h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have this on and off. I don't know much of the medical gubbins behind it (suppose I could use this as an excuse to look it up) but would certainly be available for adding additional "sufferer" tales.
Hmm, off to see what Google tells me.

Brilliant! Not that you have eczema I mean... anything you can offer will help, my experience of this was limited to when I was a mere sprog (luckily!)

I've already done some background digging into the medical side of it, most of the general advice is pretty much as per dry skin & psoriasis (lots of greasy gunk, no stress, boringly healthy diet, etc) with a few major differences in treatment though. Anything you've tried that works - or didn't, anything you noticed causing flare ups - well, jst about anything pertinant you can think of - please let me know, I'll work it all in.

Thanks

Well, I had it as a sprog, and remember not much. I do remember that it helped if I kept it clean and dry (never easy as a mucky little boy) and if it got bad it got sooo itchy it could drive me into a frenzy of scratching. Most often I found myself scratching it on the carpet as that could really rip off skin at a phenomenal rate.
It disappeared somewhere in my mid teens as I got spotty instead, except for a few small patches, that never really bothered me. Then, a couple of years ago I had a particularly stressful time over a female and it flared up something rotten. Up my arms, all over my back and front and spreading rapidly. I tried out all the E45s etc.which at least kept the itching down, but nothing really worked. Then I got rid of my source of stress, and within a couple of weeks it had almost all gone, just back to my long term little patches.
I also have hayfever, which I believe may be related (from my quick hunt for facts on the web) as a general allergic reaction to the world.

You're right about the hayfever connection, connected with asthma too.

Thanks for that, I'll post a note here when I get the entry written so you can have a peek. I have started on it but I really ought to finish the psoriasis entry first.

You're right about the hayfever connection, connected with asthma too.

Thanks for that, I'll post a note here when I get the entry written so you can have a peek. I have started on it but I really ought to finish the psoriasis entry first.

Oh I *hate* it when it does that.

i had very bad eczema as a child - mainly behind elbows and knees - but as an adult i have found that i get it badly on my face - especially in times of stress

since i have been diagnosed with ME my eczema has worsened spectacularly, especially just above my lip - I have been using a very very low hydrocortizol (sp?) cream on it, which does help a bit, but the thing that has really helped is a flax based gel made in NZ by a company called living nature - i'm not sure how available it is overseas, but i'm pretty sure it's available in Germany - their website is
[url removed by moderator]
(hope that doesn't bet moderated out)

a dermatologist i saw about it reckons that any gel is bad for eczema as it contains alcohol which dries the skin (but then i discovered this gel i was using is based on flax instead, no alcohol in it)

i have also tried taking evening primrose oil capsules and this has helped but you shouldn't take them for more than a month or two without a decent break from them. the EPO caps gave my skin enough of a break to start the skincare gel working and now it is basically under control, after over a decade of have it.

don't know if that helps!

span
who is less itchy now

Hi span, thanks for dropping by.

I too know the relief of finally finding something that helps relieve the itching - I'm a long time psoriasis sufferer (hence the inspration for this project) and I really don't think anyone that hasn't been though it can realise just how nuts it can drive you, do they? Oh the joy of finally having something like a decent night's sleep...

Your comments were very helpful - especially the bit about the gel - that's one I hadn't heard before. In fact I have found some contradictory stuff that reckons gel is the best stuff to apply to 'wet' eczema, so I'll do a bit more digging into that, see what else i can find out.

I have written a fair bit more for this entry now, I just haven't updated the 'live' entry yet, so I'll drop a note by here when i do, to give you a chance to read the update, see if there's anything else you'd like to add.

In the meantime, if there's anything more you'd like to add, please feel free, it all helps

Sue