. To try and get his skin back to some degree of softness we have started WET WRAPPING him 24 hours a day. It is working!! His skin now feels like a baby's skin should. He is much calmer with the wet wraps on, and has stopped scratching. Although it takes about an hour in the morning, and again in the evening to redo his wraps, it is time well spent. Has anyone else out there tried wet wrapping their eczema baby? If so have they got any tips? Especially on cutting the bandages for the arms and legs to be the right size.

Could anyone assist in this matter. A work colleague of mine with psoriasis has asked me to enquire is anyone has ever heard of Vipsogal or Tigason. Apparently Vipsogal worked very well for him but then both products suddenly were taken off the market.

>>Opinion Please: should I start the PUVA and keep the derm happy? <<

NO. Read the compilation in Pick of the List, there is no reason at all to be so certain it will help -- sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Explore current avenues first.

Judith, Why does the dermatologist not suggest UVB therapy? No photo-sensitising drugs are required for this. I had UVB therapy, (wavelength 290 - 310 nanometers) starting at 9 seconds and working up over the weeks to about five minutes. I found the UVB extremely helpful, as it cleared my skin up and gave me a fresh start, though it can't remove the underlying Atopic Tendency I have. 

All the time I was on UVB I required no steroid cream at all, and since then, only tiny amounts of the least potent. Of course, everyone is different, and my skin type is not prone to sunburn or other problems with sunlight. Here, because of our dull wet climate, UVB therapy has good patient tolerance and compliance, because sunshine is associated with health, holidays and relaxation. It might be worth trying UVB. Continued use of moisturising emollients is important while receiving treatment Note that they must NOT be used before a session, but applied after. I have used Aveeno Cream (Rydelle/Bioglan) with excellent success for two or three years now. It's non-greasy and pleasant to apply.

Here's a message which I just received which may be of interest to some readers. Remember that what works for one person may not work for you!

----- Forwarded Message -----

I visited the website for the eczema list today and decided not to subscribe because my problem is so well under control anymore and I am on a few other (time consuming) lists, but I did want to relate my stories in case they can help others. 

First, I believe eczema is a condition you have all your life in one form or another, even when it's "cured" it is really just well under control... 

I had really dry skin as a child but no other symptoms until I was in my preteens. Then I started getting eczema on my forearms below the elbow joints, and then on my hands. The dermatologist just gave me some cortisone cream for it and that helped control it for the most part. I would call what I had on my hands "wet" eczema with lots of tiny subsurface blisters; I would scratch (what else?) and then the skin would harden over then peel off, leaving a new layer of blistery "skin." It got worse as I got older, but never so bad as in about 1991 - 1994. During that time I was working as an ecotoxicologist doing some lab work, and wearing latex gloves (high sweat factor) in a somewhat stressful job, also living with a guy on his boat (high mold factor). I was worried about someof the stuff I worked with because I had no intact barrier (i.e., skin) on my hands as a line of defense if a glove tore. At one point I was taking Vit. A, selenium, zinc, brewers yeast, multivitamin. Not much help. Likewise A&D ointment. The dermatologist expressed some skepticism that it could be something in my diet but did go to the trouble to copy some things out of his books including one on diets that indicated the biggest culprits are the things you eat every day (e.g., wheat, yeast, eggs, dairy, but ALSO coffee and tea). I occurred to me it could be coffee or tea (I drank both) but I wasn't about to try giving them up. Chlorinated shower water made it worse, but that was an irritant to already affected skin. I also developed "vernal dermatitis," or allergic eczema during the spring and fall pollen allergy seasons -- on my eyelids!

When the guy and I broke up I was devastated and sick to my stomach for several days. I couldn't stomach coffee, drank some weak tea, and otherwise subsisted on popsicles. My heart was hurt, but my skin got better! I decided to stay off the coffee for a couple weeks to see if that was it (as opposed to the mold on the boat, which was now also out of my life!). The skin got progressively better, and one Saturday I decided to have a cup of coffee (espresso roast, non-filtered MUD from freshly ground beans). My skin was moderately itchy after that, and I woke up in the middle of the night because I smelled coffee. It had been many hours since that cup. I washed my hands, waited a few minutes and smelled again. Definitely coming out of my skin. After that, I limited myself to one cup a week and found I could tolerate that small amount better and better.

After that I found certain types of red wine (I don't know which but I am conducting intensive research <g>) also cause mild outbreaks, as does Indian food. I suspect it is some kind of phenolics, terpenes or alkaloids in the coffee, wine and spices that causes it.

These days I can drink a cup of coffee daily without too much trouble but it is a compromise since my hands are still a little red and I occasionally get blisters. My skin is very dry -- even when it just contacts water -- andI treat my hands to Neutrogena hand cream (unscented) and a rubdown with peanut, olive and wheat germ oil blend (an Edgar Cayce remedy) at night. I noticed a few weeks ago when I had a cold the blisters and itchies came back. I took a product called Cold Snap (get it at health food stores) to beat the cold and also found out it does wonders for my skin -- even when I don't have a cold -- and also for my asthma, so I try to drink a cup every day. I take Vit E and EPO for breast tenderness (just the last 2 months); haven't noticed that it affects my skin any. I use Kirk's Coco Castile soap -- very mild! and the Cetaphil cream is really nice.

I really feel for those who have more extensive conditions, and who have not been able to find the magic bullet to control it. I remember vividly my reservations at shaking hands -- something I do a lot professionally -- with my scaly, sticky mitts. I'm also sure I'll find other things in the future that cause mine to flare up, but hopefully because I've gotten my skin healthy over the past 3 years it will only be minor and I'll be able to figure out what it is!

Sorry to have gone on so long. I hope what I've related helps at least one person.

I went to my cupboard and read the ingredients on the chewable and sustained-release Vitamin C our family uses. Neither one contains citric acid. Since both are Shaklee and it is a MLM, they are pretty pricey. However, they are extremely pure and may be of some help to you. Look Shaklee up in your phone book or on the Internet.

I had no idea that "citric acid" was reportedly corn-based. Thanks for the interesting info!

Date: 12 Jun 1997 09:56:48 From: Sage Subject: Baking soda baths

1/2 cup per bath for toddlers will be fine. Adjust it according to how you feel. It works as a cleanser too, so if you want to add more or use it as a paste it will not hurt. This stuff seems pretty harmless. I've been using it for almost a year now on me and for about 5 months on my baby with excellent results. Before I used it I kept getting folliculitis--a skin infection that was very irritating. Now I haven't had it.

If you're bathing your child in a regular bathtub with less than normal water amount, put in 1/4 cup and stir to dissolve. If it's a regular amount of water, put in 1/2 cup. I let my child hang out for about 15 minutes, making sure I apply it to his upper body. I never put him in hot water; I put him in as cool a bath as would be comfortable. In other words, I put him in at the coldest temperature that still feels warm.

I order most of my stuff from Vitamin Discount Connection. Their number is 800/ 848-2990 and their Web address is http://www.vitamindiscount.com.

Once again, chewable C should not be taken, it leaches the calcium right out of your teeth. C should not come into contact with teeth.

I would think that those of us who already have eczema would not be able to benefit from the vaccine. Doesn't the term vaccine imply that it is a preventive measure for those who want to avoid getting it? If someone already has polio, a polio vaccine won't help them. If this vaccine is different, please enlighten me.

PUVA did not work very well for me. I would suggest that you first try UV-B treatments (no pills) first to see if that helps you. In my case, after the treatments, preferably 2 days in a row, I itch a lot but my eczema gets better much of the time. Also, if you decide to try PUVA later on, you don't have to ingest the pills. You can add them to a bath and have them affect your sensitivity to UV-A that way. You still remain sensitive but it is much more pleasant. You should get the treatment approximately 1/2 hr. after the bath for most effective results. Most of these things are at least worth a try in case they work for you. There is nothing more pleasant than a period of "remission" so why not give it a try?

When I was a child and tested I was allergic to everything as well. In my opinion, I was really allergic to things that caused more immediate reactions such as peanuts, chocolate, etc., and especially allergic when my skin was in a bad state. In other words for me, the allergies (except the primary ones) were not real factors in my everyday life. I would suggest that you let your childs input be your primary guide.

Does your derm know that you are taking Prozac? If you do it, make sure that the amount of PUVA is set at a low dose for light-sensitive folks, otherwise you will literally get burned. I've heard from several people whose eczema was made worse by PUVA. There's no guarantee. And it may require continuous treatments. The people I know who've been helped by it have to keep getting treatments every week or it comes back.

Nummuler eczema... male age 29 ... diagnoised 2 years ago have been biopsied, cultured... steroids, creams, ointments and oatmeal baths still have it it still itches... it drives me nuts currently using zone A directly to the skin and taking an antidepressent for the itch and nerve control.

Well today is probaly one of the worst days in my 24 month sons excema and as you all write it is so devastating to watch him scratch away and cry and try be so pleasant.We are seeing a homeopath at the moment who tells me I must stick it out and she will help.I am at a loss as to what to do, to stay with her or to put the cortisone on. I feel like I cant take his suffering anymore it breaks my heart .I keep hoping for some miracle to happen but it doesn't.

My peaditrician wants to put him on a pill called ZANTEC or ZANTEN (I'm not sure which one), he says he has had excellent results with it the only side effect being the kid can put on to much weight.Does any one know anything about it and whether it works or not.

Anjum, you were asking about parve goods, we use parve goods all the time and they are strictly NON DAIRY as in our religion we CANNOT have milk after meat and that is when we use parve goods.

To all those who gave me info about the fact that parve means no dairy at all, thanks for clearing that up, however, I do know that the chocolates I got from Chocolate Emporium (specializing in kosher chocolates, they are on the internet) contain milk b/c I got a bad rash on my face because of it. I ate absolutely nothing else at the time either. It's too bad because I thought the chocolates were pretty damn good for not having any milk in them. Anyway after this experience I for one do not trust the kosher parve label as being 100% dairy free. My father told me of another incident where his friend who is a strict vegetarian used to get cakes from a kosher bakery where he was told there was no eggs. My father was thrilled since I have a severe egg allergy. When he told the baker this he said that they have to put in a little egg white otherwise the cake won't turn out well. He could not lie to my father as he did to his friend since allergic reactions are good proof that the product contains that food. The bottom line is that you really can't trust any label unless it says it's safe for allergic individuals.

As a first-time parent with no "E" experience I ran to my daughter's doc several times during her first two years with her poor little body erupting only to be told "oh yes, that's eczema. Yes, it is just classic eczema, she'll probably grow out of it by the time she's 2" (she hasn't) "No, I won't refer her to a derm or allergy specialist... it is just eczema." 

As I was reading the most recent postings, various members' frustration with the medical community sparked a memory. About 10 years ago (before child) we had a puppy that was very itchy. Scratched himself raw. Kept us awake at night scratching. When I took him to the vet to have him neutered, I mentioned it. The vet suspected food allergies and strongly suggested we have an allergy test. Seemed a little crazy at the time, but he did some kind of test (think it was a blood test) and about a week later the results came back: severe allergies to eggs and wheat, moderate allergies to corn, beef and many trees. A relatively simple change in diet solved his itching problem... The point of this story: Why in the !#$&#@! (heck) do we have to push so hard for necessary, appropriate health procedures for ourselves and our children when these techniques are rountinely used for dogs? Thank you... I feel better now!

So, now I am inspired to forge ahead on my own with allergy testing for my daughter, despite no referral. (Maybe I'll also take my daughter to the vet... He was a really good doctor and I trusted him more than our current docs. <g>)

I have discovered a lot of the things that cause my eczema, mainly yeast, dairy, tomatoes plus a few others. These three are the most difficult to avoid, especially when eating out. I am happy (well not happy, but its manageable!) to follow a diet avoiding these things at home, but I am getting married in about a month and we have booked an idyllic honeymoon - 17th century hotel, 4-poster bed etc, with of course a lovely restaurant in the hotel.

Do I contact the hotel, the wedding caterers etc and give a long list of foods to avoid, risk antagonizing everyone and potentially spoiling my much longed for break.

Or do I just enjoy myself, eat drink and be merry - taking a tube of steroid cream with me to treat the skin when it inevitably becomes steak-red and itches, oozes, flakes etc.

The steroids clear it all up pretty well, but because my eczema is on my face it is really bad for me - as soon as I stop using steroids the skin oozes for hours and it'll take a couple of weeks to recover, getting even worse before it gets better. That would be the pay-back for the fun.

I'm inclined to GO FOR IT. Has anyone any similar experience or comments? - I know that a lot of you are used to making these decisions and are a lot better informed than my friends and family!!

When I got married, since it was the most important day of my life I got on prednisone for 12 days. Yes I realize that it can be dangerous, but I feel it was worth it. We now have pictures of the big day and the honeymoon where my skin looks wonderful. Of course, that's not exactly true to life, : (. But anyway, that way you wouldn't have to worry about the effect of one night's dinner. Congratulations and good luck!

Personally, I'd contact the hotel, the caterers and anybody else that would be dealing with any food you were coming in contact with and tell them EXACTLY what you cannot have. I think you will find that they are quite willing to work around such limitiations, especially if you tell them you are ALLERGIC to these substances and cannot eat them.

I would do this because, personally, I would find the eczema breakout that would result from eating these things would go a lot further toward "potentially spoiling my much longed for break" than a couple of 5-minute phonecalls would! :)

But then, speaking as one who eats a very strict vegetarian diet for non-eczema related reasons, I have absolutely no qualms about talking to hotels, caterers, etc. and making a royal pain of myself in order to be certain that my husband and I don't spend the rest of the evening regretting ever having attended whatever the catered event was. And I do this whether the event is one I am hosting or somebody else is hosting. Even total strangers. So far, I have not found one person who has found this to be "antagonizing". In fact, a couple of years ago when the caterer's cook decided the plain rice needed chicken broth in it and the plain veggies needed to be buttered, the caterer was absolutely aghast, and personally went into the kitchen to scrounge together anything he could find that we could eat. And for the next evening's affair, he personally supervised the cook's preparation of our food, to be certain there was no repeat of the previous night's fiasco!

So my strong suggestion would be to pick up the phone and call. In fact, you might find that the cook(s) in question will take this as a personal creativity challenge! :)

I know that corn can be used to make vitamin C. Our public radio station is supported by a large Ag firm. Their short ad on days the station is begging for money says "supplier of Vitamin C and Xantan Gum, products made from corn" I don't think that is the exact quote but it is close. I tried orange juice with extra Calcium and Vitamin C for my son and he seemed to get a little worse. But of course I can't swear if it is the Vitamin C or the citrus. So back we go to phase one. We have been eating a lot to tomatoes (canned products) and most all have citric acid but he has been doing pretty good.

Robin, I think the GI suggestion is really good. My son is looking lots better but that was my next step. You really sound like me about 6 months ago, I was at my end and felt so guilty that I could not "fix" things. I thought if I just worked harder to find all the info I could I could make like easier for me, my son, and my husband. Our problem with testing was the opposite of yours my son showed negative to all skin tests except cats and in the Dr. (and my insurance company) decided there was no reason for RAST tests. I did not have real good luck with baking soda bath but vinegar has seemed to show real positive results. I think two on this list, both Ruthy and Jolie have had real good results and went in to very different paths. I would suggest you read the back info on both of these and if one feels good in your gut. Then shoot down that path for awhile. Remember you have a lot of people here on this list that are sharing the same trials.

I had PUVA, 4 times a week for months. I didn't like it for a couple of reasons: 1) I got burned really badly in it once due to a mistake from the person setting the timer. I could smell my flesh burning. I ended up getting a steroid shot to counteract the burn. 2) I was building up my tolerance for months, doing ok, devoting my life to being in the office for a bath (you can take a bath instead of pills) for 1/2 hr before the treatment, the treatment and a shower afterward 4 times a week. What happened? I flared and all the benefit was gone.

Shelley, The theory is that eczema is caused by certain viruses. That's why eczema people have ups and downs. The vaccine is believed to prevent eczema people from reacting to those viruses, which usually post no harm to non-eczema people. And because there are so many of these viruses, like cold viruses, you can always be helped by the vaccine if you react to them, since you are going to contract them one way or the other. And therefore, even if you have eczema, the vaccine can still be beneficial to you. Does that make any sense to you?

This theory doesn't make sense to me. Are you saying that one vaccine is supposed to protect us against many different viruses? This sounds suspect to me. Do you know what the vaccine is composed of? I am curious to know more about this. 

I don't have eczema, but my son does, and we just realized lately that if he doesn't eat corn, it is more under control.

We went away this weekend, and had to eat at restaurants, and other people's houses. Therefore, I didn't have a lot of control as to what was available for him to eat. Given that he is 1 1/2, he can't and won't eat everything! So, I tried to eliminate, as much as possible, any corn or rice (we think he can't have rice, either). It's very hard to take corn out of a diet, because almost every processed or prepared food has corn, cornstarch, cornmeal, or other derivatives in it. But, I did bring the steroid cream with me, because I knew corn would sneak into his diet. Just applying it once a day made a difference. Once we got home, we easily restricted his diet again. It was just too difficult with the situation.

Now, my son's eczema is not super severe. But why don't you ask for a special meal for your wedding (let the rest of your guests eat whatever; you're spending enough money and you are the bride, so they should at least make you a special meal.) And while you can, contact the hotel, and tell them your restrictions and see if they already have meals that are ok for you. And have the cream JUST IN CASE! Don't spoil your honeymoon. Just try and control your allergen exposures asap.

I received some bad news last Saturday and all week I have done everything that I can to cause my eczema to erupt.This was not a conscious effort but I just didn't care what I did to myself i.e eating and drinking the wrong things and generally not looking after myself.

Has anybody else punished themselves by causing their eczema to get worse? It is not a cry for attention as I have friends who will listen to me and take time out for me when I need a shoulder to lean on. I also certainly hope it doesn't come across as self pity.

If I get upset about anything I seem to attack myself. I FEEL I AM GOING MAD. How can any sane person want to mutilate themselves?

I have never taken antidepressants but I think I do need them at this moment in time. Can anyone suggest a non-addictive drug that has been specifically succesful for people who get depressed because of their eczema?

I become very defensive when people mention anything about my skin. Even if they say I look better when I know I am burning up inside. My regime does work but I have to want to do it. At the moment it has completely gone out of the window and I have done completely the opposite.

It seems that after I have damaged myself I feel better and that scares me. Is this a form of guilt?

I really am not looking for people to reply by feeling sorry for me or telling me to pull myself together. However I would like to hear from anyone who has gone thru this experience or who can suggest a reliable drug to help me thru this time.

Knowing there are people out there who understand how depression can destroy all the good work is a big help.

I do feel a little better for writing this and maybe this group is a safety valve.

This vaccine almost sounds too good to be true, I am also unclear as to how exactly it works, plus I am leery of any new drug that alleges not to have *any* side effects. Is this on its way to FDA approval in the U.S.? Or is it still in an earlier stage of development?

I wondered if others had flareups due to heat and sweating. I have almost cleared up my areas of eczema, but if I spend too much time outside, I am back where I started. I thought summer was supposed to be good for dry skin. Unfortunately, it is kind of hard to escape summer heat. Anyway- this is new to me- just curious how the heat affects others.

Parve really is dairy-free. To observant Jews this is IMPORTANT, and sneaking dairy into anything labelled parve is even more unthinkable than selling pork saying it's beef, as the whole labelling system is carried out under rabbinic control... 

Also, you wrote: >>allergic reactions are good proof that the product contains that food<<

NO -- they're good proof that the product contains something you're allergic to... obviously, in your case, there's more than dairy!

I don't think I am qualified to get into this particular discussion in detail with authoritative supporting material. I will try to bring out a point or two, and perhaps others can expand upon them.

Here goes. No. I don't think we want our eczema. But some see their condition as giving them opportunities to take advantage of others. They use their condition to gain advantages they would not otherwise easily have. So no, we don't want our eczema but some may find the condition useful. Some may want the advantages they gain from the condition. This can happen very early in life and become a habit carried throughout life.

Why do some do not readily accept treatments or remedies? The eczema may become so much a part of their life that they cannot see themselves without it. It would be like changing into a new person, which would be a new life to deal with. For some this can be scary. What percentage of us? Probably a very small percentage. I have no idea.

Gretchen, you ask "... if that translates into a problem with airborne corn as well? ... "

I think it translates into a problem called: "Get the hell out of here as fast as possible or suffer the consequences. Your health is at stake. Stay there and your body will deteriorate. Get joy out of life. Stop the suffering."

Here's a great book:

Atopic Skin Disease [A Manual for Practitioners]
Christopher Bridgett, Peter Norén and Richard Staughton
Wrightson Biomedical Publishing Ltd, Petersfield UK and Bristol, PA, USA

Two of the authors work at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London (UK), the third in Uppsala, Sweden; together, they have been working since 1989 on what they call the Combined Approach which "can radically improvethe quality of life of the majority of patients with long-term atopic skin disease".

Hey, it's as if they've listened in on our list! They KNOW about their patients, it's almost uncanny. I keep wanting to quote and quote but there would be no end to my quoting... So you will all just have to BUY THE BOOK.

The Combined Approach consists, *very* basically, of emollients, topical steroids SO THAT THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT RISK OF SIDE EFFECTS, and habit reversal techniques to help us stop scratching, picking, rubbing etc... Here's the idea:

There is a vicious circle of dryness, eczema, itching and scratching. If it were left alone, the eczema and thus itch could be zapped quickly using appropriately strong topical steroids and lots of emollients; however, all the skin manipulation (scratching etc.) does not allow for healing. Hence the chronicicity. [Research using "scratching machines" has shown that healthy skin can be made eczematous.] 

To address the dryness: apply the emollient of choice frequently, thinly, quickly, gently and without fuss - don't dwell on the application. Apply *before* the skin gets dry! Have small containers of emollient at hand wherever you go. 

To address the eczema/itch: twice a day apply strong enough topical steroids for a long enough time to get well beyond the "look good point" (so that the hidden part of the eczema may be healed as well, not just the visible part). Again: quickly and without fuss. 

To address the scratching, rubbing, picking, touching, there's a programme that teaches and helps and supports (if I summarised it here vital points of consideration would be left out). 

The book describes how this program is carried out at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. Here's a quote: "It is particularly relevant to take into account that some patients with long-term atopic skin disease have tried many different treatments in the past, and have been very disappointed with the results. The patient can be advised that more time will be spent in consultations than they are used to, and attention will be especially paid to what happens between consultations."

And: "'Living with Atopy' is certainly unavoidable, but 'Living with Eczema' is certainly not!"

I would implore you all to get the book; or, if you're near London, get yourself a referral to the Daniel Turner Department of Dermatology at the Chelsea & Westminster!

The book is intended, as the subtitle states, for practitioners; but it is very well laid out and extremely accessible and useful for us patiens as well. Even the patients' handbook is included in an Appendix. Remember, this is a *programme*, and cannot possibly be summarised in one mail message. You'll need the whole book. It is available from http://www.bookshop.co.uk at GBP 29.50 plus p&p. They ship worldwide (credit card order).

Every time I try a new eye shadow on my upper lids or a new cream under my eyes for wrinkles, it gets all red, dry, and ugly under my eyes or on my upper lids.. Nothing seems to help except topical cortisone ointments. I also tried the mink oil. This did not help either. Even used the Sativa cream. It still looks dark and ugly this morning.I can take the itch because it's not too bad. Any women out there have similar problems? 

Hi Steve, I was diagnosed with major depression a year ago, and have been taking Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride) since then; I'm decreasing the dosage these days, in anticipation of being off it completely. The symptoms of depression (this is just FYI) are: change in sleeping patterns (waking early, insomnia, difficulty staying asleep, feeling overtired and unwilling to get out of bed), change in eating patterns (too much or too little), irritability, sudden anger, nonspecific sadness or tearfulness, excessive worry or fearfulness. For me, this also included being very hard on myself ;-) Now, we all know that it's really difficult to stick to an eczema treatment regimen; I admit that I readily "fall off the wagon" because it takes so much time, I'm so itchy, other people don't have to deal with this so why should I, etc.

However, I try to tell myself, "well, you scratched last night and needed to use the steroids, but tomorrow is another day to try again." I had a really difficult time accepting this when I was depressed, though. If you worry about the way you're treating yourself and your eczema, then do make an appt. with a sympathetic social worker or psychiatrist; they can evaluate you for depression and talk with you about general life stresses (as well as the stress of living with eczema).

I find that my eczema is 100% under control if I use stereoid creams on a regular basis. However, I choose not to do that and only do it as a last resort when nothing else is working and I'm in too much agony to care about the health risks--it'll usually calm my skin down enough after 2 days that I can handle it with other, more natural stuff. When I get married I have absolutely NO intention of having any eczema photos. If I have to bathe my forearms in diprolene for a week beforehand, that's what I'm going to do.

I too have to be careful not to stay out too long in the sun. I have had to change my routine cuz of my eczema. I have to exercise early in the am or late in afternoon when the sun has gone down to avoid overheating. Since my eczema took a turn for the worse over 3 years ago I have try to avoid going out in the sun/getting overheated. I have learned to adapt. It's not easy but better than the alternative (terrible eczema).

I can't use any eyeshadow or undereye treatments. The only eye make-up I use is either Almay or Clinique eye liner and mascara. To remove, I use Purpose cleanser. Anything else, and it gets all red, itchy and swollen. Very attractive. : )

As a mother of six children who undoubtedly have some genetic aging and flaws in their makeup since all of them are immune compromised in some way, I spent years prior to the Internet poring through the Index Medicus doing research attempting to be pro-active regarding my children's illnesses. It really paid off. I thank God for the Internet. You guys save me HOURS of time and driving.

Janice is absolutely right about the total absurdity of medical practitioners in general discounting the observations of caring parents. Perhaps the demands of pediatrics as a broad-spectrum speciality is such that they can not stay on top of a single issue like eczema. At any rate, I would like to see physicians regard parents with the respect they deserve when it comes to the amount of dialogue and research we are conducting in an attempt to help our children.

I would advise you that using the steroids, especially around your eyes is REALLY BAD for you and will probably CAUSE WRINKLES due to skin atrophy. So it has got to be better to avoid the wrinkle creams that irritate.

I know its frustrating, I have all sorts of eye gel samples and other tantalising cosmetics, but I know I'm just not like everyone else and must not use them. Try using a little jojoba oil about 0.5 cm all around your eyes as an anti-wrinkle treatment.

But with the makeup find something you can use and stick with it, Almay and Clinique are a good idea.

When I was growing up mink oil is what we would use to waterproof our leather boots and shoes. It discolors the leather, but is a great waterproof. The discoloration was to make it a bit darker, but the discoloration was even. Seems to me the oil was creamy at room temperature but when heated by body temperature became a liquid.

At the time I know I would get it on my hands with no ill effects. I never put it on areas with eczema then. That waterproofing effect may be the element that makes mink oil good for eczema.

I'm still having this rubbery skin problem. I look a little sunburned, and when I wake in the morning I'm peeling all over. Before I go to sleep, I start to get peel; I've been taking baking soda baths, then rinsing from warm to cold water. My skin is on fire, when I itch I immediately begin to ooze. And to top it off, my glands are VERY swollen. In the pelvic region, they stick out like little balls. In my breast area and upper legs, the glands are also inflated. When I exercise I am constantly drinking water, when I leave the house I alwaysbring lotion and an aquaphor tube. The only thing going for me right now is the fact that I'm not completely depressed and I'm leaving on Wednesday for a long vacation in the sun and salt water.

I can't think of any major changes in diet. I've all but cut out alcohol from my life. I avoid eating chocolate and eggs. And have a small cup of joe in the morning. Stress is part of who I am, and I'm still learning to cope. The increase of Zoloft has improved my spirits and motivation. I'm really frustrated here. What could be the cause of the total dehydration of my poor wrinkly skin? It's getting me totally worked up and neurotic which is of course, terrible for the eczema. I feel ugly, like my hair looks thin, fat, gross, loserly, etc. I wouldn't care if I was an average dweeb without eczema. Any suggestions as to what this could be? Someone said contact dermatitis. Does that mean I'm having a specific allergic reaction? What is the proper course of action for that? Any clues would be greatly appreciated. If I'd won the lottery, I'da offered a reward. As this is not the case, I can only offer my thanks. Hell, I'll build a shrine for the person who sheds light on my enigma.

Rachel, sorry to hear about your plight. I hope the sun and the salt water do you some good. Have you tried the evaporation method, outlined best in Christine's home page? If you believe you have contact dermatitis their is a very good site called the Social Hygiene Handbood for Eczema, or something similar to that, which talks about common contact allergens and where the rash would show up depending on the allergen. You can find that at Christine's homepage as well. 

If not it's too late now since you won't get it in time but there should be some other antifungal out there you could use. Maybe Lotrimin? I have also heard that colloidal silver works great as an antifungal so perhaps you could try that too. You could find that at the local health food store. That is all I can think of but it's great that you're drinking a lot of water. I think more of us should try that for our dry skins. Please don't let your skin prevent you from enjoying yourself on your enviable trip.

Interesting. I just had a talk with one of the marketers of a organic automotive lubricant that he says clears eczema and psoriasis as well and he speculated that the product works by putting a film of hydrogen on the surface of the skin so that oxygen cannot get through and thus the aerobic fungi and microbes are starved and die. Gayle, could this be similar to the waterproofing effect you say mink oil has?

Though it seemed I had great results with a variety of squash I tried alas I have not had the same results since. However, I am not completely sure I used the same variety since similar looking squashes go by different names and I'm not sure how to tell the difference between the two if there is indeed a difference at all. The only way to be sure is to go over to my cousin's house which I will tomorrow and pray to God they haven't eaten the squash I tried by now. If I have luck with it I will provide more details. I hope it was not just a coincidence/fluke when it seemed to help me the first time.

Ruthy mentioned that her naturopathic physician used kinesiology to diagnose a dust mite allergy. How do you go about doing that? Do you just hold a bunch of dust in your hand? Curious because I would love to try this as I suspect it for myself. Also, for food allergies, do you have to hold the raw food in your hand or can it be in a container, wrapper? Does the allergen you are testing actually have to touch your hand in order for it to work?

Steve, I have been told that antidepressents often work great for skin disorders and like Heather would definitely suggest you see a psychiatrist. They could give you professional insight on your seemingly self-destructive behavior and advise you on what medications would be appropriate at alleviating eczema induced depression. Maybe your dermatologist could also help you here as well. Perhaps they know of particular anti-depressants that are helpful for those with skin problems? But that would be in an ideal world in which they would also be of some moral support in us coping with this and many of course are not. 

Dr. Weil, I hope all of you know him by know b/c he seems to be everywhere nowadays, says that St. Johns Wort has been used in Germany a lot to treat depression. For those interested in alternative medicine definitely check out his website. He also offers some tips on eczema and recommends meditation and breathing exercises to combat the stress involved in our condition.

The bad news that you got which made you go into a dietary slump and neglect yourself is an understandable and perhaps natural component of depression and grief. I have neglected my health and overall well-being on a few occasions in my life due to depression and grief, sometimes related to my skin and sometimes not. I don't think depressed people tend to take good care of themselves as it is.

I guess I would also have to say that neglecting oneself is in a different ballpark than harming oneself on purpose. If you fall into the latter category and are eating things that you know will make your skin bad because YOU WANT IT TO GET BAD than you definitely need professional help. I guess the key thing is wanting it to get worse and not caring if it does. I believe though that like most people have done you probably just neglected your skin in your depressed mental state and didn't care about the consequences at the time and if so this is not really behavior to worry about because we all do it to some extent or another sometimes. Our willpower to avoid things which we know are harmful to us is weaker when we are down in the dumps. People who are trying to lose weight for example do it all the time. When they get the blues they'll go pig out on Haagen Dasz Ice cream though they know it's counterproductive. Someone who is trying to quit smoking will do great until he gets totally stressed one day and just needs that one smoke. It's common to fall off the wagon every once in a while.

You're right, it could be a form of guilt. I don't think damaging oneself and finding relief in it is normal for depressed people. It's sort of sadistic or m--, I forget which one means which, you all know what I mean though right? I cannot imagine anyone feeling better after they have made their skin worse. I have never ever felt better after my neglect has shot my skin back to hell. I read a snippet from Dr. Grossbart's webpage where he says that people with skin diseases often erroneously believe that they are being punished for something they have done. Please read that as I think it will help you a lot. You can access it through the link page on the eczema mailing list home page. Also, do you tend to blame yourself a lot for things that go wrong in your life? If so, then punishing yourself may be your way of finding resolution in your life. Perhaps it helps alleviate the burden you feel on your consious somehow. Also, religions, well, at least mine, teach us that suffering is an expiation for sin and exalts our ranks in the hereafter or lessens our misery you know where so perhaps this mentality is deeply engrained in the religious psyche?

Once again, I think only a medical doctor who can listen to your problems thoroughly will know if medications are necessary for you, i.e. a psychiatrist. I don't know if derms. or interns are qualified enough for this, though many prescribe antidepressants and you may be able to get it from them if you think finding a good shrink is a big hassle or too expensive. I went and saw a shrink at my mother's request and she was not pill-and-Freud happy like I feared initially and was great to talk to about the hassles of my life.

Hi Heather, The symptoms you suffered are identical to what I am going thru. I was up at 5.30am this morning even though I didn't get to sleep until 2am. I can also eat very little, if at all, when I am depressed.

I do not have the destructive tendencies anymore. It seems I have done myself enough damage. I am still down and very lethargic. This is normal for me when my skin is bad.

I know I need to do something, though before I see anyone I would like to try if I can go on a short course of drugs to get me out of this rut. I am wary of psychiatrists and drugs. I feel that it is the start of the slippery slope and I am also concerned how I would react if they didn't work.

The sunburnt eczema look is cause from a contact allergen, pay attention to what you are putting topically on your skin. Consider your lotion and aquaphor as possible allergens.

Stop using your topicals and patch test them to locate the culprit. This includes cleansers not just moisturizers.

This is in answer to Rachel's posting about her oozies and rubberies. I don't have that specifically, but one thing I have had is a worsening of my eczema and other itchies and scalp itching in reaction to Zoloft, and later Prozac. The psychopharmacologists are quite ignorant about skin reactions. There is one type of rash that you can get from them that indicates that you are highly allergic, and should come off of the medication, but it is not like what we eczema sufferers get. They will tell you that it doesn't have to do with the medication. 

What I figured out was that the side effect of excessive sweating (from the Zoloft and then the Prozac), was causing the eczema and other skin problems. The sweat itself seems to cause the irritation. I also just discovered that where my sunglasses touch my face on my cheeks is also very irritated with eczema or something, and it also is from the excessive sweat (from the med.) that is caused just by the sunglasses touching my face. I don't get this when I wear them in cool weather and am not sweating as much. I've always had eczema since I was a child, but not like this, and not with this amount of itching. It corresponds directly with the SSRI class of antidepressants for me. 

I thought I would post this since Rachel is also taking Zoloft and cannot figure out what might be triggering her worsening eczema symptoms. By the way, when I went off the Zoloft, it did not go away entirely, but it did not get worse, and the itching decreased. I also know of a few others who have had very severe itching from Zoloft. I know of many who have had the amazing sweating from SSRI's (Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil). I am trying a new psychopharmacologist, and might request a trial of serzone, a newer antidepressant that might not have the same effect.

For those people who have severe eczema and especially on your face, how do your spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends deal with it? Also, has anyone had a breakup of a relationship that had a lot to do with their eczema? How do the married women out there deal with people like mother-in-laws who are constantly trying to see if you're good enough for their son? Does anyone have ignorant or mannerless in-laws who are always peering at your face like you're a leper? Also, has anyone who is married ever had their spouses be afraid to have kids with them b/c they didn't want them to get eczema? I am curious because this is rarely discussed on our list and I've had problems with all of these things and want to know how to better avoid it in the future.

David: I read your message re: your son'es eczema and felt how desperate you must be. My husband and I are in what appears to be a similar situation to you: we are trying to wean our 7 1/2 month onld from the steriod creams we have been using daily since March. We actually stopped completely on June 10 and have watched him in the past two days become covered with eczema, hives, pus-like sores, scalp eczema. It is devastating to watch. Now I am worried.

We are planning to see a MD/Homeopath in about one month's time. In a conversation I had with this doc, he told us that he cannot prescribe a remedy until our son has been steroid free for one month. We are continuing to use antihistamines (Zertec) but I am worried about infection. All we use now is a homeopathic salve made in Williamstown Mass called "Ezcema skin salve" which is pleasant to smell, filled with herbs assocaited with healing/soothing the rash, and which we do not think is an irritant (no perfumes). We think this could be what we have heard about as a "Rebound" effect. Does anyone recognize this as a possible cause of his severe outbreak. I even went 6 days without breastfeeding our son, giving him nothing but his super hypoallergenic amino acid formula, Neocate. Now I think that perhaps my breastmilk, which I believe I purified by not eating any of Isaac's allegery foods, is okay to feed him.

I'd be interested to hear what your homeopathist has told you or if anyone else has had positive result with a homeopath. Does the skin continue to worsen or is there some "rebound period?" What about infection? I hate to go back on oral antibiotics because they have produced rashes in Isaac's ezcema. Like you, this has been one if the worst days for us: Isaac is miserable and I need to know that we aren't being foolish thinking we can safely take him off the steroid creams. Of course we are worried about skin thinning, growth, his rubbing into his eyes everyday. Be has very severe eczema and perhaps we have no other alternative. Anyone have any ideas. I do not know about Zanten. Is it an Antihistamine, a sedative, antibiotic? Let us know more.

If your glands are all swollen, I believe that means your body is fighting a serious infection. Sounds like you should see a doctor... 

Can anyone explain the connection between eczema and fungus? Is all eczema caused by fungus or just some? I have a bad case of eczema on my face now because of accidentally getting milk in my diet.

Re your e-mail regarding parve items and the baker who supposedly lied. All US kosher labels need to adhere to FDA regulations. Thus it is unlikely someone would deliberately lie on a label. I agree with Brigit that there is a possibility that you are allergic to something other than dairy products.

All this is beside the point. Let us give all people in this world the benefit of doubt and assume their intentions are good. I am certain this eczema list is to HELP all eczema sufferers and NOT a list to bad mouth certain groups or individuals.

I've been seeing the same guy for the last four years and he is very understanding about my eczema. When we started seeing each other I had awful eczema all over my scalp, scaly, oozing, you name it. I remember showing it to him almost right away, because I it was so bad I had to comb my hair very often to remove the scales, and there was just no hiding it. Since then, my eczema has been all over my body in varying degrees of severity, and he has always been there for me. When it's been really bad, he's taken me to the hospital, got my prescriptions for me, helped me apply stuff in hard to reach places. I remember a time it was so bad, I couldn't open my eyes, they were all scaly and oozing, and he walked me to the hospital in bitter cold weather. I feel extremely lucky to have found someone who is so caring and unbothered by society's pressures to date completely unrealistic stick thin models with flawless skin. If for some reason this relationaship doesn't work out, I will not settle for any less from the next guy, having known how much easier life can be with a supportive partner.

I can't help having it, and do my best to live with it. It is, unfortunately, I think, a rather large force in my life. For example, all my hobbies are indoors and do not involve sweat, sun or heat, although I have a lot of energy and would love to be outside running around. It's a part of who we are, and if your significant other can't accept that, the fault is theirs and not yours, and you deserve better.

My boyfriend's parents are adamantly against our relationship and the fact that we're living together. They sometimes use my eczema as an excuse, with remarks like "are you sure you want to marry someone with so many allergies?" However, I think this is more because they are looking for any excuse, rather than picking on my eczema specifically.

I talked to someone who is knowledgeable about altrenative medicines and they said that calendula ointment and never tincture should be tried on eczema, but he says that it should be from Germany. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get calendula ointment from Germany?

>>Can anyone explain the connection between eczema and fungus? Is all eczema caused by fungus or just some? <<

The connection between fungus and eczema is (still?) highly hypothetical. Most eczema, it seems, is not at all influenced by antifungals. (Mine sure isn't, alas) The dermatological world says atopic dermatitis (read: eczema) is as the word implies an atopy -- a genetically inherited tendency which may or may not come out in any given individual.

I was, years ago, prescribed a 20% silicone cream that was supposed to work as an "invisible glove", sealing off the skin from nasties that are out there. My doctor *insisted* that it did not do anything medicinal; but I've always found it very helpful indeed. Could this perhaps be a similar, "nasties-starving" effect?

And in writing this, I remember reading that psoriasis spots are found to often clear up when they're simply covered with adhesive tape... 

Steroid cremes/ointments have little or no impact on my eczema. I speculate that long use lessens the effect.

60 degrees (F) is way too cold! Just warm enough to be comfortable. And don't rinse. The water is refreshing with the baking soda. I bathe my son either daily or everyother day in it, only using soap on his underbody, and using soap all over weekly.

I believe the baking soday is good for the skin because of the pH balance it provides for the skin. But I am not a doctor, so I am not sure how it works!

I would like to mention that, when my eczema is acting up badly, I often have enlarged lymph nodes near the site where the skin is most irritated, but they generally subside on their own when the skin gets better. (I used to fear I had tumors, until I realized what they were). If lots of them got seriously swollen, though, I would probably see a dr.

I am now confused. Christine presented a plausible argument that the skin needs to breathe and that we aggravate eczema by covering it with occlusive products. Perhaps both theories are right, and it all depends on what kind of eczema it is: if fungal, then starve it, else let it breathe (??). I'm just speculating; can anyone who understands these things please clarify the issue?

Brigit writes about the book "Atopic Skin Disease (A Manual For Practitioners)", which looks most interesting, and which I'll certainly buy. Just wanted to reinforce how valuable I've found belonging to the National Eczema Society in Britain (not sure if overseas membership available, but will check). New members receive a most useful information pack with a couple of books, and the quarterly magazine "Exchange" is excellent, with a mix of members' experiences, research reports, technical articles by leading dermatologists etc. Well worth joining.

I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me regarding "pareve". I recently had my husband purchase Fleischmann's margarine because I believed it contained no milk products based on the "pareve" symbol. However, I was disappointed to see that the ingredients listed whey. Am I mistaken, or doesn't whey have something to do with milk or dairy? Also, is there another type of that brand margarine that doesn't contain whey? I'm so confused. 

When your body is battling allergies your glands will be swollen.

I had to quit using tea tree oil due to my husband having ashmatic reactions to it. My all time stand-by is still Pau d'arco orally.

I can't use isopropyl alcohol but instead use ethyl alcohol diluted daily, I put it on anything that's starting to look red or doesn't want to heal.

A redness or sunburned look can be from food allergy, or inhalents such as mold, mildew, pollen, dust or from lotions. It is not necessarily from just one source. Discontinuing the use of all things put on the skin will quickly determine if one of them is the cause.

Regarding Fleischmann's margarine, I believe that only the "salt free" brand is free of milk products. This may be incorrect.

My 2 year old son gets very bad outbreaks with orange juice, tomato based products, and recently with strawberries. My wife and I are now on a mission to find information on the chemical composition of common food items. It would be great to find a book that has the chemical composition of orange juice, strawberries, tomatoes, and other items... 

If we can find the common chemical across the allergic-producing food then we have a hypothesis that we can test further with other foods.

I too suffer from overexposure to heat and sun. It's hard to avoid, plus I spend a lot of time outdoors when I'm not working. Sweating aggravates my eczema as well. Depending on what the condition of the eczema is overall, I can sometimes simply take a cool shower and that's all I need. I usually wear long sleeved light cotton shirts when I'm in the sun and plenty of sunscreen with a hat for my head. I have had periods of time where my eczema was so minimal that I didn't have to worry about sun. But, even when the eczema has been gone, my skin reacts with a rash to the sun now, probably from prolonged use of steroids.

I am wondering if any females on the list have had any experience with Vulvar Eczema? My dermatologist says she sees a lot of this type eczema. I never knew this could happen and never imagined it would happen to me. I have suffered since the premature, and quite traumatic, birth of my son. Right now I am treating it with a topical steroid ointment called Synalar.

My daughter's eczema/allergies/asthma has been severe since early infancy. Several physicians have told me that, because of this, there is a high probability that she will "outgrow" it by the time she is school-aged. They say that eczema which begins after age one is much less likely to be "outgrown" and more likely to be life-long. I am curious to know the experience of others here in this regard. Those of you who have eczema as adults, was the on-set after age one? For those of you whose children have eczema, did this onset/outgrow pattern exist for your children?

• Orange juice, strawberries, tomatoes, and similar foods are not recommended for people with eczema due to Citric Acid.
• I've had eczema from the beginning and trust me I didn't outgrow it.
• I use Parkay Squeeze margarine, it's dairy-free.

I developed eczema at 5 months of age after my mom started giving me cow's milk formula. It was not that severe though and after I was put on a soy formula it went away. I developed it again at 10 years of age and it has gotten progressively worse thru the years. My milk allergy surfaced again at this time. Prior to this I used to always eat cheese and drink milk, it was my favorite food and practically the only thing I wasn't finnicky about eating. I remember being in the first grade, age 7, and eating cheese and butter sandwiches everyday for lunch. Perhaps if I had strictly avoided milk in my early childhood though I was not apparently allergic to it anymore I would have like other kids outgrown my milk-induced eczema. However, I do know that my asthma became severe in early childhood so perhaps the allergy to milk was there all along and was aggravating my lungs instead of my skin. I don't know, can food allergies cause asthma? Seems I heard that somewhere.

I use dairy-free milk and butter and they are great in recipes, you can't tell the difference at all. But does anyone know of any dairy-free cheeses? I know people use tofu in place of cheese but I think it can only replace ricotta and not the goooey type cheeses that melt on pizza and stuff. That's the kind of cheese substitute I'm looking for, like something to make sandwiches more palatable. I can't eat mayo, I'm allergic to eggs.

I saw my psychiatrist/ psycho- pharmocologist today and described my symptoms; I wondered if the Zoloft was a possible culprit. She said anything was possible, but that to be on the safe side I should see an internist. I was able to see an internist this afternoon. He took blood, urine and checked me out thoroughly. I get the results back tomorrow. As many of you speculated, it seems most likely to be a severe allergic reaction. Not life threatening, but in need of diagnosis and treatment. Sulfur is presently a suspect. I'll let you folks know the gory details... 

I only get slight, occasional eczema on my face, but I do suffer from my most severe eczema on my forearms and hands, so it is visible. I was worried about what my fiance would think about it, but he understands very much because he suffers from severe and often disfiguring acne. Both of us have compassion, understanding, and support for the other regarding our skin conditions that cause each of us much emotional and physical grief. And fortunately, my/his family doesn't say anything about it (at least to our faces). But that may be because my brother suffers from *severe* psoriasis which is usually more of a topic of discussion and takes some of the heat off of me, so to speak. 

This is awful news. My son's eczema didn't start until he was about 17 months old although he had extremely dry skin from birth (could that have been eczema already) and his legs were nearly leathery. The eczema erupted suddenly in late spring last year. I have been hoping that his would disappear but this news is discouraging.

Lynn, you're not the only one who's confused!

But then, we don't *know*, do we? Both Christine's theory and our latest are just that: theories. PERSONALLY I've never seen much in Christine's "don't put anything on" approach -- if by not treating it my eczema would go away, then how come it appeared when I was obviously not treating it (because it wasn't there) to begin with?

*My* search is for a treatment to this disease, that I was born with.

My boyfriend and I have been trying several nonprescription methods of relieving my eczema including eucerin, oatmeal baths, and moisturizers. Since most creams have made the eczema worse, my boyfriend has concluded that the lanolin is aggravating my skin. 

Also, I've found that cool milk/water baths have helped relieve the itching and burning. After my morning shower (which always make my eczema flare up), my boyfriend would draw a cool water bath, and then add about a quarter of a gallon of milk in the bath. We have automatically assumed that whole milk would work the best, but 2% doesn't seem any different... 

My son has severe eczema, he is allergic to milk but not butter. My daughter is also allergic to milk products, but not butter. Apparently this is not uncommon according to my doctor. Are you sure you cannot tolerate butter? Margarine is so difficult for the body to digest and get rid of.

If one is allergic to milk protein, it matters not a whit whether one has milk OR butter, BOTH will cause a severe allergic reaction, as will anything else containing milk protein: cheese, cream, ice cream, yogurt, and ANYTHING which happens to contain whey and/or casein/ caseinate.

Swollen Gland - I think swollen gland can also be a sign of allergic reaction. I first felt a small lump around Jodi's neck gland when she was a month old breaking out with eczema all over her face, ear and scalp. The pediatrician said her gland was swollen because of her skin infection. When her eczema spread to her hands and legs, there were altogether about 5 or 6 lumps on the same gland. But ever since I have taken her off all forms of dairy and cooked from scratch, all the lumps, except for a very small one I have to look very hard for, disappeared. Her gland has never been swollen again, not even when she had that very bad episode of herpes/viral attack again.

Baking soda & Tea Tree Oil - I have added baking soda in her bath time regimen for the past 4 days and I have seen good results as she does seem to sleep better after her bath. We don't rinse her off either. I also put about 4 drops of tea tree oil in her bath water to kill germs. (Of all the tea tree oils I tried, I especially like the Thursday Plantation's.) She is 15 months old now but I have stopped using soap on her since she was a month old. I only shampoo her hair. Since her skin is always covered with light cotton clothes, mittens and socks she is never really dirty. It took me a while to give the baking soda a go as she developed full body rash after we had bathed her in Aveeno oatmeal bath. I almost couldn't believe it when the cashier rang up that whole box of baking soda to be just 59 cents. 

This eczema business is tough as everyone is different. I'm really pleasantly surprised to find something so simple and inexpensive yet so good in managing her eczema.

I looked into the Archives in December, and I have to admit, what I read there made me pretty depressed. I was still enjoying the wonderful effects my first steroid injection - quite a happy dream, and I hated the thought that it would come to an end. Well, I'm back to reality now, and itchy-scratchy has driven me to find help - so I went back to the archives, and now, insead of finding it depressing, I see a group of very strong, supportive people. Just knowing that there are so many people out there who are struggling with eczema and its emotional impact is very comforting.

I think I can be of some help to others as well. When it comes to treatment, I can say "seen it, been there, done that" to many, many things. As a child I had mild eczema on my arms and behind my knees. As a teen, beginning at 14, the eczema spread all over my body - especially on my face and neck. Not fun for a teenager. I'm still battling facial and neck eczema. Through all of this, I've tried all types of allergy tests, allergy shots, cortisome treatment, aveeno baths, mosturizers, and then I went to a Naturopath. 

One day I'll tell you my experiences with that. Let me give you a hint though... I spent 3-4 years on a diet consisting of rice, lentils, pears, bananas, turkey, carrot juice and vitamins galore. Presently, I use antihistamines on and off, sometimes I use elocom, Eucerin creme is my lifesaver, and I have found that a good hour in the sun is helpful. (knock on wood!).

Anjum, I have found that hummus makes a good sandwich spread, I prefer the kind with roasted red peppers in it. You could also try oil and vinegar or mustard as alternatives.

The margarine I use is plain, cheap dairy-free soya margarine, available at all supermarkets, quite tasty - more flavour than those veg margarines sold in the health-food shops (eg Granose).

My worst eczema is around my mouth, often the colour of raw steak and the texture of sandpaper. My partner is lovely about it. He says it makes no difference how I look, it is the person inside he loves, even though we sometimes can't kiss for weeks on end.

I am a lot less calm about it.

He has been very supportive on my elimination diet, giving up many things too, not complaining about sometimes bland dinners, and indulging in goodies that are forbidden to me only when he is out!

I'm here to report the result of my blood and urine test. Everything is normal. At the suggestion of both the internist and shrink, I am going to taper my use of Zoloft to see what happens. 

Anyway, I saw my dermatologist today. And I can't even begin to describe how traumatic it was. She started lecturing me about how she can't believe that I don't have health insurance, how irresponsible I am, how I'm the worst she's ever seen me, by paying her late I put her in an awkward position and I've isolated myself because of it. She yelled at me for using chinese herbs without knowing all the active ingredients, that it was stupid and irresponsible of me. I told her that I hadn't been using cortisones because it no longer seemed to be effective. She bitched at me for that. She again told me that because I couldn't afford insurance (which is minimum of 230.00 a month), I was irresponsible because if I need to be hospitalized I wouldn't be able to afford it, and frankly my home town wasn't a nice place to stay. 

I finally burst into tears and said that I really didn't need a lecture and that I didn't think the problem at hand was a question of my character. She told me it was clear from my records that I always waited to see her when I was at my worst. (And I thought to myself, why the hell would I pay her $85 to tell that nothing is wrong with me. And even when I do go, I find her offering me the same damn creams and pills that she always has over the course of 5 1/2 years.) I told her that I was getting pretty fed up going to see derms when they only had the same shit to say, none of which was particularly enlightening. She yammered something about choosing to live where I do and my way of living was irresponsible. I told her it was easy for her to say that. Anyway. To top it all off, she called me this afternoon to tell me that I really shouldn't go on my vacation. I was going to be in an airplane which is bad, I should stay out of the and I won't have the same access to medical experts like herself!

Needless to say, she has very strange ways of trying to make her patients feel better. Any comments?

Wow, I think your derm was way off line. I've had some insensitive emotionless derms in my life but nothing like this. I could have sworn they teach the importance of good patient/physican relationships in medical school.

It is of course not your fault that you cannot afford health insurance. Health insurance is the one at fault, it should be made accessible to all people in the US, not just the rich. Instead of paying out of pocket have you ever tried a free government clinic/hospital? I know its a tad seedy and stuff but the doctors are just as good and the visit and the medicine, which they give you a lot of, is free. I used to go to a derm. there when I was younger cause the doctor was pretty good.

As for your vacation I think you should definitely go. I don't think it will make your eczema worse and on the contrary will probably do it a lot of good. I don't understand why an airplane is bad for eczema? Never noticed it making my skin worse, has anyone else? And if you want to actually sunbathe then it is obviously not bad for your eczema because you probably would not have planned such a trip in the first place. If the sun is bad bad bad then why do doctors recommend UVA/UVB treatment for eczema?

Whatever you decide to do, I don't think you should stick with your current derm. anymore because she is no good for your morale. My current derm. is great and always tries to boost my morale. She senses when I am feeling low and gives me pep talks almost every time I go. I feel so much better emotionally when I walk out of her office. There are a lot nicer derms. out there and some are absolutely wonderful, you just have to look, and there is no reason why you should have to tolerate such rude, condescending, self-serving, and down right obnoxious behavior from a doctor.

I would NEVER go to that doctor again. I have changed doctors because of their bedside manners. They are there to cure you and make you feel better, not reprimand you. Offering solutions or advice about your situation should be a doctor's way of handling your situation.

You don't deserve humiliation like that. Many people can't afford insurance, and doctors should realize that. Go to somebody else who doesn't give you negative vibes everytime you go see them.

You need to find a new dermatologist. It sounds like she has forgotten that it is her to job to help people. I can't believe that. As far as your vacation goes, I think you should definitely go. You need access to experts like her about as much as you need a hole in the head. Go enjoy your vacation and when you get back, find a new dermatologist!

I believe that my son, Daniel was born with eczema. His hands were very wrinkly as were his knees, much more than my firstborn's. He was scalier earlier on too. My firstborn doesn't have eczema. By the time Daniel was 2 mos old he would get really pink cheeks and dry hands. Then at about 5 mos old I started to wean him, get him on formula, and started the baby foods. Thats when he got really bad. He has a ton of allergies. He is now 20 mos old and still has eczema pretty bad. It is better than it was in the past mainly due to allergy testing but his face is still red and chapped looking, his whole body is red and bumpy and he scratches himself raw.

I have had eczema since I was 3 months old. I am now in my fourties and still struggle with it. Sorry if that's discouraging. Some do outgrow it although to say early onset means they will outgrow it doesn't hold true in my case. 

All dairy products are bound to contain numerous different proteins -- there sure cannot be such a thing as "milk protein"... I see no reason why someone could not be allergic to a protein that's found in milk but not in butter. I'd expect such a protein to be still present in buttermilk as well, as that is the milk minus the butter... 

I too have heard this time and again, most recently from my allergist.

Rachel, Your derm sounds like such a jerk. You definitely need to get rid of her and find someone more supportive and tell her why you are leaving!! Hasn't she ever heard of bedside manner?

Because butter is made from milk, it contains ALL the proteins present in the milk it was made from... 

Buttermilk DOES contain the same proteins as the milk it came from and the butter extracted from the milk... butter is made by churning milk so that the fat globules in it bind... the butter still contains proteins, as does the whey left behind... the process of butter-making just removes the FAT from the solution, not the proteins, which will be incorporated into the butter AND be left in solution in the whey... 

Bob, you are headed way deeper than I have ever went. I have had a couple people tell me they could not eat these kinds of foods (Oranges, tomatoes, etc.) when they were kids because of eczema however my son does not eat dairy and some Orange Juice has Calcium added so I thought it was worth a shot. Keep me posted on the chemical comp idea. Also, if you have read "Healing Psorisas", it talks about the nightshade family (tomoato, potatoes) being bad on people.

Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe that she called you irresponsible! What is she? Your mother? Anyway, I believe that you should find another derm, and that it's none of her business whether you go on vacation or not. I have doctors in my family and none of them ever talk about how their patients are irresponsible or attempt to belittle their patients. I'm sorry that your experience was so bad. There are doctors out there that are much more understanding. However, your derm doesn't seem to be one of them, and for that, I'm sorry. I hope you have better luck with your derm situation.

I know everyone has talked about the effects of ocean water and eczema but how have all of you reacted to lake water? We start hitting the lake in July and I was wondering if the "grime" in the lake will bother Daniel's skin any, or if it would be like playing in the bathtub--just needing a moisturizer after. I am a little worried that we'll get all the way to the lake and then have him have a reaction... Also my family wants us to go to some Hot Springs, they think it would be good for Daniel's skin--with all the minerals in them---any input?

My sister was born with severe eczema.As a baby, she was hospitalized, and was given lots and lots of cortisome creme. Parents, beware of this! My sister has lost a lot of pigment in her skin because of this. Now she has white splotches on her arms and legs. The derms said she would outgrow it, but unfortunately neither of us have. But don't lose hope. I think that some kids do and some kids don't... among my relatives, the boys tend to outgrow it, but we unfortunate girls don't.

Here's something interesting... My sister went to Korea and as soon as the warm and dry season came on, she was absolutely eczema free!!! (so steroids, no creme... nothing!) Anyone want to vacation in Korea this summer? Also, when she came back, she really began to improve. The difference is amazing... she's really blossoming. No one can figure out why. Maybe she's outgrowing it after all. Hopefully, I will too. As my derm said, "there's always hope".

About the swollen gland, I have it too. It's a bump on the left side of my neck that always protrudes. After I had the steroid shot it went away, but now its back. Whenever I'm sick or when I have a really bad eczema attack, the lump gets really, really big. I get lumps on both side of my neck, too. I wonder what would happen if I had the lymph node taken out?

Wouldn't it be nice if derms were as sensitive as our skin? A sympathetic derm can make all the difference in the world. If your derm doesn't treat you with respect, find another one! I've been to almost a dozen. With all the suffering you have to go through, you deserve better than that.

Just for your info, I'm allergic to milk. It gives me a scratchy throat and a sick feeling in my stomach, but I don't get eczema from it. However, I can eat mild cheeses and butter without any sort of reaction. I use margerine a lot, too, though. Usually, I use brand that's made entirely of canola oil, which is supposed to be a lot healthier than regular margerine. About soya margerine, some people are allergic to soya products. My sister is.

Anyways, good luck in finding tasty foods that won't irritate your wee one. I know when my sister and I were on a strict diet, my Mom had to become very creative.

I went to the Philippines when I was 14 years old and the eczema, that I've had since I was 2 years old, completely disappeared. I was told that the weather there is quite conducive to the healing of eczema. However, when my eczema disappeared, I started getting mosquito bites the size of quarters all over my body. Yuck. And your derm is right, there is always hope. 

My daughter developed eczema at about 19 months old when she started having loads of new foods, one of which was peanut butter. Our doctor prescribed a steroid cream for a secondary infection on her face, which we used only for a week. He told us that we'd drive ourselves crazy trying to pinpoint a food allergy, but we started experimenting with an exclusion diet. Peanut butter seemed to be a culprit, so we have removed all nut based products from her diet, and her eczema has slowly disappeared. 

I bathe her every other night in a warm bath that has a handful of aqueous cream, about two cups of porridge oats and 5-6 drops of essential lavender oil in the water. After the bath I moisturise with the aqueous cream and put a zinc cream with cod liver oil on the really dry spots, if she has any. This past weekend we went to a barbeque where she had a margarine which I noticed too late has "groundnut oil" in it, and her face was all blotchy the next day, so I think I've pinpointed her main problem. She turned 2 in May and her skin is almost completely clear, but I am going to persevere with the messy bath regime because it works a treat and she smells delicious after them!

Certain foods cause excessive release of histamine from mast cells. Histamine is a chemical which triggers allergic reactions. These foods include eggs, milk, shellfish, strawberries, tomatoes, chocolate, bananas, pineapple, and some nuts. I don't know if this is an allergic reaction in the true sense because I don't think many of these foods, such as the veggies and fruits, contain protein, but I don't know for sure. This list of foods that I got from a source on the internet did not include eggplant (one of the nightshade vegetables that I know is bad for eczema and asthma) and orange juice, which also gives me an itching problem. 

I also wonder wether there is something common in all these foods that is responsible for triggering an allergic reaction, such as perhaps ascorbic acid or citric acid and how it works. From what I learned foods we are allergic to bind to IgE antibodies on mast cells. These IgE antibodies recognize certain portions of proteins, or antigens. The binding of antigen to antibody causes the mast cell to burst, releasing histamine, among other things. I have heard that one way UVA/UVB treatment and of course the sun work is to reduce the mast cells somehow. 

Hi Rachel et al, I think what derms forget (and maybe us too!) is that we hire them to advise us and treat our skin. With that as a given, they can also be fired. What other 'employee' would we allow to talk to us like that? 

I have noticed that on dry, sunny, days my eczema problem seems to improve. Also I never had eczema (or if I did it was not a problem worth noticing) until I we moved from a dry part of the country to a green and humid state. I have suffered from eczema with varying degrees of intensity ever since.

This seems strange to me, because I have read many places that dry air is NOT good for eczema. Some doctors recommend buying a humidifier. Does anyone else have evidence that their eczema problems vary with the weather or geography?

PS- I am currently battling a recurrent folliculitis infection on top of my eczema problems. Antibiotics do not seem to clear it up for good. Anyone have experience with this?

There are two different locations for hot springs which I have been to numerous times. It has a horrible sulfur smell so that is a problem with some people and I have found it does nothing for my excema. Except, I itch when I sweat or get too hot. Any more than 15 - 20 minutes in the pool and I am itching like mad. They are interesting to see the natural heat in the water that these generate. Good for arthritis suffers I hear, but not a lot of good for us eczema types.

My eczema started at six months age and has continued for several decades now. Only avoidance of allergens, ice, vitamin C and mulitvitamins, no soap use, ocean swimming, moderate exercise, clipped brush-scrubbed fingernails, and regular sufficient rest, have been significant side-effectless sources of relief. Perhaps I left some out.

Many of those practices benefit anyone, which means we may need to pay even more attention to normal good-health habits.

As I said last week, the baking soda helped Brian even the first day. We've been using it in his bath for the past week (usually bathing daily or every other day) and he is definitely more comfortable. He also had an ear infection, which we just found out about on Monday, and since he's been on the antibiotic, he is sleeping much better. So I think it's a combo of the medicine and the baking soda baths. Not to repeat what you said, but it IS wonderful to find something simple that helps the eczema and is so inexpensive. I suggest other e sufferers try it. I almost tried myself last night as I became very itchy but it was after 11:00 and I had to get to bed.

When I spoke w/Brian's derm about using the baking soda, she said she recommended Balnetar instead (coal tar and alpha keri oil) for the bath. However, I'm not going to follow her instruction as I feel the coal tar is strong and probably not good for an infant to swallow. And you know a 10-1/2 mo. old will put his hands in the bath water and in his mouth! Also, the Balnetar has warning of staining the tub -- ours is an old porcelain one. Honestly, I'd rather just use the baking soda if it helps him and is much more affordable compared to the $18 for the Balnetar. Besides she didn't give me any reason I shouldn't use the baking soda. When I asked her if it was safe to use everyday, she started in with she would rather I use the Balnetar without giving any reason. (Does she own stock in it or something???!) Anyhow, it's helping him so I'm going to continue.

Can I jump on the bandwagon and ask what people usually do after a chlorine pool swim? Do they moisturize immediately after? I didn't moisturize my son this past weekend after he got out of the pool. Didn't seem to bother him like it does in the bathwater. Any comments would be great.

For four years I was not allowed to have citric acid. Unfortunately this elimination from my diet did not help one bit! If you find that stopping your children from eating berries, melons, and citrus fruits does not help to clear up their eczema, then you might want to consider searching for a different allergen as the cause. It's tough enough being a kid and looking like a tomato without having to to be so restricted.

I gave up on my diet after I visited one of the best allergists/internists around. When he found out about my diet, he shrewdly said, "Well, obviously, it doesn't work!". He also said that he has had many many patients (children) who were apparently allergic to orange juice, etc., but really, it was just that the acid was too strong for the lips and the skin around the mouth. If they would just drink the juice from a straw, they would be okay.

You might want to give it a try.

He also said that allergy tests, ie. scratch tests, are not accurate in e patients, and that it is easy to tell if you are allergic to a food because the reaction will occur almost instantly. (This is in direct contrast to the opinion of a naturopath I once went to who said that food allergies could take about 48 hours to manifest themselves. Well, this opinion made me paranoid because I has a scratch attack almost everyday, and I would wrack my brain trying to guess what it was that caused it. Was it the chicken I ate for lunch, or the bread I had yesterday?)

Anyways, I am much happier without the diet, and I'm even doing BETTER than I was when I was on it.

Just to warn you, keep those nuts, especially peanuts away from your baby. When I was a wee one, my Mom gave me some peanut butter... I don't remember what happened, but I've known since then that it can be FATAL. If your baby is allergic to peanuts, one day the reaction might be a rash, another day, it could close up your baby's throat. This is really serious. Every year I read about people who die from peanut allergy. Last year, I accidentally had a few peanut crumbs, and I got a rash all over my body and nearly suffocated. I suggest you get an epipen, which is an adrenaline needle. Ask your doc about it.

I would definitely talk to your child's Dr. about the peanut association with her eczema. We used to feed Daniel peanut butter and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and he used to break out and scratch up a storm. When we took him for allergy testing they told us he was highly allergic to peanuts (and a whole lot of other things) and to totally make sure he doesn't get any foods with peanuts in them. He also had us get an Epi-pen Jr. to keep with us at all times, in case he went into shock. Please talk to your Dr.

I guess the word really isn't shock but anaphylaxis---but it can be life threatening... 

I also subscribe to The Food Allergy Network that talks a lot about food allergies and they send you newsletters with some good recipes in them, etc... they can be found on the Internet at http://www.foodallergy.org/

This dermatologist has obviously lost track of the fact that she is there to *help* you. It's absolutely none of her business whether you have health insurance or not (unless you have defaulted on a bill payment, of course). It is absolutely none of her business where you live. You obviously have WAY more patience than I have -- I'd have walked out on her while she was chewing me out like that. You're not paying her $85 a shot to have her lecture you, you're paying her $85 a shot to help you understand what's going on with your skin and how to make it stop doing that. She just wasted a very large amount of money for you, not to mention the fact that, by adding to your stress, she may very well have exacerbated the very condition you went to her to try to get help for!

My only comment -- drop this loser like a hot rock.

You deserve better. Hell, my Dad's poodle deserves better! Find yourself another dermatologist, preferably one with some bedside manners. If it would make you feel better (I know it would me!), write a letter to the lecturer, there, and let her know that you've found another dermatologist, and let her know exactly why. If she's part of an HMO or a private practice, send a copy to the head office, so they know that one of their employees just lost them a paying customer by her attitude and actions. And don't let any of them -- the doctor, the HMO or whatever -- harass you, force your or even so much as cajole or beg you to go back to that woman, no matter what.

NO patient deserves to be treated like that, by ANY doctor.

This statement concerns me b/c potatoes is supposedly the only starch my son/infant can eat as he's allergic to all others - rice, oat, wheat, etc. He likes sweet potatos, but is not willing to eat mashed potatos (made w/his formula) even mixed with the sweet. He just closes his mouth after having one bite! I believe the allergist tested for potatos originally, but sometimes those tests are wrong. I think I'll try eliminating the potatos and see how he does -- I'll keep you posted.

I was just going to ask if other had had trouble with other fruits like Kiwi, water melon, and catalope. We have been eating large qualities these days to to a hot spell and making popcicles as a cool down. Is citric acid a common in all these kinds of fuit or all fruit. We went through a bad spell in the winter when I was into orange juice (trying to get over a hanging on cold) and since I was running the juicer my son had to have some. But I was never sure that was the problem. Did the DR. say RAST testing was better? For some reason my insurance will not cover it and the Ped has never metioned it. Frankly, at this point I have no respect for the ped except last year he suggested my son get the chicken pox shot because he said his skin would be really bad. El has now been exposed twice and seem to have not gotten the pox.

Last year we took a 2 week vacation up into your county and out to the coast. My son was just about 2 years, I was really worried that the itching and every thing would be really bad. To top it off we had been battling ear infections (even after ear tubes). But we still went and it was the best time we had had in a long time. Maybe I watched his diet better (being extra careful) maybe it was the stress reduction for all of us being on vacation or maybe it was just getting away from our house? But please don't not go because of fear of the unknown because you may miss a really great time. Now if family or what ever are going to hassle you about how you care for him or give you unwanted advise that is another issue. But give it lots of thought because you might miss a real good time.

When it is damp and moldy outside, my eczema goes crazy. When it's dry and 80 degrees out (like it is today) no one would ever guess I had eczema... 

I see messages about sea and lake water effects on eczema, but what about chlorinated pools? Recently a friend of mine took me to a "Howard Johnsons" pool, and afterwards, my eczema seemed to have cleared up temporarily, even to the point where I couldn't see it on my skin! What do we know about chlorine?

I have some eye-drops for hay-fever on prescription, with Sodium Cromoglycate in - they seem to work fine, but my eyes are not excessively itchy, perhaps because I'm using this.

After reading your e-mail I may use the solution on my face!

Hi, Rachel: I, for one, am not surprised to hear about your experience with the derm dr. Your experience mirrors the one I had with MY derm dr - mine had much the same to say when I told her that I had used superglue to help me with the skin cracks that plague my hands, also lectured me about trying anything that wasn't in her bag of tricks. She wanted to give me shots to help me, prescribed about 4 or 5 kinds of medicine that I never had filled. I am wary of too much medication of any sort, alternative or otherwise, and use any medicine very sparingly. She also told me I ought to forget about what I hear from groups such as this one, and that I could "hurt" myself if I didn't. She also wanted to set up regular appointments for me to visit - I do have insurance ($10 per visit), but I suspect a rip-off with this suggestion - I go if I HAVE to go, and certainly not to line the pockets of the medical profession. This is the way I run MY business, I expect her to run hers that way also. BTW, a doctor friend of mine (MD) told me that derms, in general, seem to acquire this attitude frequently. His young daughter has eczema and he encountered the same mindset.

As an adult and also a confirmed liberal, I think I ought to do as I like, whenever I like, as long as I don't hurt anyone else. So phooey on her and others of her ilk - they don't have eczema.

Hi, Steve: It has taken me a while to digest your missive about depression and eczema. Your post immediately struck me as one I wanted to reply to right away, but I was not sure as to how to go about it. I was intrigued and impressed with your sabbatical a few weeks ago, and (silently) urged you on.

As far as the depression side goes, I think we all experience this in various forms and degrees. After all, this affliction of ours is usually visible, and anything like this separates us from "normal" folk. I too had a tough time going through school, for other reasons than eczema, and wound up hating it as a result. I realize now, that it was a state of mind, and wish I had the maturity then, that I have now.

Myself, even though my eczema is not as extensive as others on this list, I am elated when my eczema is in remission, depressed and distracted when it rages on. I took a few days off the other week, went with a few buddies to an air show that we attend every year, and boy, was my eczema active! Huge red, raised and weeping welts all over both my hands, and even red blotches around my nostrils, very obvious to anyone. I took some friendly ribbing from a couple of them about their not wanting to touch the controls after me, afraid they would "catch" something. I laughed it off good-naturedly, but it did hurt inside. No one knew this, of course, I would NEVER show it.

I was given anti-depressants about 10-15 years ago (not for eczema) but quit them after less than a year. Didn't like them at all - not only did they seem to reduce my libido - they didn't work (for me). Maybe I didn't take them long enough, and I'm sure that there are better ones now. I would definitely talk to an MD (of some sort) about this kind of medication, as it just may work for you. I do know of several people who have said that they have changed their life - and for the better. Usually, however, I disdain this type of treatment because it makes you dependant on the stuff, either physiologically, or psychologically - or both.

I try to have a positive attitude about the whole thing - I think of the men with no legs when I worry that I have no feet (so to speak) - and that helps. Vow NOT to get depressed - no matter what. "Don't let the bastards get you down" is what you want to keep in the fore!

We all look for the magic bullet that seems never to come. I try to forget about a "cure" and concentrate on my head! The human mind can do almost anything. Try to use it for this! And don't worry about rambling - ramble on! It DOES help.

Food for thought... (no pun intended). Be careful in not giving your son ANY carbohydrates. Contact your physician regarding this type of diet. An infant/toddler needs a balanced diet to grow healthily. My dermatologist was very wary of telling me what not to feed my son. Given that my son can eat all other starches/carbohydrates other than rice and corn, his overall diet is not that effected. But it sounds like yours may be.

Again, contact your practitioner regarding a balanced diet for your child.

If you have been seeing her for 5-1/2 years and she has not improved your condition and does not give you reassurance and support... who needs her?

Sounds like she is blaming you for not being cured by her. How many years did you listen to her before you tried Chinese herbs? This list demonstrates eczema patients are willing to accept help from anywhere, including mortiary suppliers, truck lubricant manufacturers, and mink oil rendering plants. If the regular medical practitioners had been effective we'd all be out in short sleeves with itch free lives.

You are right to be outraged. Use the energy of that anger to take more control of your life and your condition. Try the things mentioned by those on the list. Take a class in herbs, or homeopathy, or hands-on-healing, or tai chi... or... 

Try Christine's evapration regime, experiment with your diet.

When those things don't work, you can find empathy and understanding on this list.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It reinforces decisions I have made in my life. Also it reminds me of times I was in your place, with anger and frustration and no appreciation.

I have not cured myself yet, but I expect to.

I did a Web search on "sodium cromoglycate" and got hundreds of hits -- but almost all to do with asthma. Very few talked about other things, most notably:

• http://www.mosby.com/Mosby/Periodicals/Medical/JACI/ai980113.html
• http://www.rxmed.com/monographs/nalcrom.html
• http://www.hkma.com.hk/std/urticar.htm

>> I couldn't find baking soda in my local stores (I live in the UK), can anyone tell me if it is the same as Bicarbonate of Soda? <<

YES IT IS

Mary- in regards to your sisters loss of pigment, has a DR connfirmed that the cortisone has caused this? I too suffered with eczema pretty bad when I was young and now have splotchy patches of white skin-which are only pronounced during the summer months and get a *little* tan. Now I've been told by one derm that the "whiteness" was caused by scratching and recently another derm is trying to convince me that it is vitiligo and wants to treat it with a steroid cream. I don't really buy that 2nd derms conclusion. Seems to me I read somewhere that excessive use of the cortisone caused lack of pigmintation, yet when I bring this up to the doc's they look at me like no way that caused this. 

About this sodium cromoglycate, is it a prescription, or can I get it OTC? I have really really itchy eyes... to the point that I'm afraid I'm scratching my eye brows off again (believe me, I try really really hard not to). I lost them all a number of years ago, and with the steroid shot, they all grew back in. I don't want another shot, but I do want to keep my eyebrows. I look really funny without them.

Do you know if this sodium cromoglycate has any side effects? My vision is already very poor, so I'd like to keep what sight I have left.

I wonder what others do to treat their itchy eyes?

Does your kid have wheat allergy? How do you know? Was it a test that told you so? My doc/allergist said that tests for food allergies are not accurate.

Before I went went to this doc/allergist, I thought I was allegic to wheat. So I used spelt flour instead. You can fet it at health food stores. It's very tastly and has a nice, light texture. Linda, this is just a wild guess on my part, but have you checked to see if the baby is allergic to the formula? Anyways, I'm eating wheat again and loving it. Apparently, in my case, the allergy tests were not right. I'm not allergic to wheat.

Kim, I do know some people who have problems with melons, kiwi, cantalope, etc... However, the reaction occurs only around the lips and mouth where the juice touched the skin. If the juice causes irritation, perhaps try spooning it up so it doesn't touch the skin. Anyways, you'll know right away whether this works or not. I used to avoid these fruits like the plague, but now I eat them freely. I really couldn't tell you if citric acid is contained in these fruits.If your son is looking good know, while he is eating the stuff, then I highly doubt he's allergic to them. But don't quote me on that, I'm not a doc.

I hear you have a juicer. Have you ever tried making carrot juice? There are some restaurants in my area that sell it as a specialty, it's quite a hit beacuse it's supposed to be super-healthy. Anyways, when I was on a diet, I used to make carrot juice, dilute it to my liking, and add honey and a bit of cinnamon. Mmmm tasty!

About the RAST test. I've had so many tests done in the past, that I've probably had that one, too. Maybe you can jog my memory, what does RAST stand for? Is it a blood test or a scratch test? Do they stick elements on your back for a few days? Do they take some strands of your hair? I really think the best way is to do your own test... just be very observant of what your son eats, and what the reaction is. You might want to chart down every day what he has had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack, and take note on a scale basis (from one to ten) how itchy he is, and how red he is. After a few months, you can start searching for patterns of problematic foods.

I hear that the sooner your kids get the chicken pox, the better. Here if one kid gets it, then the teachers make sure the rest of the class gets it. My sister and I both had eczema as children, and we caught the pox when we were young. I don't remember feeling any worse, or even more itchy when it happened. But, who am I to cross a doctor's opinion?

John, You mentioned your derm wanted to give you shots. Was it allergy shots or steroid shots? I've had both. Twice I tried the allergy shot treatment, and both times my eczema worsened. My present derm says that allergy shots have been found to make the eczema worse in many patients.

If it was a steroid shot, well, I recieved one almost two years ago. It was the first time I went to see a highly respected allergist Dr. K, who seeing how depressed I was and how much I needed help, got me to see a derm Dr. L. Well, I was so depressed and so desperate, and ready to drop out of school because I just couldn't bear it anymore, that he told me about the steroid shot and left me to decide. Now, I liked that. First, he told me of all the known side effects (osteoporosis, edema, cataracts, etc.), and informed me that it would be like injecting an atomic bomb into my system. Then he said that he has many patients who take the shot once, twice year. It is all a matter of tolerance. You take as much ezcema and depression as you can bear, and then when you can't bear it any longer, you come in for a shot.

Well, I was miserable and desperate, and so I had it injected. Wow! I was totally cleared up for a whole year. It was the BEST year of my life. However, the eczema is back. And I have to battle with bouts of depression and terrible mood swings. One day, I'm energetic, optimistic, and my skin is beautiful. The next day, I'll be hating my life, my skin, and myself.

And I agree with you, it hurts big time when people comment about my skin. One day, coming out of church, I saw my Aunt, who with the best intentions, commented "Oh, your allergies are coming back. And why is your hair so black and dull? It used to be shiny before?" Then she proceeded to inspect the skin around my neck. I was so embarrassed, and I couldn't have felt worse if she had slapped me in the face. Anyways, I smiled and laughed, and chatted with people who either stared at me, or were extra kind to me (which can sometimes be just as bad... why don't they just leave me alone?). It was so hard to keep back the tears, but somehow I did. I bawled when I got home, and was a wreck for the rest of the day.

Only a few of my friends know that I get depressed, and even these don't know to what extent. I just never let on. It is good for me to know that there are others who get emotionally disturbed, and that it is not only me. I really do try to be cheerful and optimistic, but the eczema can be sooooo overwhelming. You know what I mean. Sometimes, I stay in the house all day, too ashamed to go out. My sister is much more admirable. She just shrugs her shoulders and says "tough for them if they don't like my skin." She never gets depressed.

Debbie, Do you know if the pool you swam in was a chlorine pool or a bromine pool? Bromine is not supposed to be as irritating as chlorine. I love swimming, but I've stopped because of the awful burning sensation I get due to the chlorine. However, I just may venture into a pool again.

I have had freckles and color disappear from patches on my face and arms. As the eczema on my face cleared and I stopped using steriods, the freckles actually came back. Unfortunately my arms have never really gotten better so I continue to use steroids. I asked my derm about it and he said that yes, steriods can cause this but that it is usually temporary. Who knows.

I too have very itchy eyes with discharge. I went to the ophthmologist who said it was conjunctivitis and that it is common in allergic people. He also said that since I had gotten it once, chances were good that it would recur, which of course, it has. Guess what treatment is? Antibiotic ointment and steroid drops. Just can't seem to get away from the steroids! :(

Another issue that has me confused.

It was written once upon a time on this list that our skin has a natural acid mantle that we need to protect, even by perhaps using a mild vinegar rinse to restore it after it is washed away by soaps, etc.

But how come baking soda baths, which are alkaline, are reportedly so soothing to eczematous skin? Wouldn't that destroy the acid mantle?

My eczema responds terribly to sweat so I don't do particularly well in the summer. Also my eczema has been worse here than it ever was when I lived where I grew up. However, my really bad eczema seems to be a result of pregnancy.

I have had a lot of folliculitis this past year. However, I discovered that baking soda baths have prevented me from breaking out in those awful yellow bumps for about five months now. You might give them a try. When I had folliculitis I used the baking soda as a paste to help with the itching and with the oozing. I've also stopped using a lot of lotions which I think were aggravating the infection.

My doctor gave me prednisone and antibiotics to clear up my first bout of fol. I don't think he knew what it was. The next time I got it about a month later the other doc. (I went to an HMO) was recently graduated from med school and knew right away what it was and prescribed only antibiotics. It cleared up in the same amount of time as my first bout--about two days. It made me mad at the first doctor since I was pregnant at the time and didn't want to take the prednisone. Oh well.

I have long wanted to address this question: according to my understanding of physiology it is the respiratory system--the lungs--which do the breathing. Christine actually says the skin takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. I understood that the skin is permeable and that it releases sweat and with that some waste, but it is not responsible to the body for breathing. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I think we need to really understand what the skin should be doing so we can understand what is wrong with our skin.

My research (admittedly small time) shows that the skin is one control of body temperature, that it protects from infections etc. Occlusion then may be helpful in certain situations. 

I used Balnetar was quite a while. It won't stain porcelain tubs, only the newer acrylic ones. However, I agree wholeheartedly with your decision not to use it. I have been using baking soda with much success (and a happy pocketbook) for quite a while now. Balnetar helped keep my flaking down, but it was an awful mess and your reasons for avoiding it are good. Why spend so much for such a small bottle (I think it only has enough for 5 or 6 baths if you use the recommended amount).

I tried a bromine hot tub once. It may have been the heat, although I don't remember it being too hot. But, I had to get out after just a few minutes and go use shower. I was awfully itchy and red. I haven't been swimming for years now and I used to be a fish!! I was surprised to hear that some eczema sufferers are helped by chlorine and swimming. I wish I were one of those types. I can't tolerate sweat either so I am getting kinda fat and lumpy. (Mostly because I had a baby and gained 50 lbs. then only lost 30 or so since in the 7 months). I still think I'll lose it eventually as I don't tend to overeat when I'm not breastfeeding (that was off the topic, huh.) Anyway, for me the bromine didn't seem to be any easier to handle than chlorine.

>> I had very itchy eyes but along with it had a gross discharge.<<

This is your eczema on the inside of your lids.

>> I went to the ophthmologist who said it was conjunctivitis and that it is common in allergic people.<<

Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria or allergen, when someone has Pink Eye, it does not always mean that they are contagious if the cause is from allergen.

>> He also said that since I had gotten it once, chances were good that it would recur, which of course, it has.<<

True, we all know that our eczema has favorite spots.

>> Guess what treatment is? Antibiotic ointment and steroid drops.<<

Normal but years ago a doc had me using a steroid oint. inside my eye, I had a falling out with him and my new doc freaked when I wanted a rerfill, that this practice was no longer recommended even tho the steroid was made to be applied inside the eye, now I apply my daily oint. on top of my lids not inside.

When my lids would become very inflamed, I would heat up 2 wash cloths in water to skin comfortable temp, gently squeeze out the excess water, put them in baggies, tie up and set one on each eye. By the time the bags cool, your eyes will feel tons better but not great, then clean them out as you find you will end up with a lot, as you put it, gross discharge.

After having bad eczema for about 4 years at age 30 (I had it as a young child) I asked myself some questions about my skin and skin in general. I read basics on skin in some books in the library. Maybe someone can help me with them.

1. What natural substance affects production of sebum? What is the chemical make-up of sebum?
2. What happens to lotion? Is it drawn into the body, possibly causing greater waste disposal difficulties?
3. What does cortisone do the infected skin--chemically?
4. Why are vit. A, E, and zinc good for the skin--what changes internally to increase the skin's health?
5. What controls the rate of exfoliation?
6. What happens to deregulate the skin's temperature controls when eczema is present?

Eczema is very acidic and the baking soda brings it back into balance.

Mary, I feel for you and your depression. I know just how you feel. Even though I've been over the worst part of my eczema where I felt like dying, I still have days where my emotions take over and I want to give up. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive husband and two great sons. I don't cry nearly as much as I used to. Just remember there is hope for better times.

It also bothers me when people talk about my skin. It seemed like for years that is ALL I ever talked about to other people. It got very irritating. Sometimes they'd say my skin was getting better when it wasn't and I wouldn't bother explaining. Most of all I hate it when people say, "you're scrathing." Go jump in a lake.

For me, baking soda and avocado oil helped. Now I'm using grapeseed oil and a little jojoba. I stopped using aquaphor and the redness in my arms is gone. It's always a battle though. I try to keep doing things in my life that make me happy--instead of letting my life become only my skin.

I got a prescription of sodium cromoglycate under the brand name OPTICROM.

I don't know about side-effects, but Anjum's e-mail looked promising. I've tried some on my face and it is soothing, but I'll let people know if it stays calm, and I'll research the sites someone else sent.

Sorry, I don't know what shots the Dr wanted to give. I don't have any allergies, so when she said "shots" I assumed that they would be, at the least, antibiotics and/or steroids. I don't want either - unless I ABSOLUTELY HAVE to have them. And I would have to be a whole hell of a lot worse than I have ever been to have them. 

I have a Dr (MD) friend who originally diagnosed my eczema on sight, within 3 seconds, tell me that steroids were DYNAMITE (bad). Told me that while they were VERY useful to this condition, that there was also a very fine line between usefulness and overuse. Told me also that even though the instructions might be "2 or 3 times a day," or whatever, that I should only use it when I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE. And then STOP using it when I started to see the improvement. He said he would rather see me using HEROIN (really) on a regular basis than steroids. He instructed me to use a Q-tip only on my lesions, don't put it on skin that isn't indicative of eczema, and don't use your fingertips to apply, unless they also have eczema.

He was describing some of the misconceptions of drugs in general. He said that steroids have such broad effects (many unknown) on our bodies that we should consider them very carefully. When he mentioned the "heroin part," he was talking about common misconceptions, and using heroin as an example of a drug that has a very bad reputation, but in many respects, really not as bad as steroids. He told me that people can function normally, under proper dosages of methadone (an analogue of heroin) for years, while only small amounts of steroids can have a devastating effect on the human body, affecting and even destroying parts of the body far removed from the target area. He did mention the eyes as one part that is profoundly affected by steroids, stressed that there may be many others that we (Drs) are not aware of yet. He did not enumerate by listing each known effect, however.

BTW, he also talked about the "depression" part and said that he would like to be able to prescribe marijuana for depression rather than most of the conventional anti-depressants! (How 'bout THAT!)

He also said that people are very fickle when it comes to drs & medications, and that what happens is that people (us) tend to go to sequential drs, with each prescribing steroids and in that way, we often use too much. Same goes for antibiotics.

Normally, my eczema is mostly on the backs of my hands, and thus mostly invisible unless you look closely, so I only get comments when it gets bad and starts to appear around my mouth and nostrils. My depression is a result (I think) of my frustration, and not how I look. I try to think of all those other weird looking people out there!

NO ONE knows I get depressed - not even my wife. Fortunately, it doesn't happen all that often.

HOORAY for your sister! Now THAT'S the way to look at it! We should make her president or something. Her outlook is truly inspiring! Will she marry me?

My son has the blotchy skin on the spots that he use to scratch the most (arms and anckles). Trystans eczema cleared up on his arms a couple monthes ago, but I do notice little spots that have never tanned. So only the years will tell.

Does anyone have a good idea for restoring moisture to the scalp? Lubriderm/vaseline works fine for me for anywhere other than the scalp but they are too sticky to use on my head. (My hair gets all glued together and it actually makes it itchier for some reason.)

I am not so depressed now. My skin is still bad, in fact worse but I have got the fight back to clear it up. My whole body and face is red and very sore. It is painful to move around and even smile... :) Ouch!!

As you can see my humour is back... When I am not depressed but my skin does not look good I always make fun of myself to my friends and colleagues. It's one way I use to keep my chin up... that is if it hasn't fallen off onto my desk..

Anyway, I am not going to see anyone about the depression I sometimes experience. It's not as if I don't know why I get down. I really am apprehensive about taking drugs or see a pshycotherapist. Let's see how I do this time round.

I am back on the strong steroids to clear the mess I have created. I will then go back to my regime, which does work for me.

Thank you again for your helpful advice and for just being there. I have received a lot of help from people who have gone through the same experience. It really does help corresponding with people that UNDERSTAND why we can get so down with this awful disease.

Steve: Glad to hear things are back to normal (in your head, anyway). I do the same thing about making fun of myself. It completely disarms anyone's attack on the subject, even if they don't mean any harm.

I had an opthalmologist who was horrified to learn that I had been using steroid drops (prescribed by another opthalmologist in the same place). He said they could cause very serious problems and told me to discontinue immediately.

My eyes have been itchy lately too after a LONG period of no problems with them. The itchiness directly co-incided with the start of eating rice. It is probable that the whole body is being affected by an allergen but that the head and eyes are being more affected. I believe that certain foods affect certain parts of the body. It may be that rice affects the eyes. I don't know. I do know that I have been very strictly monitoring my diet, and rice was the only variable.

Finding and avoiding the allergen is the key to solving the problem. Be a food and environment detective. Be aware that infections commonly set in too. A thick sticky yellow discharge may be infection.

Frequently the skin around the eyes itches too and it gives the illusion that the eyes are more itchy than they really are.

Actually quinoa is a seed, but used like a grain. It has been used since ancient Azec times and is used now. It has a definite pleasant flavor, so it is not as neutral as rice or potatoes. (pronounced keewwa. I am not sure if I spelled it right.) I have used it a little and like it.

Sodium Cromoglycate is great stuff - and as far as I'm aware causes no ill effects. I've been inhaling it for over 20 years for my Asthma. Its NOT a steroid, and my understanding is that it works by discouraging the allergic reaction rather than fixing the damage afterwards.

I am aware of it being available for a number of problems: 

1. Intal - Inhaled for Asthma 
2. Rynacrom - Squirted up nose for Rhinitus/Hay fever etc. 
3. Some name I can't remember taken in massive dosses to prevent effects of food allergies (!!) 
4. Opticrom - for itchy eyes

For a long time they have been all made by Fisons; and been fairly expensive. Although I think lately there have been other producers of (2) and (4).

The message about topically applied SCG is encouraging - I'd be very happy to try it. The only down side is that you must take it regularly (2 or 3 times a day normally) for it to do any good - it is not one of those things you use when its bad.

Car trips with eczema babies: We just did 10 hours round trip with Ethan. We have found that little girl leotards will protect the legs nicely. Long sleeves work, too. If it is hot, we just turn the air way down low and dress like we dress EJ so we can gauge how he feels. We also try to exhaust him at rest stops or drive at night when he sleeps. Then we take turns napping so we won't be grumpy houseguests!

Hot springs or hot baths are definitely OUT with our baby. His eczema goes ballistic and he scratches himself raw. Pleasantly tepid water works well. Baking soda seems to help a LOT for some reason.

We DO let our non-potty-trained little ones into pools, oceans, etc. wearing those nifty Lamaze-type swim pants designed especially for newborn to 3 years. They trap stools and keep baby from becoming dangerously heavy in a paper diaper with the gel-loc stuff which gets INCREDIBLY heavy in the water. Wal-Mart can save you some bucks on them.

I am pretty discouraged today about the medical profession in general. Our family has too many stories similar to yours concerning abusive, profane, arrogant physicians.

This weeks' latest? Our family physician, who is a close personal friend of mine, informed me that her practice has decided that no patients can call doctors by their first names anymore. "We have to establish the proper perspective and level of respect once again with our patients." :-0

I then found out that she gets upset when she prescribes medication and then we, the parents, make an educated decision regarding healthful alternatives and abstain from filling said prescription.

My friend has long supported me in parent advocacy and all the research and methodical testing I have done on each of the children. I have accepted her wise counsel many times. I have rejected her counsel many times.

I can't believe she has caved in to the AMA's concept of "controlling" parents. Sadly, I don't know where I can find anyone else different.

I can't BELIEVE we aren't allowed to speak to professionals our own age whom we see 20 times a year by their names! RIDICULOUS!!!

Pant, pant, pant. Vent, vent, vent. :-(

I've always had a problem with hot springs. The minerals might be great but the temperature is too hot! Hot tubs and hot springs were a big thing in the 70's. That was when my skin was actually pretty good compared to the rest of my life, yet I always got a rash afterwards. I will probably never go to one again. I could probably put my feet in for a few minutes but that's all.

Might we then assume by this move on the physicians part that patients are to be addressed as Mr. or Ms., and not "Sugar" or a first name? 

I need cool or cold weather. My skin is a mess as soon as it goes above 65 degrees. Changes in the weather are bad for me too. Hot one day and cool the next is awful. My internal thermostat apparently can't adjust itself. I get hot too fast and cool off too slowly, so I'm always too hot. Even when my brain registers that it's cold, my skin stays hot!

How about massaging some oil, like olive oil or perhaps jojoba, into your head and leaving it on for a while and then washing it off? It feels wonderful to get an oil massage too, we used to do it in our family all the time because it is great for the scalp they say, probably increases blood flow. By the way, I have gotten vaseline in my hair accidentally and it is such a pain to wash off. I definetly would not advise anyone to do that.

I'd be careful about lakes, particularly suburban lakes. My friends in public health have expressed concerns about several of our area rivers and lakes when I've mentioned taking my eczema toddler in them. The concern is pollution, particularly pesticides, fertilizers and bacteria from dairy cow and other animal waste. Skin with eczema doesn't form a proper barrier and can catch all sorts of nasties that normal skin helps others avoid. Just a thought.

>> Can anyone recommend a good insect repellent that doesn't adversely affect their eczema?<<

I completely avoid all and any products with any fragrance in them because of this I do not need repellant.

My mother tells me that sodium cromulgate, also known as cromylyn sodium, comes from some plant that people used to use in India for their asthma. According to Nelson't Textbook of Pediatrics, "chromylyn has no... anti-inflammatory properties... It prevents both antibody-mediated and non-antibody mediated mast cell degranulation and mediator release". I found out my Nasalcrom contains this as the active ingredient as well and so I will try it on my eczema patches to see how it works, so far, it has reduced the itching a lot. I suppose that makes sense since Opticrom also contains this and it used to work great for my red, itchy eyes.

I am so relieved to hear that others have difficulty managing eczema in hot humid conditions. I was diagnosed with nummular eczema (basically coin- shaped eczema) and it is supposed to be a "winter" condition. Tell that to the eczema. My skin has gone crazy as the weather has heated up along with lots of humidity. I too think that the perfect place to live would be somewhere cool and damp. I didn't have this much trouble managing it in the winter. Anyway, the more I read the more I realize that the "textbooks" don't always have the right answers.

There is NO safe chemical repellent in the market, I believe. However, why mess with chemical when you can buy ELECTRONIC one. I bought one for my eczema baby when we went for an oversea trip a few months ago and it seems to work fine - I don't recall any obvious insect bite on my baby... But, his skin is rather bad during the trip that we would not be able to tell anyway. He is, otherwise, a healthy boy for the whole trip. - no fever, vomiting... etc which could be from insect bites.

My son Daniel has been much better. It looks like it's going to start then it disappears. Three things are different and I don't know which, if any or all, are the cause. 

He started a new daycare and gets to play outside a lot more, so less frustration physically, and he's making friends his own age; the weather is warmer, so fewer clothes; I've been using baking soda in his 1-2 baths a week and I can tell the difference the next morning.

My son is "outgrowing" his eczema. Keep in mind, you would not join a chat group if you no longer have the problem. A high percentage of members with this group are here for this reason. Do not loose hope.

I'd like to thank the kind soul who suggested taking a lukewarm shower. Tonight was the first time this season that I have actually left the shower feeling more refreshed and less itchy and irritable than when I entered it.

I use olive oil with all our cradle cap (kids with eczema have it--like baby dandruff) kids. Warm it up a bit, rub it in, and run around (privately) for a while. We wash it off gently one to two hours later. It really chases the cradle cap away.

Any of you recall one of the old James Bond movies, "Goldfinger?" Well, they painted the model's skin with gold paint and she died. In the actual production of this movie and "The Wizard of Oz" Tinman, it was necessary to leave areas of the skin open to breathe. I believe the actual hype was leaving a 4"x4" area at the base of the spine uncovered.

Not very scientific, I know. But fun! :-)

Now, if I were a true friend, I would go up to the 165 degree attic and get down my health curriculum box and look it up in "I am Joe's skin." Maybe when the sun goes down... 

People racking their brains for external reasons might consider reading a book on genetics. This disease does not just come out of nowhere. Those of us who have had the atopic triangle of problems from childhood either inherited a series of mutated genes, or their particular set of genes mutated in the copying process of conception. The fact that only one out of six gets it is explained by Mendel's laws of dominants and recessives. An introductory textbook on genetics should be required reading for parents with kids suffering with these kinds of questions... 

Tina, I did the same thing as you a month ago, my son was looking so good we gave him one egg. Man, was that a bad idea. Finally got his skin looking really good again and had another flare up. I had made some popciclies since it has been so had. (O.J., Kiwi, rasberry, and bannana) I think the it was one of these ingredients, also we have been eating water melon and cantalope. So there goes the fruit for awhile (three days) and now he is looking better. Strange thing is that while his skin (legs mostly) looked bad he had very little itch. I hope this is the first step of growing out. I can't remember how old you son is but I found that getting him out of diapers really helped a lot with his upper thighs.

I went though the same kind of thing with I took dairy out of my son's diet. The nutritionist said no to the milk substitutes like rice dream. Not because of the product (she knew nothing about it) but because it was a "health food thing" and "there is a lot of hype, but what do you really now about it". I feel it was a big cop out when she did not know and did not want to know. She had her food chart and I should go by what was suggested on there, no if-ands-or-buts. I am sure you have learned like I have that when somebody gives you an absolute, that is the time to start questioning the motive because there are few absolutes in the life of someone with eczema, gray areas are much more common.

I have had eczema all of my life. I had it as an infant and the Drs. thought I was allegic to cow's milk. I was terribly broken out as a child in folds of my arms and legs, then as a pre-teenager and high schooler it was mostly on my face and hands. I was excused from PE as sweating seemed to irritate my eczema. After high school it seemed to decline. I'm not sure if it was because I moved or just that my life was happier. 

My eczema has been pretty good the last 20 years or so except for my finger-tips cracking and my scalp breaking out once in a while. The sun has always seemed to help my eczema as long as I don't get overheated. Two months ago I moved and my eczema is the best it's been in a long time. My legs still break out if I walk through the weeds bare-legged... I avoid scratching them and wash them off as soon as I can. I'm not sure if it's the climate or that I have just learned over the years to take special care of my skin. I take essential fatty acids, use Lubriderm w/alpha hydroxy, use various oils after bathing and if I get too hot and sweaty I use Desitin powder w/zinc oxide. I also take Allegra occasionally for hay-fever and Benadryl if I get really itchy and sneezy at night.

How I wish I'd had you guys around when I was a teenager, I was so self-concious about my skin. Thanks for being here!

I think it is kind of strange how some wheat products seem to bother Daniel, but others don't. He did ok with Ritz crackers, but not ok with white bread(no eggs). It may also be other ingredients in the food that we don't even know of. 

Our allergist said that most people don't outgrow egg allergies. It is very rare. He also said he has never heard of anyone outgrowing peanut allergies, I guess it is just too strong or something. Most everything else can be outgrown.

I have used successfully pennyroyal oil. Don't put it on your skin. Have a mosquito repellant shirt. It does smell, however pleasantly. I am sensitive to fragrances but had no problem with pennyroyal.

Karen, I know what you mean about having an understanding boyfriend. He is great, he is concerned but doesn't pay too much attention to it because he knows that I hate that.

I just wish that I had clear skin. I feel that I am a pretty girl EXCEPT for the eczema. Sometimes I feel as if life is so unfair. I'm young, I'm at the peak (supposedly) and yet I'm self concious about the way I look all the time. I can't imaging what it is like to live with amazing skin but I keep dreaming about it.

Hang in there girl. At least we have boyfriends that are great and understanding and absolutely wonderful for our self-esteem.

Yesterday was a real hot day here and by late afternoon my daughter started in on a real scratch-frenzy. I tried everything I could to distract her, to no avail. Then I remembered the posts here from some of you saying that soaking in a lukewarm-cool tub is soothing to you at moments like that. I popped her in the tub immediately, along with some baking soda. She cried for about 3-4 minutes (I imagine it was a real irritant at first on all the freshly scratched skin), but then she cheered up and played - she wound up playing for almost an hour, didn't want to get out. Then she had a good night's sleep. Over the past few weeks I have also incorporated other advice you have given about dressing her less warmly, especially at night, avoiding "nesting" in her crib, etc.

I am so grateful to have found this list - I feel that you are all speaking to me "for" my daughter, who cannot express these things yet. From both of us, thank you for your generosity in sharing your experiences...

Emulsifying ointment is a *great* moisturiser and absolutely allergen-free. I've just started using aqueous cream to replace hand soap, and that too is *great* stuff.

My new book explains how to use aqueous cream instead of soap: *first* apply the cream to your hands, *then* wash off under a running tap.

I found out that my country's national pharmacopeia does not include aqueous cream and therefore I cannot buy it anywhere! However, I also found out how to make it from emulsifying ointment: take 30 percent emulsifyingointment and 70 percent (by weight) distilled water. Place them side by side in separate bowls in a pot with one or two inches of boiling water, then wait for the e.o. to melt. Pour the water into the melted e.o. and stir until cold.

I *can* get emulsifying ointment here; however, because of the way the system works I had to pay the equivalent of GBP 3 for 250 grams. My sister-in-law brought me some from the UK: a 500 gr tub for which she paid GBP 1.80... Same price for aqueous cream...

I find this maddeningly ridiculous. My advice to all in NL: if ever you travel to the UK, get a good supply of both emulsifying ointment and aqueous cream. It costs next to nothing there and is very easy to find.

Kay, It's a long time since I heard anything so ridiculous as your doctors' new policy of not allowing you to call them by their first names, as you seemto have been doing so far... How are they going to enforce that? By consistently addressing you as Mrs? (guess not --<g>)

At the same time, I *can* see a doctor's point in being upset when she prescribes medication and then you abstain from filling said prescription. After all, you come to her for expert advice and then refuse to take it *without telling her*. It would make it difficult for her to lay out a course of treatment if she has no idea what prescriptions you fill, wouldn't it? I mean, if you don't trust or like or her advice, why pay her to give it?

Can't you refuse the prescription and ask her to explore other avenues?

I have had eczema since I was a child. It got really bad when I was 15 or 16, and has continually gotten worse. Right now it is on my scalp, face, arms, hands, and legs. I've tried everything, been to the best dermatologists, etc., and have pretty much decided that I'm just doomed to be a tortured soul while on this earth. Having slept a total of 3 hours a night (if that) for the last 5 or 6 years, I had literally given up all hope. You all know of the depression that comes from being in constant pain and anxiety. However, I found something that has given me a little hope.

I recently finished participating in a drug study in which I injected myself with interferon daily for 12 weeks. Actually, I either had the drug every day, every other day, or a placebo. Since it was a blind study, even the doctor didn't know what I was getting. I believe that I was getting the interferon because I got flu-like symptoms after each injection (which is one of the side effects of the drug). My white blood count also dropped (but not enough to worry about), which is the only other side effect that they told me about. I was completely cleared up by the 10th week, except for my scalp, which was starting to improve when the study ended. I believe I've been off the study for about 6 weeks now, and unfortunately, most of my itching has returned.

A new "open" study will start in a few weeks (I hope), and I will participate in it. In this study, I will definitely get the drug either every day or every other day. I have hopes that it will be approved by the FDA for use whenever it is needed from now on. But it could take years, if ever, for that to happen.

The results of this study, for me, prove that eczema is an internal problem (perhaps made worse by external things such as soaps, perfumes, food allergies, etc.). I read an opinion in one of your archive messages that our immune system is too highly tuned, and attacks what it perceives as problems (I agree). Apparently what interferon does is lower your immune system, which keeps that from happening.

I'm interested in hearing opinions on this from you guys, especially from anyone else who has tried interferon.

About the genetics topic, has anyone noticed the same pattern that I do? In all the families where there is eczema/asthma problems, it seems that the younger children have it worst. In my own family, my older brother (lucky him) has never had a rash in his life. I've had mild eczema as a kid which really became hideous when I went to high school. My younger sister has had eczema and asthma all her life. I know another family where there are 9 children. The youngest was born with eczema, but all the others are perfectly healthy. I can think of a few other families where the younger ones have eczema, but the older ones don't. Shelley, is your eczema child the youngest?

I'm wondering if anyone has tried the following products and how you felt about them:

• Summers Cutar Emulsion Cutemol Emollient Cream Tarsum Shampoo/gel
• Robertson's Medicated Skin Repairing Ointment
• Person & Covey Inc. DML Forte Cream DHS SAL Shampoo

Robertson Medicated Skin Repairing Ointment worked in that it relieved the redness, but my skin was still itchy and dry. The most noticeable feature of the ointment was the presence of the Omega-3 polyunsturates, especially with Eicospentaenoic Acid and Docasahexaenoic Acid -- both modulators of the inflammatory response. Does anyone know what this means?

I haven't tried the Person & Covey products, so I'm wondering if anyone in the forum has an opinion about them.

These products are expensive because the amounts per order are so small. I'm wondering if they're worth buying, especially when I haven't heard anyone in this group mention them at all! Please advise.

Also, I just received three samples of Zinc Oxide Ointment and I'm wondering if anyone has any opinons about which one works best! The three contestant are:

Densitin Diaper Rash Ointment - contains Norwegian cod liver oil, rich in natural vitamin A & D, plus lanolin (ouch!), petrolatum, talc... and more zinc oxide than zinc oxide ointment has. Active Ingrdient: Zinc Oxide 40.0%. This ointment feels dry (not oily) and thick. I like the way it feels on my skin.

URL Zinc Oxide Past, USP skin Protectant (Lassar's Plain Zinc Paste) - contains Zinc oxide 25.0 % and Starch in a White Petrolatum Base. This ointment feels dry (not oily) and thick. I like the way it feels on my skin.

Osco Zinc Oxide Ointment, USP - contains Zinc Oxide 20.0 % in a base of Beeswax, Light Mineral oil, and white Petrolatum. This ointment feels oily and less thick.

Person and Covey sent me samples of the creams, shampoos and cleansers. I have not tried the shampoos, but the DML cream with sunscreen (SPF 15) was EXCELLENT. It is the only sunscreen I have been able to put on my face without irritation. 

Does anybody on this list find that their eczema has really influenced what they do for fun? I used to be much more sporty. In first year university, I took tae-kwon-do, and played pickup volleyball and basket ball. I stopped tae kwon do because it is done barefoot and I developed deep painful cracks in my feet. I had to give up the other sports because of sweating and the heat. I no longer exercise, except for occasional walks in the evening when it is cool enough. Anyone else have similar experiences?

I have played piano since the age of 8 and violin since 12. I also do calligraphy and origami. And I also love to play bridge. Anybody else find that they have a very good level of manual dexterity? Perhaps from all that scratching in hard to reach places as kids! I find that anything I do for fun is essentially manual or mental, since I can no longer handle much in the way of strenuous physical activity. I think my mother (perhaps unconsciously) knew that if my hands were busy I couldn't be scratching too. She bought ne all sorts of arts and crafts kits like needlepoint, rug hooking, modellinf clay, beadwork, books on macrame, drawing, calligraphy, etc. when I was a kid, which I loved. She also knew that if she could hear the piano, I couldn't be scratching at the same time. I was also given a ton of books and taken to the library a lot. I was almost never taken outside to the park to play as most other kids are, since the sun was so bad for my skin.

So what did you guys do for fun as kids? Do you do the same now? Has the eczema shaped the hobbies you have? I find that my eczema made me a real outcast and introvert. I was described as "standoffish", a loner, and having a bad attitude in daycare, where most of the activities centred on running around outside in the noonday sun! I vividly remember being forced to gou outside to eat lunch in the dead heat of summer. I hated it, but both my parents worked so there was no choice.

Has your eczema done a great deal to shape the person you are? For me definitely yes. Amazingly enough though, I like who I am, so I guess this disease is not all bad. I find it has given me much more independence of thought from society's expectations, a very pragmatic attitude (if it works on my skin I'll use it, eat it, drink, it, etc.), and forced me to develop my mental capacity. A friend of mine once told me there are three ways to expend energy: mentally, sexually, and physically. Physically is out for me, and so is sexually a lot of the time. It's hard to feel sexy when you're sore, itchy and flaky! So basically the only outlet is through my brain.

I would be very interested in seeing the personality distribution on this list. There is a very good site on the web that does the meyers-briggs personality typing test. I would like to know what types are most prevalent with this disease. I don't have the site address, but type meyers briggs on a yahoo search, and the test site should come up. I'm an INTJ type, and a very extreme one at that. I suspect there are many other INTJs out there, and that it is in large part due to the eczema.

I love sport and use to have a very competitive nature. I used to play football and cricket, however one of the reasons I had to give up was becaues of my eczema i.e the heat and allergies to grass. I have started playing tennis and am having difficulties combatting the sweat which causes many problems.

I am not so competitive now as I have learnt that is also not good for my skin. I just enjoy the social part.

I certainly wouldn't have got into computers if I didn't have eczema. I know I would have had more outdoor activities. I would also probably be married now with kids... 

I felt like an outcast as a kid but later realiseed that was not true. I am an introvert when my skin is bad but certainly not when I am clear. I believe my brain changes its chemical activities when I have a flare up. An hypnotherapist explained to me that the brain is trying to slow me down so that I can relax, rest and recover from the flare up. I think this is why I become so lethargic when I am bad.

I think people who have chronic eczema are more thoughtful. Hardly surprising as they are always thinking how to combat it. They also seem to have more empathy for other people, though can be seen as being quite hard people. Especially on themselves.

People with eczema seem, on average, to be more intelligent than the average person. Controversial thought eh. I think it goes back to being forced indoors reading, thinking, contemplating etc.

My son that has eczema is the younger of my children.

I'm the youngest and no one else in my family has it. Hmmmm...

There is some info on interferon in the archives, I am aware you should be EXTREMELY WARY of IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS.

As you have seen they do not CURE eczema, it will come back and often even worse than before. I would be sure you get yourself fully informed about long-term and short-term side effects of a potent drug trial.

A more healthy approach is surely to avoid the 'external' things you listed, and to use natural oils on the skin.

I do know that vitamins (mega-multi), essential fatty acids - eg Evening Primrose, good intestinal bacteria, and multi-minerals especially zinc, combined with a good diet, exercise, and stress relief/relaxation techniques are very effective in boosting your immune system.

I'm not trying to bring you down too much and obviously if your life has become too difficult, it is a reasonable balancing act to decide to use potent drugs.

I am an only child (I guess that makes me the oldest). I never had asthma or food allergies (although I am mildly allergic to nickle). I didn't get eczema until I was 24. No one else in my family has it except for one cousin (out of about 40), who has it very mildly.

Everyone comments on my daughter's extremely advanced fine motor skills - they think this is great, I don't because I know this developed from her determined efforts to get through buttons, snaps, zippers, etc., etc., to scratch.

Suzannah, thanks for your advice. I know that interferon is a very potent drug, however, I'd rather suffer the side effects of it than the ones associated with prednisone and its friends. The dermatologist who is administering the study says that most of the people clear up for about six months after a three month regimen of interferon. I've tried, oils, vitamins, sun treatments, antibiotics, antihistamines, and avoidance of irritants ad nauseum. For me, the fact that this doesn't really help proves that in my situation it is an internal problem. Several of you have said that your e gets better when you are sick, maybe because your immune system is lowered (as I discussed in my last posting). Anyway, I'd boil myself in oil for some relief. My eczema does get somewhat better in the summer, the more humidity, the better, so now that we've finally got some hot weather I'm sure I'll get a bit better.

Regarding the Person & Covey products, I use Aquanil and Aquanil HC and am very satisfied with them compared to other products I've tried. I asked them to send me some shampoo samples because I have a real e problem on my scalp, but they didn't. Right now I use T-Gel (no noticable improvement), so I'll ask my pharmacist to order something from Person & Covey next and try it out.

Genetics: I'm the tenth of a rather large number of children, and one sister who is three years older than me had eczema really badly as a child (had to be hospitalized a few times), then she got really bad asthma and the eczema went away. My youngest brother and sister have very mild cases of eczema, but nothing that alters their lifestyle. My youngest brother's son is 21 months old and has eczema quite badly; it's heartbreaking to watch him go through it, although he is still a very good natured child. I pray that he will be one of the few that grows out of it.

As my scratching is caused by the itching which is caused by the eczema, I never stopped to think about how the eczema is also at least aggravated by the scratching... 

Now that I do realise this, I'm working on scratching less. One thing I have found useful is keeping one of those rice-filled hand-held leather balls at hand -- you know the thing (?), they're advocated as an aid in giving up smoking and they were at one time a very popular business gift (when lighters went out of fashion, I suppose <g>).

Anyhow, I find that picking it up and playing with it does take my mind off the itch, which will then often enough just go away out of its own accord, without having been scratched.

• Fleischmann's has more than one type of margarine. We use the "Unsalted" as the milk free one. 
• You'll have these swollen glands more noticeably when your lymphatic system is working overtime to "cure" itself.
• I have 2 children. Only the younger one has it (neither parent does either). Another consideration for only youngest ones having eczema could be due to how difficult/challenging the eczema is for everyone. For us, it was the deciding factor for stopping at 2 children. I feel I can't go thru the heartache again, saying nothing of the poor little soul having to deal with this every day... 

Dear E-moms, Watch those egg allergies and upcoming immunizations for your babies. Read the info sheets the nurse gives you in advance very carefully. Some immunizations are prepared with egg and can provoke a serious allergic reaction if your child is sensitive to eggs.

My youngest of three has eczema.I feel I was blessed with Trystan last because I might not of had others if he was first. My husbands brother had eczema as a child and outgrew it, and my mother-in-law had eczema until she hit puberty. Neither has asthma and both were the youngest of the family.

I am the eldest of three and the only one who has ever had eczema. Neither of my parents has ever been atopic, but my maternal aunt had asthma. (To be 100 percent honest my Mum has just developed eczema on her eyelids).

My younger brother and sister do both have asthma, which is worse than mine.

This asthma connection may fit into the theory and of course there is always time for my siblings to develop eczema.

I am the one with severe eczema. I am the middle child in a family of 5 and my condition is the worst of the family.

My two younger sisters are fraternal twins: One has no eczema, asthma, or allergies, just migraine headaches. The other twin has asthma and slight allergies but no eczema. The oldest sister had a very slight case of eczema at creases of arms and legs in infancy that she grew out of. And the second oldest had nothing except for a short period of facial breakouts at age 30 that lasted for a few months.

Hi Tina, Sorry to hear your Daniel has had some bad times with eczema lately. My Daniel isn't as clear as he was last week but is okay. Last night I gave him a bath and decided I better wash his hair. I was out of baby shampoo (I've just been using that about once a week), and used the aveeno oatmeal soap. I had baking soda in the water. I don't know if it was the oatmeal soap or what but he scratched a lot last night. I felt terrible. Plus he is still getting over a cough and cold, and was up until about midnight being fussy.

I believe it is the MMR vaccination. Daniel got it a couple of months ago, and they made us wait in the waiting room to make sure he wasn't going to react to egg. He is very allergic to egg, but didn't have a reaction for a couple of days. We were told some doctors won't give it and that they have an allergist do it in their environment.

Genetically, my family has a history of asthma and eczema on both my mum's and dad's sides. However, I'm the only one with eczema this bad, AND I am a younger child. Don't really know if being the younger has anything to do with it, but perhaps a poll round the mailing list might be statistically revealing?? My sister has only a slight tendency towards rhinitis and asthma, as does my dad. Only my cousin (who is also the youngest in his family) occasionally breaks out in a rash, put usually a result of eating shellfish or some other obvious allergen. 

Can't say that eczema has totally controlled what I do for fun, although it has had some influence on my leisure activities. I love to play badminton and tennis, even though perspiration doesn't do my eczema any good. I need the exercise, so eczema has not stopped me from my games. I grit my teeth and try to scratch as little as possible during and after the game, and get into air-conditioning ASAP. I used to swim, but usually the rash is too embarrassing for me to venture to a public pool in a bathing suit. I love the beach, and the sea water helps (I think). I've just returned from a relaxing beach vacation and my eczema seems better this past week. (Could also be due to the lack of stress.)

As a kid, I can't recall how bad my eczema was, but my parents never stopped me from doing anything in particular. So I climbed trees, crawled in ditches, cycled round the neighbourhood looking for adventure etc etc. I can't say that I do the same nowadays!

Too busy with work to have serious hobbies. I'm supposedly musical, I guess, quite an indoor person, apart from a partiality for tennis and beaches. Love to read Dick Francis and other such mystery books.

Re: Brigit's "squeeze toy": I find also that if I'm typing during an itch attack (esp. when my knuckles are itching), I can ignore it until it dies down. Unfortunately, I'm prone to typing-induced tendonitis!

I have tried the "not scratching" technique as well, since I've heard of eczema described as "the itch that rashes" rather than "the rash that itches". But I have to admit that in some instances when I've *really scratched* at an isolated spot (usu. on my hands), sometimes it heals and subsides rather quickly afterward. Go figure.

I am the youngest of three children and the only one with eczema. My father also has it. And now my son (as you know) has it, but he is our first child. As Debbie stated below, sometimes I think about having a second child, but have to wonder if he or she would also suffer from this awful disease. I don't know... personally if we decide to have another child, I don't think the "fear of eczema" should stop us because children are such blessings.

Here's a story to help put things in perspective. Yesterday I heard about a little boy about to turn 2 yrs old that has some rare problem -- 2 sets of tonsils. His parents are having a big birthday party for him next weekend because the following day he's having surgery to remove both sets of tonsils and there's a 50/50 chance of survival! This just broke my heart and I don't even know these people. So, needless to say, eczema might be itchy, irritating, ugly, frustrating, etc., but it's nothing in comparison to something life-threatening.

I looked into spelt and the info I found (from the back of a bag of the stuff) said it was an asian grain that has been around since before bible times. Its protein is water solible and so people can digest it easier. "Lots of people who can't eat wheat can eat spelt" However, there is a warning that people with wheat or gluten allergies may have a reaction. The health food store has it for $4.27 a 2 pound bag. 

Has anyone found that using steroid cremes/ointments makes your skin more vulnerable to eczema? I find that there are some parts of my skin where I rarely break out, and spots that chronically flare up. I have a feeling that the more I use cortisone on my skin, the more that area is prone to misbehave. If Anjum's report that steroids increase IgE is true (and I have a hunch that it is), then we really shouldn't be using them, should we?

Someone mentioned that after having their second child, an eczema baby, she decided to stop having children. I've always treasured the thought of getting married, having a family and lots of children. But lately, I've been thinking that I won't ever marry or have kids because it would break my heart to see my children suffering with eczema. Besides, I don't know if I would make a suitable mother with the depression that always comes with a flare-up.

Moms and dads, how do you cope up with the daily heart ache of seeing your children suffer physically, and emotionally? and are the rewards of having your eczema children greater than the daily sorrows?

I am the sixth of eight. My oldest sister has some eczema on her hands, but nothing like I've had. So far it seems that the trend does tend towards the youngest having eczema, although not in all cases.

I have two children. So far my sons have been very patient and understanding with me on days when I'm depressed or lethargic. My four year old used to come and hug me and say it's okay mom. I would definitely have children again, knowing what I know now--it was my pregnancy which brought on the eczema. My second son is only seven months. I am feeling better than I have for a long time.

My sister has a son with eczema. Her next child doesn't have it. My sons don't have it. Just because you have it doesn't mean your children will. It's the chance of genetics. There's always a chance when you have children that some unknown disease locked in your genes will present itself. That is just not a good excuse for denying yourself and your children the blessing of life. You just have to find the positive in living--even in living with this blasted skin disease. There are lots of moments of joy for me with my sons. I love them and wouldn't change a thing that I can't!

I hope you do find someone who you can experience family life with, it's great--especially if this is one of your desires.

Yes, the rewards greatly outweigh the negative aspects of having children with eczema. My first son does not have eczema, where my 20 month old does. It is hard to see him suffer but we do the best we can day by day. We love them both, as they are both gifts... There are times where I have a really bad time coping with the scratching and no matter what I do I can't stop it. Usually the only thing that will get him to stop is the candy--Smarties. Even holding him, loving him doesn't work... 

I would not let anything stop me from having children, if that is what you want to do. I believe that all people get depressed at times, we just get through. Also, if you already have eczema you would have a greater understanding of what a child with eczema is feeling and probably be more sympathetic.

You are right: steroids are bad but effective, unfortunately. Nevertheless, as I also anounced earlier: I voluntarily joined a research of a new medicine in the Amsterdam Academic Hospital, a medecine based upon very low quantities of cyclosporine (which has nothing to do with cancer-horror-stories as suggested by someone on the list earlier). This new medicine, still in clinical testing fase, had a marvelous effect upon eczema with all participants in the research so far. There might be light at the end of the tunnel.

If my daughter ended up with eczema, I think I would feel guilty as hell but it would depend on the severity also. The thought of grandchildren is a stressor as I am well aware of how far this disease can go, most of you don't have a clue. That's part of the reason why I have only one child and personally wouldn't pass it on again. She doesn't have eczema but she carries the gene.

In my own particular case, I believe I've pinpointed that sugar is the culprit in aggravating my eczema. I have always enjoyed sweets/junk food, but it had gotten to a point within the last year where I was eating some sort of candy and/or cake every day. I know sugar depresses your immune system (which doesn't help eczema to begin with), and it wasn't doing anything good for my weight and high cholesterol either, so I went "cold turkey" on the sugar about 6 weeks ago. I went through the most awful withdrawal from sugar that I felt like a junkie! 

After about a week, I noticed with great surprise that my eczema--which had been very severe lately--had gone away! Then I decided to try an experiment. After another week of clear skin, I treated myself to an ice cream sundae. No recurrence of eczema. Another week "sugar free" and I still had no eczema and treated myself to something again. No return of eczema. However, when I started lapsing and ate some junk 3 different days of the week, I noticed the eczema started coming back. I have a feeling that in my case sugar/junk in itself doesn't necessarily aggravate the eczema, but when a certain amount of the junk is builds up in my system (from several days of sugar), it blows up again. I'm going to continue experimenting with this, but wanted to pass it along in case it might help someone else. 

My daughter (almost 3 years old) has flare ups when she is sick... or getting sick. Tho she has eczema somewhere all the time, we have learned to expect her to get sick when she has a sudden flare up without a change in weather, schedule, stress, etc. Her skin usually tells us when she is getting sick and has been very accurate.

Several weeks ago the group was discussing stress and eczema, and we've sure seen stress and frustration affect her skin. We recently "drew a line in the sand" about bedtime and stopped laying down in bed with her, requiring her to go to bed by herself. That created several evenings in a row of great stress and frustration and carrying on for her, and her skin erupted. Since we kind of expected that result, we worked really hard to make the rest of her life as frustration-free as possible. We have been moving very slowly and patiently with potty training for this reason, too. 

As a new parent who doesn't have eczema, I have really appreciated all the adults who have shared the experiences and feelings they had as children with eczema. Some of it we had already figured out for ourselves and was good confirmation; other info very much appreciated. 

The heartache of seeing her miserable and knowing that sometimes there is nothing I can do for her is the absolute WORST thing. Sometimes I hold her and rock her and cry right along with her. Sometimes I am so angry at whatever causes this that I want to scream - sometimes I DO scream. And, I can honestly say that the joys so vastly outweigh the sorrows that "joy" is not even a sufficiently "joyful" word. 

I thought I had a great life before my daughter came along - now, life is superb beyond description. My daughter somehow is blessed with a spirit full of laughter and love - she takes delight in everything (except her eczema and not being allowed to eat all the Rice Dream ice cream she wants ;) ) and shares her delight with everyone. She is one of those people who are innately positive about life, no matter what. Nothing in my life to date had prepared me for the intensity of the love I have for this child! 

A humble suggestion, for those who mentioned they want children in their lives but will not have children for fear of passing on the eczema: adoption is a wonderful way to build a family. And for those who said e is bearable when we consider what some experience in other aspects of their lives: this is so true. I adopted my daughter when she was about 6 weeks old. She was severely malnourished with zero % body fat - this is understandable as she is allergic to milk and had lived her entire life to that point on cow's milk with sugar mixed in - she was covered with untreated eczema and bears other permanent physical scars which I won't even discuss. 

So, while I cry for my daughter's eczema, I cry more for her loss of her birthparents and for the horrors of her first few weeks of life. And I daily thank whatever gods there may be for the awesome gift of having her in my life, eczema and all. A lot of people have commented to me how "lucky" she is to have been adopted - this comment astounds me, for it is plainly obvious to me that *I* am the lucky one. As to second children, I am anxiously hoping for the arrival of a second child soon, and have complete faith that whatever struggles may accompany her, they will be greatly offset by the joys.

I'm wondering if any one has noticed any similar problems with their eczema. Since about New Year's, I've been avoiding drinking alcohol because it seems to aggrevate my eczema. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, but there definitely seemed to be a correlation. I tried going without drinking for a few weeks and then one night I went to a party and had a few drinks. The next morning I was really itchy. Again I stopped drinking for a while and then when I had some drinks one evening, my eczema got worse after a day or two. By the way, I've noticed it with wine as well as beer, so I don't think it has much to do with wheat or whatever in beer.

Alcohol has never been a problem for my eczema before this year, so I'm kind of lost. But then again, I've never had chronic eczema up until a couple years ago, either, so who knows what changes my system is going through.

If any one else has noticed any kind of correlation between drinking and their eczema, I'd be very interested to know.. I really miss having the occasional good ale or glass of wine.

I just can't understand my Eczema, I've tried cutting out dairy products, yeast (breads etc) eating healthy (no junk foods etc) and nothing seems to help. At the moment it is very bad on my eyelids and under my armpits. I am using a cream called Aquacare - 10% Urea cream, which is better than nothing. I think for me it may be mainly related to tiredness and stress. I hate Eczema :-(

I tried massaging lavender oil over my body a few days ago, and it worked wonders, it moisturised my skin for a whole day. I think I will be going to a homeopathic doctor sometime next week to try to get some more answers.

I have been told that there is yeast in all alcohol (beer, wine and hard alcohol). This is what may be causing your symptoms. You may want to check to see if your are intolerant to yeast.

My mother went through an awful period in the early 70's in which she could wear nothing with elastic (which was no easy feat!). After a series of tests, it was determined that she was allergic to the adhesive in the medications she gave out as an LPN. It gave her a terrible rash- I now wonder if it was eczema. She never to seemed to itch as much as I did with eczema.

My mother had asthma late in her life (she died of COPD). Two of my sisters had asthma badly enough that they both moved after high school. Another sister has a daughter with asthma. I developed asthma two years ago, approximately 1 1/2 years after the eczema first showed up.

I had gone to a naturopath (my derm recommended it!) and she said that by repressing the eczema with steroids, the allergy would express itself another way, such as in asthma. My derm says that's baloney.

I'd like to add that my eczema has cleared up completely from avoiding everything the derm told me to, avoiding soap, and using only jojoba oil. I stopped by the derm's office to show off!

I have in the past dated a man with eczema when the thought of having children with eczema crossed my mind. Although I am no longer seeing this man, and this is not due to his condition, I don't believe eczema would stop me from having children.

In fact, when talking to my parents regarding raising a child with eczema, their biggest hurdle was the fact that they did not know how to take care of it. Once they realized there were ways to cope with eczema their outlook on child rearing improved drastically. (They have five children and I am the oldest. Two have eczema.) In fact, when looking back on my own life, I exercise regularly (aerobics) in a gym surrounded by many people, I just make sure I position myself by a fan. I drink plenty of water (like most people ought to do) and take breaks when I feel the need to. I do just as much as any other person without eczema and when I have my occasional flare ups I make sure to take an antihistamine, a cold shower with tar soap, and get plenty of sleep. I am depressed probably as much as anyone without eczema and I probably have just as many problems as anyone without eczema.

I believe, if anything, eczema has made me a stronger person. Although I have been blessed with knowing how to take care of it, during occasional flare ups I have friends and family who are willing to love me for who I am underneath the rash. As for the thought of future children, I know that they have one advantage that I didn't have as a little girl, I know what works for me and I will it apply it towards them.

Please know that it's not always passed on! I have had pretty bad eczema all my life. I now have a 1 & 3 year old who to date show no signs of it! Think Positive!

I have a son, now almost 10 months old, who has eczema. He is my second child, and my first has no problems. I had eczema as a child, then later hives, etc, until finally outgrowing all my skin problems, and I hope Jacob will do the same.

I have learned a lot from reading this list. I initially tried chiropractic care for Jacob, and also have visited a dermatologist. We now have some "magic pink cream" from the derm., which is 2% hydrocortisone, which I use very sparingly only when things get really bad. This list has sufficiently warned me of the side effects he could suffer. However, it does come in handy as a last resort.

I have used the free oatmeal samples from Sativa, and have concluded that they neither help nor hurt. I have tried tea tree oil with the same conclusions. By far the best tip I have gleaned from all this information is the baking soda bath idea. Really helps him a lot.

Jacob's eczema started when he was about 2 months old, on his ankles, and he now has very little trouble. Seems that this spring, as he started to crawl things got better. Don't know if his frustration is over now that he is mobile, or if that coincided with turning off the central heating system in the house which was causing allergies to flare up. I am still nursing him, and, he eats almost anything now that he wants. I had at first gone round the bend trying to eliminate stuff from his diet and mine, and finally decided that if it was a food allergy, it was one that I couldn't figure out.

Basically, the less I worry, the better he gets. He loves to sleep in only a diaper, and is finally sleeping thru the night. I think that gowns, even all cotton ones, bothered him. Always happier barefoot, I don't know why it took me so long to figure that one out.

My 9 month old son is the only one in the family who has eczema. He also is the only child we have. I might have had eczema as an infant, but only for approx. 1 month (my mother isn't real sure). No one else in my family or my husband's has eczema. My husband's sister hashay fever and her son is free of eczema, but does have allergic tendencies. Iguess if I were to trace back beyond our grandparents we would probably find something (and everything for that matter).

I've been wondering about more children, also. I know I don't want to watch another child suffer. I feel so helpless. I wish I could have it and not my son. I think we're going to wait a few years and see if he "outgrows" it before deciding on more children (although I would love to have a daughter). He does seem to be doing better. It no longer seems to cover his whole body. He doesn't scratch as much either. However, we are still using hydrocortisone sparingly on the real bad spots every day. 

Question to moms: How often do you put hydrocortisone or other steroid creams on your eczema babies? I have to put Westcort cream on his bad spots once a day. I've heard some stories of some babies diagnosed with eczema and all they needed was a short course of cortisone cream and Eucerin and they've been cured. I wish this was the case in all our situations.Moisturizers just make my son's "normal" areas softer and do nothing for his eczema. We haven't been able to pinpoint any cause of his flares either. Just some good days and some bad. Oh well, can't give up hope.

I have been on gamma interferon for about 2 months and have shown significant improvement. I was on alpha interferon initially but showed no improvement so my Dr. asked that I be put on gamma and it as approved.

I am curious about a comment you made. You stated that you hoped the FDA would approve this. I am not part of a study. I got it approved through my insurance(HMO) by documenting that it has been shown to be effective in a study that was done several years ago. It seems that it has been approved by the FDA.

Just when I think I have gotten to the cause of EJ's eczema...

Well, ya'll. Ethan is now 19 months old. I have lost the battle for the moment. EJ's ankles and behind his knees are bleeding madly. He has E on the TOPS of his legs where he has never had it before. Diet is exactly (poor boy--such a BORING, routine, limited diet) the same. No new soaps or detergents. No difference in the routine. No nursery exposure or babysitters who messed up in diet. No carpet cleaning or bug spraying. No new lotions. No new ANYTHING!

I am so discouraged. Ethan is constipated all the time due to lack of fiber. This has never been a problem for his siblings; I make whole grain breads from scratch (I grind the grain). His immune system is weak, while I can give Barley Green to them to boost their immune systems.

He is too thin and has dropped down to the 15% in weight. EJ is not very interested in his food anymore. He cries and points to all the wonderful stuff we eat. I have taken to feeding him first and then putting him in his playpen in front of family videos during mealtimes so he won't cry so much or raid our plates when no one is looking. That seems so anti-social to me.

We have done so well for six months. How could this be so terribly awful, now?

On the spiritual end, I have been praying daily for either his total healing or increased wisdom in discerning the cause. God is remaining silent on this issue (or so it appears to me at the moment.) +sigh+

Why, Why, WHY???

Since he looks so horrible, now, I am actually toying with the idea of feeding him some of the wholesome foods WE eat for a few days. I am already up at night. He is grumpy. He scratches. He bleeds. Maybe he will gain some weight. Maybe he will be happy for just a few minutes each day.

All my college degrees, all my Web surfing, all my intellect, all my prayers can't make help this baby when he needs it the most. How can I live in this huge city and have no inkling who can help me heal this child naturally??? Where can I find a good pediatric derm without wasting hundreds of dollars I don't have???

I just lie awake at night thinking and thinking that there is some clue I am missing and if I think long enough, I will figure it out.

At the end of my wits and not making any discernable difference.

Should I not have had children since between my husband's family and my family we have Eczema, Cancer, Heart Attacks, Asthma, Allergies, Migraines, Drug Abuse, Alcoholism, to name a few of the big ones... I think we all need to work between spouses to decide what is important to us and if we should have children or not. I don't think any of us would ever have children if we went by our families genetics totally. I think we deal with what life gives us.

Kay, I have had eczema and severe allergies all of my life. I have found that for me the single biggest factor in keeping my skin clear is my emotional state. Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that I can sit around eating foods I am allergic to constantly and not have a reaction to them but my emotional outlook and state of mind seem to have a large bearing on how it manifests itself.

I'm allergic to a ton of stuff... It's not just a few, it's most things. My skin condition is very unpredictable even when I avoid everything that I'm allergic to and do everything the dermatologist instructs me to.

I would personally recommend you give a try with a more normal lifestyle intermixed with what you are trying now. I really enjoy certain foods myself and I avoid them 90% of the time. But every now and then I will have some... Sometimes I say I deserve it, other times I say what the heck... And it seems to do me more good than harm.

Although I am a more repressed person (eg bottled up feelings and stuff) I have found that when I have been the happiest in my life my skin conditions have been the best. I have been unable to find a clear link between most of the foods I'm allergic to and my skin condition despite ten years of trying elimination diets, rotation diets, etc.

Dear Kay, I am so sorry to hear you are having a hard time right now. Remember that we are all here thinking of you at this time. It is so terrible to have to see our children like this. Daniel is 20 mos. old and at a bad time also. I don't know if its because we challenged wheat last week, he has had a cold, and he has been trying to get those dreaded 24 mos molars through. Could Ethan also be teething along with his allergies and eczema?

I know it is hard when the family eats different foods than the little one. We have changed a few minor things in our house that were easy to change. My older boy (almost 4) no longer gets cereal that Daniel can't have , he gave up peanut butter--that was hard for me to give up! and he no longer gets pop-tarts, his favorites! I know that those were relatively simple examples, but a big deal to a 4 year old.

About Ethan's constipation-- go for the fresh fruits and vegetables, if you can. It makes a big difference for Daniel, since he mostly eats rice and oat products, he needs the fruits every day.

When I bathe my 16 mos. old daughter I use no soap but I often use baking soda (which does appear to instantly cure her all-over-itchies). I don't shampoo her very often--every 2 weeks or so. I use Johnson & Johnson's Ultra Sensitive Shampoo. In between I may just wet her head with plain water... 

My question is when you other moms wash their hair with shampoo, do you do it while they're sitting in the bath, so that the soapy water runs into their bath? Does this affect their skin? I try to wash her hair first--before putting her in the bath (kitchen sink)---by lying her on the counter and tilting her backwards into the sink. She complains a tiny bit, but it's still very manageable... real quick, easier to rinse well, nothing gets in her eyes or ears either. But eventually she'll be too big to do this way, so I'm just wondering about the process any of you use. 

Sue- I've experienced the same thing with sugar and dairy. Lately, my eczema has returned after a relative hiatus so I went back to dietary restrictions but to no avail this time. Maybe I'm missing something in the foods I'm eating. Are you taking any supplements and is your skin still dry?

In my opinion, deciding whether or not to have children should not only involve considering whether the rewards will outweigh the pain for the PARENTS, but more importantly, for the CHILD.

I am not depressed at the current time. I am doing very well, all things considered. I've made the best of what I've been stuck with, and I'm very pleased with the results. But I definitely wish I'd never been born. And I wish my parents had thought as much about what life would be like for ME, as they thought about themselves.

I would never bring a child into this world because of the possibility of passing on the genes for severe eczema. I was sterilized at the age of 21. I know that the chances of a child of mine having it as bad as I did are not great, but I wouldn't take any chance at all. No amount of good, and believe me I appreciate the good things I've got, could make up for the bad I've experienced, and god knows what lies ahead.

I guess all those consciously taking the chance of having e children assume that somehow their kid will manage to enjoy life in spite of their condition. IF their condition is not severe, I imagine that could be true. All I can say is, lifelong full body severe eczema is NOT something to give to someone you supposedly love.

Unfortunately, prenatal diagnosis is still a young science. They can predict with certainty some of the single gene conditions, but for multifactorial diseases like eczema and the atopic group, there's as yet no way of knowing whether a fetus will develop the condition at all, let alone predicting how severe it will be.

I personally don't understand how anyone takes the chance of having children, risking all kinds of serious conditions besides eczema. I know that some people have to bear children so that the world stays repopulated, but I believe that having children is NOT something that every adult should do automatically. We need far fewer than we have.

I'm sorry if this message makes parents feel worse than they already do, but I think it's important to get some perspective from the children's side, especially when younger children can't speak for themselves. I'm 40 years old, felt this way from earliest childhood, and have not changed my mind, despite enjoying life now more than ever. It still doesn't come close to compensating for the misery... 

I find this nightshades family of foods to be an interesting assortment. I wondered what the common element in them is. I have since read in another allergy book that the common ingredient is salicylates (sp?) in its natural form. So anyone who notices a problem with this group (which includes tobacco) may want to look into foods made with this additive. 

David, The doctor didn't take any scrapings, or do any tests. So I don't know any specifics about my condition at that time. Maybe I should have been more demanding. I don't really know whether it was staph or something else. All I know is that the antibiotics worked quickly. Sorry this answer doesn't seem to be much help.

When I did try an antifungal medicine once for my eczema it triggered my first bout of folliculitis. Does that make any sense? Why would nizoral cause folliculitis?

Chin up Kay, I know things will get better. How about the the HEAT of summer? Did you ever talk to Jolie she went to a ped gastroentoligist (sp) That might be your direction since constipation is such a problem anyway.

Sue, You should check more of the things that are in the sweets. Perhaps there is something else in those products that you ate in that one week that it flared up again. There's a lot of junk in "junk food." However, I am definitely preaching to the choir on that remark.

But, hey at least it'll keep you off some sweets. Another reason not to eat junk and be a little healthier!

Stress and dry skin aggravate eczema, what I find extremely helpful is to take a cool shower at night to alleviate the day's stress; moisture up with your favorite lotion and take atarax. This does work... I been through all the nonsense... Elimination of milk seems to help me also.

My newly-discovered book suggests transferring your emulsifying ointment or other emollient to empty 35mm photographic film containers, so that you can have small supplies next to every wash basin as well as in your car, your desk drawer, your handbag etc. As you may recall, the book says to use emollients as soon as your skin threatens to *become* dry, not wait until it *is* dry.

I was born with eczema and it was chronic when I was a baby. I was treated constantly for this and when I turned around 21 or 22 and moved out to the desert, the disease went into remission and I didn't see hide nor hair of it for 15 yrs.

Then one day I cut open a water blister that had formed on my hand and some cutting oil got in there and that is when it all started again. It was gradual at first, a spot here and there on my hands. Then it became worse as the months went on, spreading from my left hand to the right hand and then up the arms and then onto the feet, why the feet? I haven't a clue.

I have been to the doctors and all that stuff and they, of course, can't do a damn thing for me, so I began to do my own research and experimentation on this to see what would work and what wouldn't.

For now, and I don't know why, but I have been taking vitamin A, D & E and staying in the cool, dry climate with no sun exposure, and the eczema is virtually gone from most of my body. I don't know why, but as far as some people are concerned, who say, that the sun is good for this, including my doctor, seems to be worse for me.

Anyway, with those things being done, I have isolated my eczema down to the contact dermatitis only on my hands, and that is seeming to subside and does not flare as much as it used to. I directly relate this improvement to the taking of Vitamin A, D, E, and keeping the sweat off the body and staying cool, and dry, and of course, moisturize after every shower without drying off the water. I will keep posting my progress and solutions to this news group as I experiment and develop new ways that work for this disease.

I am very sensitive to alcohol also. Even before I swallow it it can feel it dilate my blood vessels spreading heat and itching up to my brain and then in a wave down to my toes. Then comes the itch. Needless to say, I overcome the desire for a beer at a picnic or wine with dinner.

Nancy, I originally wondered if it was dairy aggravating me instead of (or in addition to) the sugar since much of the sugar I was eating contained dairy (and often my only dairy source of the day, like ice cream). But after eating absolutely no dairy for a month and then going back on it, my eczema did not get worse, so I doubt that's it. 

As for the supplements I take, I wasn't taking anything while doing the sugar experiments, but I am now taking Vitamin E and Borage Oil and my skin is not dry. However, it's also 90 degrees and humid, which usually won't make my skin too dry. So it's hard to say. I just went to the allergist today and she did the skin testing for the "major" allegens--wheat, dairy, egg, bananas and a few other things, and none of it came up as allergic. However, she did explain that a food "sensitivity" (which I seem to have with bananas) doesn't mean I'm allergic, but may still react. Which means I'm pretty much back to square one with that. 

I definitely sympathize with you, Kay. In the past six months, my eczema has worsened to the state where I have too many scars all over my back, chest and neck from the constant scratching. I wake up at 3 AM, scratching, burning, and crying. My fiance has been trying everything he can think of, from milk baths and topical creams to oatmeal and just holding my arms down so I wouldn't scratch. 

For a while now, I've also experienced muscle spasms when my eczema is at its worst, again at 3 AM. He is so great about it, comforting me and doing as much research as he can, but we've found no solution. Every cream I try burns like hell on contact. My fiance believes he's narrowed the causes of this worsened aggravation to a few things: the increasing heat of summer (even though over past years it's never been close to this bad); the kitten that a friend recently got for me (I'm allergic to cats, but I've never really had problems with this one or others that I've owned); the ferret that my roomate owns; the carpeting in my apartment; and the one I think is most foolish... sex. He thinks that the increase in sweat, heat and rubbing has made my eczema worse. I don't want to believe this, but I know less now than he does on the subject, after all the research he's done. Any help, anyone?!

I have had pretty bad bouts with eczema and I am really scared about having kids. One of my allergists or derms (I've been to several) told me that there is a 50% chance that my kids would have allergic tendencies. I have asthma, allergies, and eczema. It's hard enough dealing with my own eczema, I don't know how I could see my kids go through it as well. I don't want to give my whole future progeny this kind of legacy but at the same time I cannot imagine life without something as precious as children. My mom, a pediatrician, tells me to cheer me up that people who have it very bad there kids don't have it so bad and people who have it very mild, like my mom, their kids get it bad. Has anyone noticed this?

I have seriously considered adoption, especially if I never marry again. It gives me comfort to think that marriage is not the only way to have love in your life.

Brief rundown on what I learned in med. school: Every human has 23 PAIRS of chromosomes, which comprise our genetic material, DNA. Pairs because we obtain one set from mommy and the other from daddy. All together 46 strands of chromosomes. Each chromosome is composed of functional units called genes. For a given pair of chromosomes, the genes at a similar location, or locus, perform similar functions. So, if I have the "eczema gene" on my maternal chromosome 21 (example) and a normal gene from my paternal chromosome 21 at the same location than there is a 50% chance that I will pass on either gene, chromosome, to my offspring. This happens through random assortment. Thus there is a 50% chance that my child will get the eczema gene. However, this is simple Mendelian genetics and eczema, as someone said before, may be multifactorial meaning many genes are involved.

Hi, my husband had it pretty bad as a child but only has dry skin now, and sometimes his finger tips crack when it is real cold. Daniel's is worse than my husband's, especially with the food allergies thrown in. Also my husband is allergic to cats and dogs, and so far Daniel isn't.

Robin, I was so tickled to read your post on adopting your daughter. My son Daniel is adopted and we have a very open adoption with his birth family. He is 30 months old and yesterday we met his cousins and spent the afternoon with the whole family (I am older than his grandmother!). It was a wonderful, relaxing day. We had an open adoption with his young birth mother and now finally the grandparents are thrilled to have him in their lives again and want to have him come spend some days with them.

Daniel's eczema developed about a year ago visibly although he had dry leathery skin from the time I brought him home at 9 1/2 months. And yesterday, it was great to hear his great-aunt (who is about 32 yo) describe her 10 yo son's eczema and what she uses for it. Having the family talk about their medical histories is good for me, and ultimately for Daniel. And it is so great to see him with all of these relatives whom he looks like. I'm the oddball, but it doesn't matter because they accept me and I am open to all the contact we can handle.

For those who think they might be allergic to sugar which might be affecting their eczema; keep in mind there are all kinds of sugars: cane, beet, corn, and others. I have never seen "Beet sugar": listed as an ingredient anywhere, but I know it is a major sugar. I think they keep it a mild secret. "Others" include glucose and sucrose. I have not seem much explanation about the sources of these.

Thanks for the reflections following my "despair" mail. With regards to EJ's long bout with constipation, his diet is at least 40-50% raw or steamed fruits and veggies. He eats squash, green beans, prunes, peaches, pears, apples, etc. (still no strawberries or citrus, though.) We avoid bananas and potatoes for the constipation factor. Appreciate the posts about fiber in fruits and veggies, but we are already there. Isn't that odd?

Tonight is a very bad night. Benadryl (my magic liquid for EJ which I have used a handful of times) is giving him no relief. My white nightgown is spotted all over with his blood.

We turned the central air-conditioning on two weeks ago. The next day his eczema went bad. Could THAT be doing it?

My cousin has a severe wheat intolerance but is merrily charging through life at 45 with spelt products. He stayed with us during the Olympics and I got the full tour of all the yummy breads, pastas, etc. which are available in spelt.

Debbie, It sounds as if your fiance is quite correct. A few things are well known to be allergens - two of these are animal dander and dust mite (or more accurately the residue of them) - in your case a cat, a ferret and carpet. Do youself a favour and get rid of them.

Do anything and everything you can to get yourself away from these things. It sounds like a lot to do but you must think of your skin and ultimately your sanity. Nothing should be too much for the sake of your health.

The heat and sex as suspects - never dismiss anything as an aggravating factor in this disease. But if you get rid of the cat, ferret and carpet you may well find that that in itself is enough.

>> people who have it very bad their kids don't have it so bad and people who have it very mild, their kids get it bad.<<

My daughter years ago pointed this out, still hoping it's not true or any children she has, their lives will be horrible because my eczema is beyond severe and she doesn't have it.

My son (7 years old) has eczema. We live in a pretty hot climate without air conditioning. One of the things his dermatologist gave us the last time we were in, was a new lotion called SARNA. It is a lotion that contains menthol and camphor. About 2-3 minutes after applying this lotion, you feel cool and tingly. It's great stuff :)

Another trick he told us, which my son has not wanted to try is to do a "wet jammie treatment." What he does with his two daughters (who both have eczema) is to get their pajamas wet right before bed. He tosses them in the dryer to get most of the water out, but leaves them wet enough so that they will still cling to the skin (these are 100% cotton jammies only). The kids put the wet jammies on, and the cool wet fabric against their skin helps alleviate the itch.

Life is full of ups and downs. Just as the downs come, so do the ups. I think the most memorable people in history went through some terrible hardships. Look at what happened to the pilgrims. If I think about hardships that others have gone through, it makes me feel very lucky.

I thought about those who have leprosy, or those whose entire family has it. I thought about those who have been unfairly jailed for life and about those who have lost loved ones to the death penalty for a crime they didn't commit. I thought about those who have lost their families through tragic accidents. I thought about the couples who have deep heartaches because they can't conceive and about the guys who drop bombs from fighter jets and then later regret it. I thought about the shut-ins who are homebound for life from panic attacks and about the millions who starve. Finally, I thought about the generations of slavery from Egypt to the United States. And, I felt lucky.

Life wasn't supposed to be this way (you know). Life is supposed to be beautiful. God sure does know what lies ahead.

I think that through suffering people reach out to each other in ways they wouldn't have (like the way most neighbors ignore eachother until there's a tragedy). 

In my suffering, I cried out to God as though the affliction was unfairly put on me with his approval. For, He is always in control. I tell you the truth ... if He hadn't allowed me to suffer the way I did (until I wished for death), I wouldn't have reached out to the thousands that I have. People need each other. Suffering somehow draws us closer together. Gary Smalley has a series of family relationship tapes. One of his tapes says that the one thing that makes families bond is the hard times they go through together--not the good times. I'm not advocating suffering, though; I'm just trying to make the best of it.

I find it goes against the strong current of thoughts to focus on the positive: to control my thoughts rather than to be consumed by them. Since eczema is of the flesh, my mind easily followed my emotions and consumed me with thoughts of hopelessness and pain. But, I draw upon the Spirit to help train my thoughts to be positive. I want to live a life that is positive despite harship. The more I focus on the positive, the less the negative flaunts itself in my face. It's practice, but I'm not alone in this. We're not alone in this. We really are all brothers and sisters and have eachother to encourage one another.

Just as there are ups, there are downs; and, just as there are downs, **there are ups**. So, when times feel down, that's the time to build character and not lose hope; for, the up time will come again and we'll be stronger when it does. The key is to continue to hope and not lose faith. To look on the brighter side of every day and not the darker side. Many think that joy comes from getting something; I've learned that it comes from giving love.

Debbie: If at around 3:00 AM your eczema gets aggravated, I would strongly recommend a cool shower at night, moisture up (I know that it hurts to shower, because of the open scratches, but you got to do it), take a antihistimine (Atarax or something along those lines) and keep the AC running this will keep you cool and make you sleep at ease... this will work!

I find that my eczema acts up when there's extremes of temperature, especially going from one to the other. My body seems to get confused by the changes and can't regulate itself easily. It could be that EJ had been adapted to the outdoor/room temperature, and then the A/C threw a monkey wrench into the system.

I have a serious problem anyplace with A/C. Going inside where it's cool, and then outside where it's hot, makes my skin awful. I have to either stay inside or stay outside, one or the other.

I don't like the new major treatments for eczema like interferon gamma and tacrolimus?-the topical cyclosporine. They both suppress the immune system so how are they any different than steroids in terms of side effects?

And about the younger children have it worst, I believe that parents just stop having more kids when they get one with so many health problems for fear that the next one will be the same, that's all.

The 35mm film cans are an excellent idea! I have two small food storage containers (Rubbermaid, FYI) in my desk at work; one has Eucerin, the other has Sarna, so I can moisturize my hands or treat itching without waiting until it gets to a desperate stage. I also have a sample tube of a potent topical steroid, just in case the flare-up comes on suddenly. 

I'm lucky that everyone at work knows about my eczema; it makes it easier to explain when I'm cranky and itchy. Actually, one of my co-workers has psoriasis, and my supervisor has fingertip eczema during the winter, so they do understand my occasional complaints.

Kay, Sorry to hear about EJ's severe problem. I have had the same experiences as EJ.

YES YES The airconditioning probably is it. Turn it off. Either get some expert advice on cleaning the central or get experts to clean it or forget it. Even if you turn it off, it still may be causing problems if it is a home for the mold/mildew.

Get ROOM airconditioners that you can clean. Vinegar kills the mold/mildew which is probably the cause. They have a horrible effect. I had a place that was infested with it. I had to clean the walls, wash the curtains and clean the floor, clean the airconditioning and finally got relief. If you can turn off the ROOM airconditioner on cooler days and let the breezes (if there are any) blow through it will be a "Breath of Fresh Air". Use fans. Room ceiling fans are fantastic and cheap. If there is carpeting around get rid of it. FAST. Use ice on EJ's skin.

This is a chopped up version of some info on probiotics (our healthy bacteria):

We are actually made up of 90% bacteria cells (100 trillion) and only 10% animal cells (10 trillion). Every person harbors more microorganisms in their gastrointestinal tract than there are people in the world, or have been in all of history. The gums, teeth, hair, and skin are also richly populated with many types of microorganisms.

They are necessary for good health.

All areas of the gastrointestinal tract contain bacteria, but the colon is by far the most heavily populated.

The Benefits of Maintaining a Healthy Indigenous Microflora or Probiotic Supplementation. 

1. Boosting the Immune System 
2. Inhibiting the Growth of Pathogenic Organisms 
3. Prevention of Diarrhea from Various Causes 
4. Cancer Prevention 
5. Reduced Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease 
6. Improved Digestion of Proteins and Fats 
7. Vitamin Synthesis 
8. Detoxification and Protection from Toxins

Ways to Minimize the Side Effects of Antibiotics 

1. Avoid unnecessary use of any antibiotic. 
2. Use antibiotics for as short a period as possible. 
3. Use narrow-spectrum rather than broad-spectrum antibiotics.
4. Always take probiotic microflora supplements.

Indications for Probiotic Supplements 

1. Maintaining the Probiotic Flora during antibiotic treatment
2. Constipation 
3. Diarrhea 
4. During pregnancy 
5. Programs for infants and young children 
6. Counteracting Infections 
7. Irritable bowel syndrome 
8. Chronic gas

Many things can change environmentally and habitually. I have some questions to ask. What other detective work have you tried? Has your daughter tried food elimination (trials), tile floors (no carpet?). At the outset of these problems what major changes happened in her life? Did she move to a new residence or get a new job, or have a changed environment in her present residence or workplace or change her eating patterns. Does she cook for herself or eat out? Does a different person cook for her? Did she get a new car with airconditioning? Are there changes in the outside environment near her work or home? Did get married and/or have children which might have resulted in new things in the environment?

My "BodyPartAllergy Theory" follows and may be of some significance to your daughter's situation.

I believe that certain allergens affect certain parts of the body. At face value, that statement may seem obvious, but this idea may prove to be more specific than we generally believe. For the face/head eyes, I am pretty sure that the white rice that I eat is cause of the problem. For hands I believe the ingredients in microwave popcorn are causing the blistering bumps. For the neck and perhaps other areas chocolate seems to be a problem. These foods affect the whole body but seem to concentrate in the areas mentioned and have slightly different effects. I have long thought that this theory might prove to be true, and am continuing to try to observe my reactions. I control my diet very closely and have tried to eliminate all other factors as much as humanly possible. If anyone else has ideas about this "BodyPartAllergy Theory" I am very interested in them. It is possible that what I am saying happens only to me. I would like to find out, so that others can benefit from this knowledge if it proves to be helpful.

My son's eczema flares up when he gets sick, or something traumatic happens physically, ie stitches from falling!! The doctor even commented that his body has a hard time fighting it off when he is ill, and we have no choice but to go to the steroid cream until it dissipates. I, as always use it sparingly. And also, my son's eczema is not severe. 

US baking soda = UK sodium bicarbonate, or bicarbonate of soda, or simply bicarb = NL zuiveringszout, or dubbelkoolzure soda, or natriumbicarbonaat.

Kay wrote: >>We turned the central air-conditioning on two weeks ago. The next day his eczema went bad. Could THAT be doing it?<<

I searched for house dust mite and mould control measures on the Web, and found a lot about how moulds love your air conditioner. The mould sits in the central unit and is distributed all through the house when you turn it on, was the idea.

DO perform a Web search on "mold+allergy", these were all at very easy-to-find sites. It seems mould is a very common trigger for eczema!

Just the opposite of me and many others (there have been prior discussions). Sickness, when temperature elevates has a positive effect on the eczema.

Kay, my daughter who is now 7 1/2 also has eczema and when she was your son's age had it about like you describe. We sat up many a nights crying, itching and scratching and rubbing lotion after lotion. I never changed her diet because as you can see he is more misearable than ever. The only things she has to be careful of are nuts and chocolate. Can you reintroduce some "good" food and see how it goes? 

I will tell you what I did and maybe it will help. First - I limit her stress - this seems to cause flareups - also make sure she gets enough sleep which meant as a baby we would either leave family functions or get there late just so she could get her nap in. I wash clothes in regular detergent but always double rinse and never hang anything outside such as sheets or towels because of roughness and allergies. Every day twice a day we use vaseline cream and after a bath or shower I use it when she is still wet. As soon as I see a bad spot appear I put on the steroid cream - we actually don't use that very often anymore. Baking soda baths really seem to help her. 

I think you need to make him happy and if that means reintroducing some foods he enjoys then by all means do it. I know it is hard to believe by my daughter actually is better now - I never thought (during those wee hours of the morning) that she would get better but she did. Just keep trying and you will find a routine that works for you. My daughter always has a flareup in the early to late spring because of the change in weather but we are getting through to the end of that I think. Good luck.

As I stated in an earlier posting, in my humble opinion, the cause of MY eczema is an overactive immune system, in which case the use of gamma interferon is very helpful because it does, indeed, suppress my immune system. The difference between interferon and steriods is that when I take them, I gain 20 lbs. every time I take a short course of them, and I suffer from near debilitating depression, in addition to all the other side effects you hear about such as osteoporosis, hump back, cataracts, etc. With interferon, the only side effects are slight flu-like symptoms (alleviated completely with Tylenol), and a slight drop in the white blood count. For me, these are much easier symptoms to live with than the ones that come with steroid use.

I have found it fascinating to read the stories in this list. I had no idea that there were so many different causal factors involved. For instance, for me, the winter is much more severe on my eczema than the summer is, however, for each person on the list who says that cold weather is worse for them, there are about an equal amount who say that summer is worse. I've always been told by my derm that food allergies have nothing to do with eczema, yet most everyone on this list has said that they are allergic to food. When I was tested, the only things that showed up as food allergies were carrots and apples. I avoided them religiously, only to find no relief. I have fasted on nothing but water for 4 or 5 days at a time, still no relief. Yet several of you on the list say avoiding certain foods helps. Curious!

Children: I made a very concious decision that I would never have children when my doctor told me there was at least a 50% chance that I would pass eczema on to them. I can find no reason to risk making a person go through life with this. Yes, there are lots of great things in my life. I've been very fortunate to be loved unconditionally by many people; I have a very comfortable life as far as money and possessions, yet, I too wish that I had never been born. All the money in the world can't buy being able to feel comfortable in your own skin. All life events are overshadowed by the pain and anxiety that ezcema causes. Nighttime has been torture for me for the last 20 years (I sleep about 3 hours per night on good nights), I wake up itching like a maniac. If I take antihistamines, I'm a zombie for the next couple of days. It is impossible to put into words the horrifying ways that eczema can mess with your life. So, I will never risk passing this on to children.

Here's to a cure that won't have any side effects and works immediately!

I have been darn good lately (spit, spit). I take such a stew of things, it's hard to pinpoint. Summer is usually good for me. But, I have been taking 8 capsules of grape seed extract for a while now, not to mention flax seed oil, vit E, Chinese herbs. Preliminarily, I think the grape seed extract is making the difference. Anyone else have success with GSE?

I am wondering about the relative strength of steroid creams - specifically 0.5% hydrocortisone (efcortalan) and RD 1/4 betnovate. I do know that betnovate is stronger. But if I dilute it 50-50 with vaseline is it going to then be weaker?

The reason I ask this is that I seem to get more side-effects (oozing, weeping etc) after discontinuing hydrocortisone. Whereas with the betnovate I do not get this same reaction.

Do any of you know why hydrocortisone has this effect? I am particularly concerned as I have to use the cream on my face and I am using it at the moment as I am FED UP of being patient and positive and have been eating chocolate, icecream, and a few other baddies. I will go back to an avoidance diet when I feel a bit more in control, but at present the self-denial has been too much for me and I am using the steroid to be able to feel a bit human for a few days.

Another idea is to transfer the emollient to a pump dispenser. This avoids contaminating the cream or ointment by airborne bacteria, or by putting your hand in. (The best of both worlds would be if you could get tiny pump dispensers the size of 35mm file containers.)

Kay - My thoughts and prayers are with you. I 've been there too but my son is much better now. I used a pediatric gastroenterologist who knew how to help my son. Have you tried this? What are you feeding the little guy? Perhaps I can share with you what we feed our son and the medication he is on. 

The A/C can definately cause problems. Dust mites are a reality and can be dealt with. They are building up since we live in controlled environments, our Dr. recommended filters, sheet covers, $$$ of products but the big picture is OPEN THE WINDOW! Burn or freeze those guys out of the room! I close the door, close the vent and open the window. I also change his sheets every day. What a difference. At night I cool his room back down again with A/C. Do get a vent/dust mite cover and the special filter for your system. 

I came across a book put out by Prevention Magazine. It's called "The Natural Way to a Healthy Skin." There's an entire chapter on eczema. Some of the things recommended are Pyridoxine (Vit B6), unsaturated fats, Vitamin A from pumpkins, and Riboflaven (Vit B2). Now, who has tried any of that, and what were the results?

Hi John, I just wanted to say that I was feeling pretty blue and hopeless about my eczema, but your message gave me some much needed hope. You see, I will be moving to "the desert" next month, with the hope that the climate change will do me good. Knowing about your 15 year remission has made me so hopeful that, by golly, my skin got less red than usual. Thank you, thank you! thank you! 

I know what it's like going crazy trying to think what food caused the latest flare up. I think that at times, it can get to the point of being psychologically tormenting! Just to let you know, my allergist says that: 1. Food-allergy reactions ARE immediate; and 2. Tests for food allergy/sensitivity are not accurate for people with eczema. Besides, it is easy to tell what you are allergic to because the reaction happens within minutes.

If strict dieting does not help, then maybe what's causing your eczema is not food, but something in the environment.

Anyways, I'm just repeating what my doc said. I think what he said is especially true for adults with eczema.

Thanks, everyone for your thought on having eczema babies. I guess I will just take things one day at a time and deal with that issue when I get there. But, as much as I love being with kids, I have decided not to count on or hope for having my own children.

Julie, you mentioned that you have one eczema baby and are thinking about having another one. Now, this may sound hypocritical from someone who is afraid to have a baby herself, but if I did have an eczema baby, I'd like to have two. I know, you don't want to go through the hell again of seeing your baby suffer, but, from my own experience, having a sister with eczema, a fellow sufferer, has done me so much good. No matter what an awesome mother you are (and I'm sure you are wonderful) nothing can replace having a sibling who is going through the same thing. It removes a lot of the isolation.

I remember when my sister and I were younger, we would sometimes sleep in the same bed and play the "scratch and kick game". If Tess started to scratch, then I would kick her (playfully) or shake her until she stopped, and vice versa. We both had diets, and a mutual understanding of the frustration and pain the other was going through. She was, and often still is a great comfort to me, and a wonderful distraction from depression and itchiness.

So, having two eczema children will double the sorrow, but it will double the joy too.

John, what is this interferon treatment you're using? Is is a prescription medication or a type of therapy, and how does it work? I'm very interested in giving it a try. (Heck, I will try almost anything that's not steroids, at this point!)

Your allergist may be technically correct about an allergic reaction happening immediately, but I bet he/she does not have any bothersome food allergy problems daily her/himself. Noticing an allergic reaction depends on the degree of intensity or allergicness to the allergen. The range could be from a second to a day or week or more. Mild allergies may not be detected if exposure is sporadic.

If we eat foods to which we are mildly allergic for many days, the allergic reaction becomes cumulative. It increases. Eating the offender once may not be a problem. The problem is the repetition and the cumulative effect. That is when we start to notice a reaction. The causes of reactions that only become noticeable after a day or more are harder to identify because there is less direct association, therefore we keep exposing ourself without knowing it

So ... saying an allergic reaction happens immediately may be true, but for practical purposes the reaction may not be noticed unless we are nearly perfectly in tune with our body and nearly perfectly aware of all the allergens to which we are exposed. Even then we may not know we are having an allergic reaction, for the symptoms may be confused with other health problems until we finally associate them with a specific allergen and reconfirm several times by exposing ourselves purposely and noticing the result..

Many allergens become apparent quickly. But It is NOT easy to tell all the things some of us are allergic to. It may take years for some. It may take months for others. It depends upon how scientific and intensive we are in our investigations. Intensive prolonged detective work may be necessary for discovery of many allergens depending upon how allergic we are.

Limiting exposure to possible allergens helps to make the detection much faster.

Keeping records of foods eaten, places visited or other allergens contacted help to identify possible offenders faster because one has to remember to what one has been exposed. Records are extremely helpful. Otherwise we repeat things that we have not noticed. Records help us notice. Without record keeping our period of suffering will be much longer.

My 12 1/2 month old son Nathan has had eczema since he was six months old (at least that's when it revealed itself).

We have just finished an aggressive round of treatment w/o the eczema clearing up completely tho it did get better as a result. here's what we did (per instructions from the pediatrician). For 8 days, we applied Triamcinolon twice a day, Bactroban three times a day, and Aquaphor any time the area appeared to be drying out. We also administered Atarax (actually the generic version) by mouth whenever Nathan would be scratching to help take the itch out. I noticed that after the first couple of days as it started healing, he didn't scratch.

We completed the 8 days and then stopped. On day 9 it didn't look better or worse (we continued the Bactroban and Aquaphor) but by day 10, it started getting worse again. It also has spread from the top of his feet and he's got some in his *creases* (elbows, wrists and back of his knees). The elbows and knees have just started this weekend. The wrists started about 3 weeks ago but aren't bad at this point tho he does scratch them some. We take him back to the pedi tomorrow to have another look.

I'm ready to explore other options and will be reading the E-list faq in the next few days. We've discussed possible food allergies and hope that that is not the case but know it's a possibility (he *is* allergic to eggs at this point but he broke out with eczema prior to him eating eggs).

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