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DanaC · 09-04-2004, 09:06 AM

Ick. Eczema. My faithful old friend. I have had it all my life. It's a real pain in the arse and no mistake. I find state of mind is paramount, if i am depressed or under emotional stress I am in for a major flare. The worst is when it gets infected that can go on for months at a time. Or rather it used to. Touch wood since I started seeing this new doctor I have been free of the really bad stuff for nigh on two years now. At most a flare up lasts a few days.

The single most important thing if you are trying to keep the eczema symptoms at bay though is to keep the skin moisturised. Eczema is due primarily to the skin's inability to retain moisture. The things which exascerbate the condition are manifold, ( stress, allergens, viral illness etc) and vary from person to person, but fundamentally the condition is due a to a flaw in the skin organ which means it cannot retain the moisture necessary to function as it should ( hence the danger of infection, though as I understand it it's not actually infected skin, it's skin with infection present on it which provokes a severe histomine response...or at least thats how it was explained to me heh)

Even if you are clear of the overt symptoms it's worthwhile maintaining the skin's moisture levels with a powerful moisturiser ( Dont know if it's available over there but i can highly recommend "Hydrous ointment" It is like turbo charged moisturiser and traps the moisture into the skin, then somehow manges to evaporate to nothing so you arent left looking like you took a bath in grease.

The fish oils are great for skin. So is vitamin E. Try and keep white sugar to a minimum it dehydrates the skin. Coffee is likely to have a similar effect. In fact anything which dehydrates the system has the potential to aggravate potential eczema symptoms. Also worth combatting a flare as soon as it starts by dropping a 10 mg anti histomine. The kind which last 12 hours and dont make you sleepy, are very effective at reducing the histomine levels on the skin and holding at bay the dire itch whilst you're riding it out.

09-04-2004, 09:06 AM	#5
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	Ick. Eczema. My faithful old friend. I have had it all my life. It's a real pain in the arse and no mistake. I find state of mind is paramount, if i am depressed or under emotional stress I am in for a major flare. The worst is when it gets infected that can go on for months at a time. Or rather it used to. Touch wood since I started seeing this new doctor I have been free of the really bad stuff for nigh on two years now. At most a flare up lasts a few days. The single most important thing if you are trying to keep the eczema symptoms at bay though is to keep the skin moisturised. Eczema is due primarily to the skin's inability to retain moisture. The things which exascerbate the condition are manifold, ( stress, allergens, viral illness etc) and vary from person to person, but fundamentally the condition is due a to a flaw in the skin organ which means it cannot retain the moisture necessary to function as it should ( hence the danger of infection, though as I understand it it's not actually infected skin, it's skin with infection present on it which provokes a severe histomine response...or at least thats how it was explained to me heh) Even if you are clear of the overt symptoms it's worthwhile maintaining the skin's moisture levels with a powerful moisturiser ( Dont know if it's available over there but i can highly recommend "Hydrous ointment" It is like turbo charged moisturiser and traps the moisture into the skin, then somehow manges to evaporate to nothing so you arent left looking like you took a bath in grease. The fish oils are great for skin. So is vitamin E. Try and keep white sugar to a minimum it dehydrates the skin. Coffee is likely to have a similar effect. In fact anything which dehydrates the system has the potential to aggravate potential eczema symptoms. Also worth combatting a flare as soon as it starts by dropping a 10 mg anti histomine. The kind which last 12 hours and dont make you sleepy, are very effective at reducing the histomine levels on the skin and holding at bay the dire itch whilst you're riding it out.