Excema on my eyes and mouth

[Beekeepingbabe]

I’ve had asthma all my life. Breo and Advair helped, but the Excema I had as a child for few years behind the knees and inside my arms came back at age 62. It’s come back on my eyes and all around my mouth, it’s debilitating. I am a working actress and can no longer accept auditions for fear I can’t commit to dates. Xolair did not work for me and now I’ve been on Dupixent for 6 months and it’s not working. I’m desperate, I look awful certain days. What next any ideas?

[Carakraft]

I'm so sorry to hear about your eczema...Eczema is never easy!

Have you talked to your doctor about any of the other biologic medications to see if they might be something that you can try?

[Beekeepingbabe in reply to Carakraft]

Of course I have. Tried everything available. On Dupixent right now but it doesn’t work for me.

[patmc1]

untI've had eczema since I was 6 months old , very slight asthma and now at 65 mild Copd and moderate asthma. Strangely the last year and a half my eczema is almost in "remission" (I wonder if it is 6 years of probiotics!).

Right before this I did have a change in my outbreaks. Instead of scratching behind my knees, my head (now my constant dandruff also vanished), crook of my arms and certain areas on my neck and face , I developed large dry patches around my mouth and eyes. I would be so tempted to :scrape" the affected spots and was left with sore but temporarily smooth skin---but then sore and rough again. Supposedly it was seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff). For a year I did what I always do::

Wash gently with oatmeal soup(I use Aveeno for dry skin)

take only tepid short showers

barely pat dry

slather on moisturizer (I swear by DML Forte)

drink tons of water

2 Culturelle pills a day

Also could you have changed makeup???? There are still some products my skin will not tolerate .

I wish you the best. I've had this so long and it grinds you down and makes you so self conscious . I can only imagine how much more difficult in a career where your appearance is paramount.

[Beekeepingbabe in reply to patmc1]

Omg you are so right. Thanks for replying. I had to retire from the industry, I will not go in front of a camera with this Excema on my mouth and eyelids. I’m so self conscious. I don’t even use laundry detergent. I wash with magnets! Only chemical free everything. Even make my own toothpaste! I’ll try the DML and the probiotics.

[NickFoster]

So sorry to hear about this. I used to suffer from this as well but I've had it under control for years now. I also don't use any asthma medications anymore which I suspect may have been a trigger, or at least dried my skin to the point where I was more susceptible to it. I had it in the same spots as you say, the mouth and eyes.

For me the challenge was not touching the affected areas. If I touch it, it itches and if it itches I scratch it. This is the viscous cycle. I didn't realize just how much I was touching these spots for way too long. And it's especially tough around the mouth and eyes which are constantly being exposed to air, dust, food, etc.

If your case is like mine, you really need to protect and hydrate these areas so they can heal. You can reduce the redness quickly but real healing could take weeks or months. I recommend using a strong moisturizer with as few ingredients as possible several times per day. Especially after the shower or washing your face, or any other time your skin gets wet.

Cheers

Nick

[Itchybon]

I have exzema now on and off but more on the past three years. I had it on my face and neck nonstop and now it’s completely gone on my face but I do have it on my forearms. I’ve learned by experimenting with makeup, shampoos and emulsion cremes to use no cosmetics with fragrance and now I use only cetaphil. I do not use ammonia in my hair color and I constantly wash with cetaphil to get rid of bacteria and moisturize with cetaphil. I take one antihistamine at night if I’m feeling itchy and it seems to all work together. I also drink lots of water and I truly believe this helps. At night I use a dyson humidifier and this definitely has helped my face not being dry in the mornings. Good luck!!