Eczema

[m4tthall]

OK, so I appreciate there are other forums out there for eczema. However, I believe this is particularly related to the brain abscess and subsequent medications I had earlier in the year.

So, I wanted to know whether anyone else experienced eczema as a side effect after their experience and/or coming off medication? I am pretty certain mine flared up almost immediately after coming off the antibiotics and have been struggling with it across my head, eyes and ears ever since (~6 months).

Naturally, I have been applying various lotions for eczema and some weeks are better than others but I am frustrated with this on top of other things. I do have some steroid gel that I apply when it is particularly bad and this works well, but really want to avoid using that as much as possible.

I appreciate on the grand scheme of things it is a minor thing but I would be keen to hear if anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,

Matt

[Lulu_Lollipop]

I've had 2 sons suffer badly from eczema and surprisingly they both reacted well to evening primrose oil, which was recommended to me by my health visitor 27 years ago when elder son was a newborn and I was breastfeeding him. He benefitted the EPO through me and it cleared up his eczema in 2 weeks. More recently my dog's vet recommended it for a nasty ear flare up. Good luck with it!

[m4tthall in reply to Lulu_Lollipop]

Thanks for the reply Lulu. When you say it has cleared up, do you mean permanently or for a period of time after using EPO?

[Lulu_Lollipop in reply to m4tthall]

With elder son, I'm pleased to say it stopped and never came back (touch wood etc). Younger son has eczema that comes and goes. He's tried all the different treatments and for a while Aveno (spelling?) cream, which worked better than anything. As for the evening primrose oil, he just doesn't take it any more (I will go and have a word with him straight after this). With our dog, evening primrose oil is ongoing and her ear is behaving well. I have taken it myself ever since that health visitor mentioned it. I've just noticed benefits generally. Do please let us know if you try EPO and how you get on. Health visitor told me it'd take a couple of weeks or so to start showing its effects.

[m4tthall in reply to Lulu_Lollipop]

I have been using Aveeno Cream and it does help a bit but mainly on my face, not in my ears. My right ear has been causing me all sorts of problems since coming off the antibiotics though, so it's not just the eczema there.

I have just started trying this out too chucklinggoat.co.uk/ but will definitely give EPO a try, thanks. Do you dilute and/or apply directly? Is there any particular brand you would recommend?

[Lulu_Lollipop in reply to m4tthall]

In this house it's all been taken orally. Usually buy the tablets from Boots or Holland and Barrett. Starflower oil too, it works the same way. Worth googling though (I will myself too) to see if applying it directly would be better. I will also have a look at your chuckling goat link

[FridayS]

Hello there, eczema is rotten, especially on the face. I suffered with it for most of my life but now have it under control. Here are the things that work: Omega fats - I find udo’s oil is the best - add it to live yoghurt and the probiotics will also help. Keep the oil in the fridge

Avene water spray to stop itching

Avene also have a soothing eye cream which is great

The old sock method - fill a sock with porridge oats, tie it up and pop it in your bath. Squeeze the sock and a lovely milk will come out which is very soothing. Don’t rinse it off. The sock can also be very gently exfoliating which helps with dry patches. You can also use it to cleanse your face.

The old sock is the best remedy and also the cheapest!

Paw paw cream is fabulous for moisturising and they also do one with Manuka honey which is fab for avoiding infections when you’ve scratched.

I avoid E45 and other petroleum based moisturisers like the plague

Good luck!

F x

[m4tthall in reply to FridayS]

Hi F,

Some interesting suggestions there, thanks. I will certainly try some out, although the sock with porridge oats sounds intriguing!

Matt

[FridayS in reply to m4tthall]

Hi Matt - it’s great - aveeno is based on the same remedy ie avena sativa from oats, hence the name. Only the old sock is much cheaper and without preservatives 😊

[Mads1975]

I have had eczema from birth all over my body. It was always worse in winter. When I was 30 I worked in Sri Lanka for 4 months from November to February and was surprised to note that my skin was perfect which I put down to vitamin D.

I started having a subbed session every week during the winter which helped but then after moving house, I had a water softener fitted. This cleared up my eczema and despite moving home, it hasn’t returned

[m4tthall in reply to Mads1975]

I have certainly noticed it has got worse from the summer but wasn't sure whether that was down to the weather or it just getting worse over time. I guess I will keep an eye on that. I assume "subbed session" meant sunbed? On the water front I guess living in the south east of England I would have hard water.

[Mads1975]

Yes I live on the South Coast too, and yes subbed was a typo!

[RecoveringH]

Hi Matt,

I have it on good authority that evening primrose oil helps eczema. Matt your writing discusses your external inputs to your skin. Have you looked into the gut biome and balancing gut flora and bacteria to facilitate healthy skin? Tried diets leaving out certain foods?

Antibiotics while used to target a specific infection, attack your gut bacteria and reduce the diversity. If you think about the soil, there are multiple bacteria, lots of different mushrooms and lichen and moss and worms and grass and tree roots. This makes everything that grows out of it strong and fertile. Our gut is similar.

When antibiotics come along and reduce this diversity it weakens the whole body and can leave it with food intolerance as there is not enough of a range of bacteria to break down the wide range of the foods we eat. Calcium deficiency can cause eczema. Just read that yoghurt can be bad for eczema so would recommend a good probiotic to get your gut flora diversity back. A propensity for sugary foods and what I call plastic food, fast food, premade foods for the microwave, anything that sits in plastic, reduces nutrition in the gut. Snacking on steamed veg and raw salads in the day and eating one whole cooked proper meal in the evening can instantly increase nutrition and facilitate good gut bacteria.

Bear in mind that any medication will impact on the diversity of gut flora which in turn affects the T cell response, the cytokine storm, the inflammation response and overall immunity.

Happy Christmas and a Very Happy New Year for 2021 Matt. Best wishes.

[m4tthall in reply to RecoveringH]

Hey RH,

Thanks for the response. I have been trying kefir (made with goats milk) and fermentation e.g. sauerkraut to see if that alleviates any of the problems but not sure how long to see whether that has any impact. The reason I started in this direction was due to hearing some of what you mention above.

Nevertheless, I have to confess that my previous 'healthier' diet has taken a bit of a backward step over the last month, being influenced by my somewhat worsening mood and Christmas. Yes, I know resorting to unhealthy food is never the answer. So I am absolutely seeing this something I will be addressing in earnest, along with resuming a more regular exercise schedule, at the beginning of the new year.

As I am also now beginning to reduce my Keppra medication, hopefully to zero, over the next couple of months I am holding out that this may help in some capacity. Not that I expect this to be the cause but I am viewing it that my body has been damaged and as soon as I can return to a healthier lifestyle and reduce/eliminate medication, then I can determine next steps.

Thanks again,

Matt

[RecoveringH in reply to m4tthall]

Look into Immiflex for a good vit D supplement with the research to back it up. See Immiflex website.

Also as you are on meds which could be acidifying your gut, there is a cheat but don't tell too many people as everyone will want it!

The body likes to be PH7 or 8 or 9 to get all the daily functions done without fuss which is slightly alkaline side of the middle 7. If you buy some PH urine strips, you will likely find your urine comes out at 5.5 - 6.5 with a regular diet. I had a good diet and I was still getting this.

So the cheat is this. Purchase PHour Salts £30. Just checked and Amazon has sold out, so the word might have got out. Shhh don't tell! You can get them here if you are in the UK. simplexhealth.co.uk/alkalin...

You squeeze half a lemon into a pint glass, fill it half full with water and add one scoop of the PHour Salts. You take this first thing in the morning, wait an hour then eat and drink. After digesting breakfast, leave it an hour and take the PHour salts at lunch, leave it an hour and then eat and drink. This is usually enough to get the body to PH8, if you want to go to 9 because you suspect something much stronger attacking your body like cancer or long term unexplained infection, then you repeat with the PHSalts at night.

Hmm to see if it will clash with Keppra I looked up Keppra.

Keppra is a brand (trade) name for levetiracetam. Experts aren't sure exactly how levetiracetam works but suggest it dampens down excessive nerve firing and reduces seizure propagation, possibly through an impact on pathways involving calcium, glycine, and GABA.

So this meds is interfering with your calcium and glycine pathways. You need to address a calcium supplement and not overstimulate with sugary diet to balance.

You could try PHSalts only in the morning as a gentle alkaline protocol and if it seems to help with eczema, add in a lunch time dose. If you are not sure, ask a medical bod, either a pharmacist or doc about the interactions.

PHOUR Salts is a unique combination of four powerful carbonated salts (sodium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate and calcium bicarbonate),

Best wishes.