I’m really at my wit’s end with the mental toll of eczema, to say nothing of this nagging feeling like my body is, you know, a torture chamber. Anybody get on antidepressants during severe flares, or stay on them all the time or anything? What do you use, and does it help you?

Hello! I have suspected for some time that I have eczema and after last night, I am now being treated for it with a topical steroid. When my hands are exposed to cold they get little blisters. However after a recent power outage and stocking dry ice in freezers, the little blisters were not so little any more and I had swelling and joint pain near the larger patches which led me to chat with a clinician last night. Has anyone else experienced joint pain? The itching and patches are very unpleasant but the joint pain is a whole different level.

I had phototherapy about a year ago for my eczema and it messed my face up like previously I’ve never had bad eczema on my face and even whilst doing phototherapy I had a very little patch and that shit machine burnt my face like it’s just a dark patch and it’s been a whole year and it hasn’t gotten better has anybody experienced this?

have had eczema all my life and been treating with products etc and its finally getting better. Now im looking to even out the tone of my skin (inner elbows/neck/wrist) to make it look better :) Would like some recommendations on what type/brand of products has worked for yall!

I think the most annoying thing about this affliction, disease, whatever you want to call it, is the fact that there's no standard medication. I have asthma, I take inhalers. Like everybody else with asthma. They help me, they work very well. With eczema it's pick a medication and flip a coin. I had a flare up on my face and the GP gave me some cream, it made it worse. I started phototherapy and I had a really bad reaction, especially my face. This is supposed to help me. Fuck my skin. Fuck my life. I have missed nearly two weeks of work because of this. I still feel like telling them I had a really bad eczema flare up makes them think I couldn't be bothered to come into work and it's not a good excuse. I took pictures this time so I can show them. Everything that is supposed to be good for this also is not good for the rest of us. We are punishing ourselves to hopefully make our skin better and the odds are greatly stacked against us. It's really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this. I have spent 38 years hating my own skin, we get zero help with mental health. Has anybody even asked about your mental health regarding eczema? They've never asked me. I don't know anybody with eczema like me, I feel so alone in this. I have such bad anxiety, low self esteem and trust issues, that are all down to this skin condition. It's both physically and mentally exhausting just to get through the day. Thank you to everybody on this sub, it's shown me that there are other people like me that are struggling to get through and there's others who have seemingly overcome it. Hopefully I get there one day. Rant over.

Hi ! I was wondering what razor to use I was thinking the supply razor? Or any other tips or product recommendations welcome to try to avoid it :/ thank you !

I just finished 1 week of topical steroids and weened off. Initially, my skin cleared remarkably quick. But upon completing my steroids my skin is flaking and yellow fluid is coming out. The dermatologist is recommending doxycycline as a treatment for steroid rosacea. Do I have TSW and will I have this for life now?

Hello! I (23F) have had eczema for pretty much my whole life in little patches here and there. I got on oral birth control when I was around 16 and developed tinea versicolor (skin fungus) in 2019 (18 years old). My dermatologist and pcp thought it was a possibility that the hormonal birth control going through my bloodstream might be a contributor so in August of 2021 I had a mirena IUD placed. I have had no problems with it thus far but after putting together a VERY detailed timeline with pictures and doctors notes documenting the progression of my eczema I notice that I started developing very severe eczema all over my body within a year of getting the IUD placed.

I am kind of out of ideas so recently my mind has gone to it being linked to the IUD. Is this unheard of?

Since getting IUD placed I have tried and failed Dupixent, Adbry, topical creams, cibinqo, and Rinvoq. I am still currently on Rinvoq and have been for over a year but my eczema has still been getting progressively worse. I have had some patch testing done which showed no triggers, had just about every possible blood test done to rule out autoimmune diseases, and next week I go for a more extensive patch test and food allergy panel.

I really want to know your thoughts on the IUD link and if anyone has had or heard of a similar experience?

It fucking stings everywhere on my face it’s like someone decided to pour acid I can’t take it I add moisturiser it stings and burns if I don’t it still stings and burns I hate everything

Hi all - I was speaking with someone about my eczema that has spread like wildfire since becoming pregnant .. they said that face and neck eczema is usually associated with TSW? Is this true ? I am freaking out

Has anyone been diagnosed or treated for head neck dermatitis, a subtype that mainly affects the face and neck, believed to be caused by malassezia? I'm desperately looking for a doctor who has dealt with this condition. Going to a derm who doesn't have any experience in this would really waste so much time and money. Preferably in the Los Angeles area!

I’ve had eczema my whole life. It was especially bad as a kid but I’ve always been able to control it growing up. It’s sort of come full circle in recent times. I’m 21 now and it’s never been this bad, my arms, neck, back and chest are the worst areas. I just can’t seem to get it under control.

It also feels like a complete reset every morning waking up knowing you’ve scratched your whole body and you’re back to square one. The stress of it makes it feel like an endless cycle. I’ve never been someone to let it get the better of me but it really has these past few months.

Context: I’ve struggled with eczema all my life but it has never been as bad as it has been for the last 3 years. This flare up has been going on for 3 years and anything the doctors give me do not work.

This year's FDA approvals: https://nationaleczema.org/blog/eczema-treatments-2024/

Mind you, getting your diet cleaned up, sensitivities figured out, and gut healthy are still the key underlying long term remedies for almost everyone.

Hi, so I've been using topical steroids for the past few days to help heal my skin and am wondering if anyone can identify anything about why parts of my skin looks like this. This is particularly for parts where my eczema really got bad. I'm mainly just curious about it, I don't believe it's anything to be concerned about.

https://ibb.co/x5VdP3d

I know that the key to defeating eczema probably is moisturizer. So I want to keep moisturizing. I want to moisturize the affected areas. But the situation looks lot like this:

I have some eczema on my face.

Day 1: exposed skin on eczema area. - relatively smooth. can be put moisturizer over easily.

Day 2: skin slowly starts to build some kind of layer over it - still smooth. - moisturizer can be put over easily. but instinctively I feel like being much more softer/careful

Day 3: skin builds a noticable layer over it. it is ridgy and bumpy now. I could put moisturizer over it, but what if my fingers start to flake the skin and remove it, exposing the sensitive stuff underneath?

Day 4: Much more ridgy and bumpy. Same problem as day 3.

Now in Day 3, showers can get rid of the built up flaky skin on top. But everytime flaky skin is removed, I always see an underbelly of some light bleeding that happens, showing that the skin layer has been removed again, repeating the same cycle.

I am now unsure of what the full repairment of the skin layer is supposed to look like. Because I always end up scratching at day 3. but also because its confusing as hell.

Do skin layer repairement look like flaky skin that builds on top, then over days, weeks, maybe even a month, the flaky skin drops off on its own by the body itself, to reveal clean skin underneath like a cocoon? What is the full skin barrier repairement process look like?

And I know the skin barrier can be repaired, because so many people online and irl and even my doctor says its possible to do.

Any insight on this will be appreciated.

Does anyone have any experience with animal fat?

Its funny i feel better when i dont use any hand moisturiser but they get way to dry especially in winter so i really need something but it burns crazy and i get small bubbles everywhere on my fingers and palm.

What should i use?

I just noticed I have a bald spot yesterday

I don’t know if this is obvious but my doctor didn’t tell me when first prescribing antibacterial wash.

I had a severe MRSA infection and was using an antibacterial wash every day in the shower, which was absolutely necessary of course, but my eczema just wasn’t getting better.

I found when returning to the GP once I recovered that the wash can prevent the healing of normal, non staph rashes and eczema.

So if you’re using one of these washes, I’m not saying stop using it, but don’t feel discouraged that your eczema isn’t healing as quick as you’d like. Once you stop it’ll definitely improve.

Hi! I’ve never really struggled with eczema on the outer parts of my hands, I mostly struggle with the inside of my hands (not at the moment, it’s seasonal). It looks and feels like itchy, red, dry spots and all of my outer parts of my hands feels like sandpaper. I do have a steroid cream but I don’t feel like using it on this «little» thing😅 Does any one have any good recommendations for a good cream to use?

I was gonna post pictures but I see that isn’t allowed. I’ll therefore explain it instead☺️

Does anyone else sometimes go through multiple rounds of steroid creams to clear certain flares?

Some of my flares clear with the creams but return a bit when I stop. I then start again a couple weeks later and it seems to get a bit better again.

Want to say massive thank you to this sub as it has been a vastly greater source of information than any conventional general practice doctor available to me and I’ve been on the waiting list for specialist help for 8 months now to no avail. —— Context: 23M living in the chilly UK, full body eczema

Never had a full body flare growing up, only ever dealt with inner elbows and knees. This year I watched it spread to my whole body from the neck down with rough battles with staph infections and inflammation. Steroids work for about a week so not super helpful and there’s just too much area to cover.

• Managed to fight off infections with chlorhexidine washes and fucidic acid and wearing 100% cotton if not just walking around my home half naked.

• Managed to keep my inflammation down by avoiding inflammatory foods, showering with black tea, Probiotics with dinner.

• Also bought a body length phototherapy machine and began taking vitamin d supplements to prepare for winter since it is always the worst.

The itching finally calmed down 90%, I can go hours without itching now. With that said my skin doesn’t seem like it’ll ever go back to normal? I flake heaps of dead skin daily, skin gets profoundly dry after a few hours despite moisturising regularly.

It seems like my body isn’t producing its own oil anymore, as if moisture is just constantly leaving my body? Lost on what to do next

do u guys also get really bad rashes when you sweat, especially behind and around ur neck?

edit for clarity: i am talking about a topical infused balm to be put on eczema patches, not smoking/eating. i'm a longtime smoker, i know it can soften unpleasant experiences such as itching, i appreciate you guys chiming in but i'm looking for people's experiences with topical cannabinoids. thx!

-original post below-

i know anecdotes don't equal evidence, i am presently asking for anecdotes as most of the scientific articles i've found on the subject are relatively inconclusive, tho if anyone has any literature they think is definitive pls feel free to point me in that direction -- google scholar is such a nightmare to use. i have some persistent patches on one hand, unclear which eczema subtype (not sebhorric, oil is helpful for my hand/arm patches, face and scalp are tragically a different story). was dx'd w/ nummular many years ago, used to get terrible patches and was rx'd a topical steroid when i was in hs. the waitlist for a derm in my area is crazy and i have an "infused" balm, does anyone have any success stories? i do have cortisone but am hesitant to use it since i get patches in these spots a lot and don't want to thin the skin too badly over time.

some notes:

-i'm using pretty much everything vanicream except for hand soap right now (i know i know, i have some NEA approved hand soap headed my way in the mail right now)

-i wear gloves when i do dishes or cleaning, or anything where my hands may be wet for an extended period or need washing multiple times in the absence of gloves

-it's not life-shattering right now, but the patches are getting bigger (curse you, winter!) and i would like to start working again, which means hand sanitizer if i end up back in retail/customer service

-balm contains infused oil, shea butter, and beeswax. i don't have the full ingredients list anymore, but i checked it when i acquired it and it does not contain anything that's a known trigger for me (perfumes, etc).

-i wet wrap occasionally but it sometimes makes me wake up in the middle of the night and scratch myself bloody before i'm awake enough to stop myself, so i try to avoid it unless things are getting really bad

do you have delayed or immediate reactions after consuming / coming in contact with something that triggers your eczema? what does your timeline look like for it to appear (how much time after)? hours? days?

I have been struggling for a few months with facial eczema. It made my eyes swell up, I had it on my forehead, checks, mouth etc.. Then, I sprayed deo under my arms and it stung like a bitch. I didn't understand why because it never did that and I didn't shave. So, I looked in the mirror and saw that my entire armpit was blood red. It started to peel as well. I tried steroids, but I hate them and won't be going back. It makes it worse (for me).

I was almost giving up until my mom told me about Repcillin. It's an anti fungal, anti bacterial, steroid free ointment made from crocodile oil (crocs aren't harmed). It didn't sting or itch at all when I applied it on, and it's been a few days and my skin seems 80% clear. Redness and inflammation is down, barely any peeling, no itch etc. My skin still feels abit tight by my mouth but each day it gets better. I'm also taking antihistamines whilst using the ointment. I'm happy with the progress, and I think I'll use Repcillin as my daily moisturizer from now on.

You can watch this video of one of the worst, longest flare ups I've ever seen. He's suffering with eczema and psoriasis. You'll see the before and after, and yes he was using Repcillin. Be warned though, this video is abit graphic... But hey, eczema is graphic. https://youtu.be/xfexhjRGxVw?si=KsiuPB_GwsbmmuZA

Go to repcillin.com to look at their different products. It is made in South Africa, find out if they can ship it to wherever you are. It's really worth it. I hope by the end of this week, my skin is back to normal.

Good luck my fellow eczema buddies.

i got the tacha gentle rice polish for my dark armpits (eczema scars and hyperpigmentation) and was wondering if anyone here has tried it all

Hello fellow eczema sufferers, I recently moved to Sweden (I am from the UK).

Had eczema my whole life and as you guys know, you can go through some really severe skin and health issues from period to period… personally for me it’s very up and down, I go through very good skin health and then really terrible times.

Since moving here I’ve had continuous problems on my face, chapped and bleeding lips, itchy swollen and glued shut eyes everyday I wake up, dry red skin all over my face and neck, my scalp is leaky and flaky and hair is falling out.

It’s not getting any better, I was hoping my body would adapt to the change in climate but tbh it is getting depressing waking up everyday and struggling to deal with the pain all over, and being disgusted looking in the mirror.

My partner is amazing but he doesn’t know what it’s like to have this skin illness and isn’t sure how to help. (I don’t blame him).

I’m reaching out for some help but also maybe some empathy/understanding, really feeling like shit recently and knowing this is never ending until you die… yeah this constant battle with your own body sucks

Thank you

As you can tell from the title, I'm currently at the lowest I've ever been through my entire journey with eczema. Woke up this morning to a swollen elbow that was super inflamed, itchy and dry

Living in Singapore, it's almost impossible for me to even try covering up my arms since it's so hot outside. It has genuinely taken a toll on my self-esteem and motivation. Everyday is starting to feel like a repetitive cycle to me, wake up > shower > lotion & cream > eat > try not to scratch > itch till i nap > wake up > eat > shower > lotion & cream > sleep

Ever since this crazy flare up started, I've slowly lost motivation to leave the house. I can't even count the number of times I've cancelled going out with my friends, neither can I count the number of times I stayed home while my family went out all because of my flare.

I'm genuinely starting to lose hope and my sanity, this was genuinely the first time I've ever had such dark thoughts and I'm thinking of getting professional psychological help as if my current dermatologist fees aren't expensive enough...

I can't deal with this vicious cycle anymore, everyday I just mourn the person I used to be before this flare and I just pray for things to go back to how it used to be... I'll be booking a full medical check-up soon to get all blood work done, checking for any deficiencies and if this doesn't give me any answers I think I would officially lose it.

I just need to know if there are any underlying issues I dont know about to even TRY to solve this, I'm just so tired of this

what do you set your heat at in the winter? trying not to affect my skin while doing so.