hi can anyone help with excema /dermatitis misery?

[old-equestrian]

i,m a fifty something female and have had contact dermatitis/excema for many years controled with steroid creams up to now-all of a sudden it has flared up for no apparent reason & for the past three months my hands have been so sore & itchy- skin cracked raw & bleeding, even pure water stings! nothing seems to have any effect-have asked to see a skin specialist with a probable 3 months wait - the latest cream prescibed by the DR made things worse! I am taking evening primose oil tablets as advised- this is now really getting me down. CAN ANYONE OFFER ANY HELPFUL ADVICE?

[burbie]

a friend went to a chinese herbalist shop and was given some cream that really helped calm the excema on his hands. its worth a try

[tamborine]

Due to your name OE, the symptoms sound like mud fever or sweet itch. I use sun tan lotion on my steed for same.

[Sqad]

Which cream did the Dr prescribe, that made it worse?

[lcg]

be aware that chinese meds/herbs can have horrendous side effects and people have become very unwell/lost kidneys/knackered livers/died etc. make sure you liaise with your own gp if you are considering any form of alternative treatment - and do thorough research on any substance offered to you. my friend now requires dialysis 3 times a week and needs a transplant all because she wanted to be thinner...a very steep price to pay. good luck x

[Razzle2011]

OE...get a swab taken...it could have become infected....my sister has the same condition and it has taken a wee while for her GP to catch on...good luck

[rsvp]

get a muslin cloth (or a linen tea towel) put some porrige oats in it and soak the cloth in a bowl of cold water - put your hands in for how ever long it takes for them to calm down a bit! completely out of the blue a few years ago I got an horrendous dermatitis type reaction to something - exactly as you described above and this was the only thing that gave me any relief at all. I also put the cloth in the bath - cool bath and keep the house cool too.

[NOX]

My ex gets palmer planter psoriasis and the steroid creams she was prescribed made them 100 times worse as well and no amount of telling the Drs/ dermatologuists this registered with them. In desperation she stopped the treatment ( slowly to avoid an even worse flare up) and the began a regime of hydration and using honey (messy but effective) along with as much UV exposure as she could manage on her hands and feet. It has now pretty much gone altogether.
I appreciate that she has a different complaint to you but she had the same problem with Drs just prescribing endless steroids which did indeed make it all so much worse.

[Sqad]

Steroids have revolutionized the treatment of atopic or contact dermatitis and have changed the life of millions for the better. "Endless steroids " are prescribed because they work.

However, old-e hasn't got back to me to answer my question, but my money goes on to the fact that her eczema is secondarily infected and Razzle2011 has put her finger on the problem and explains why the steroids are not working.......i.e she needs antibiotics.

[Carakeel]

The most successful clinic I have heard of for excema is this one. I used to run a medical charity and this clinic was and still is working together to help people like yourself. I know several people who, after trying everything the NHS could offer over many years, found a cure or substantial help through this clinic. I also know the people who started it many years ago. They are both British, non-chinese who themselves suffered from excema and psoriasis and dedicated their lives to finding cures or these and other conditions. They were the first to bring together the top health professionals in China and the top NHS and private dermatologists here in the UK. Contact them and they will help for sure: Chi Skin Clinic, Riverbank House, Putney Bridge Approach, London SW6 3JD; helpline (071-371 9717) Please be sure to only contact this Chi Clinic though, as they are the only ones who work with the Royal Free Hospital in London and the top British Dermatologists there. This link will tell you more: http://www.independen...coverley-1385272.html

Hope this helps.

[Carakeel]

There are many other clinic who operate under the Chi name, but this is the only one that officially works together with the Royal Free. The others are more into massage and Tai Chi etc.

[boxtops]

That sounds a sensible combination, carakeel - NHS and Chinese, so each can be sure that the treatments don't counteract each other. Is Chinese medicine regulated yet? I know it wasn't, not so long ago.

[emu777]

hi! you poor thing, make sure you don't have an infection especially as skin is excoriated (signs would be weeping discharge other than blood and/or smell from the infected skin). If you do have an infection no amount of creams will do any good. Also your GP should probably have you on a prophylactic (preventative) antibiotic, as skin is broken down and you're at high risk of infection especially when scratching.
Have you heard of saline wraps?
this is what they do in hospital and you can probably do a homemade version at home...
saline bath = salt in bath (or basin if only hands affected) any will do, epsom salts have healing properties;
emulsifying ointment (very hard but if you dissolve some in bowl with boiling water first and then leave to cool down, forms a paste) add this to the bath and directly on the skin.
Then you need to 'wrap' affected area with cotton bandage.
You can buy cotton bandages of all sizes in pharmacy along with epsom salts (though household salts will do) and the emulsifying ointment.
This should be done twice a day and at least at night. It will protect and moisturise your skin. An antihistamine can also help with the itch, you can buy over the counter but probably better to discuss with your GP along with course of antibiotics.
Aqueous cream is a good soap substitute for washing when your skin is bad. Also steroid cream will sting when skin is broken down and should only be used when you start to see an improvement with the wraps.
Hope this helps! Best of luck :)

[shaneystar2]

What cream did the doctor prescribe you ?
I had a flare up of excema recently .God knows why I've never had excema in my life before .
Amongst other parts of my body it affected my hands especially the palms and between my fingers .I was given Dermol which I used religously to wash my hands with and rubbed it into my hands on a regular basis .Cleared it up .
In fact I'm now a Dermol convert and use it to wash with on a daily basis .

[old-equestrian]

thankyou everybody for all your advice- sorry i havn,t been back online until now at work then seeing to the horses!! i have used dermovate cream as & when needed for a long while, this cream hasn't helped at all with recent flare-up. At first visit, the Dr presribed clobetasol propionate cream along with epaderm(very like lard) to soothe skin & wash with. The 'clob' cream seemed to strip my skin off without healing it not sure if the epaderm helped much either after the initial soothing. returned to the Dr who agreed to refer me as there are so many different types of conditions which require different treatment, we both agreed to wait for the consultant to decide best way to go. Now just using the epaderm very sparingly, taking anti-histamine & wearing cotton gloves at night to stop me scratching! since stopping using the creams as prescribed am glad to say things seem to be very slowly improving!! Will certainly be trying some of the helpful advice offered thankyou all so much, By the way i do not have an infection on skin - not quite sure how i escaped that! but do have sores appearing on elbows so am begining to wonder if i'm now developing psorasis!!

[Quassia]

oe, just a thought. Do you wear gloves whilst handling the horses bedding?

[old-equestrian]

Yes i wear gloves most of the time around the horses - they are not stabled at present so not much contact with bedding- but another thought i have been pulling ragwort from fields over the past few weeks- wonder if that could have worsened existing problem?

[old-equestrian]

hi again not sure if i'm doing this the right way - are my answers getting back to you all or do i have to answer you all individually- am new to the site!!

[Quassia]

That's a thought oe. Keep an eye on that! I know throuh a friend who has horses that there can be mites in it that even the horses can become intolerant to and bring on asthma in them. It was just a thought you could have been allergic to something in the hay. I hope you find a solution though, sounds terrible!

[Euphemia]

I used to have to wear gloves while pulling out ragwort otherwise a nasty rash appeared.

[Quassia]

Yes, you are doing replying right! :0) Also, are your gloves latex? Do you have an allergy to latex that you are aware of?