Driving me insane

[Kerry-76]

I have suffered with pompholyx eczema on my feet for over a year. I have tried various feet soaks creams etc. I'm under a dermatologist who is now recommending Acitretin. I'm currently breastfeeding my daughter so unable to take this until she's 6 months old (August 17)!! I can't go on like this, intense itching etc! Driving me insane! Does anyone have anything they can recommend? Has anyone got experience of Acitretin? The side effects scare me!! Has anyone tried UV therapy for this type of skin problem. I would very much welcome anyone's advice. Thanks #acitretin #pompholyxeczema

[lovesradio]

Hi Kerry, I have had trouble with pompholyx patches on the soles of both feet and at one time years ago on the palms of both hands. It is the devil's eczema, twice as itchy, drives you mad. My GP suggested keeping feet cool as warm, sweat etc aggravates it, so to wear flip flops rather than slippers in the house. I treat the patches as with other eczema, emollient and a thin scrape of corticosteroid but that might also be ruled out for breastfeeding. Congratulations on your daughter btw!

[theVenerableBede]

Been there and done that - so am acutely aware both of the intense and unrelenting itchiness and the risks of full-thickness cracks on the soles of my feet. For years, I controlled both using tea tree oil (which could be very painful, for a few seconds, if there were a break in the skin), but which invariably stopped the itching and cleared the blisters.

I finally underwent a lengthy course of homeopathic treatment, though - and have not had a problem, since. I occasionally discover the odd blister (because they no longer itch), which I duly dab with tea tree oil, to remove.

[Kerry-76 in reply to theVenerableBede]

What homeopathic treatment did use, willing to try anything to try and clear this up 😩

[Hidden]

Hi I get dry patches of skin which are slow to heal, with diabetes. I have found comvita wound gel made from medicated honey works really well. My husband had sun damage with a skin cancer, and have found if his skin gets crust, I apply the honey thickly before bed on any spotty crusts.

Within a week they have disappeared and healed over. I have found it useful for some moles

which faded then healed over. The product is recommended for excma conditions so it might help you. I also had atheletes foot, where my foot broke open into a huge sore blister. I used terfinadine and other foot cream and then plastered it with medicated honey. It cleaned up the wound and it healed up. I wear ankle socklets cotton which pick up the honey, but its easy to wash out with a soak if it gets on clothing. May be you have athletes foot as it presents like excama with scaly dry skin and redness. Try it for a day or so. The itching will stop if it is athletes foot and the wound gel will heal over the dry patches.

[angiestivy]

I was prescribed Acitretin by Dermatologist for my Lichen Planus skin rash.

It did fade the rash, and stopped new eruptions, but gave me really sore cracked lips, and after a while caused my hair to fall out. I reduced the dose, on Dermatologists advice but still experienced problems. A few weeks after I finished course rash came back anyway.

My advice would be not to use it, unless you have no alternative.

After taking Steroids & Acitretin, I am also going down homeopathic route & using natural skin remedies. After having Lichen Planus for 9 months now, willing to try anything !

[Kerry-76 in reply to angiestivy]

Thank you so much for this info. I really am not keen to try Acitretin, the side effects sound awful! It so easy for a dermatologist to say take these tablets however, it's not them enduring the side effects of these drugs. The thought of hair loss really bothers me! I will exhaust every other route before resorting to Acitretin.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. 👍

[Hidden]

Terbinafine athletes foot cream with a course of oral antibiotics got rid of mine on feet completely - twice a few years apart. It has never come back on my feet.

A world reknowned eczema expert (prof of dermatology) happened to be visiting and saw me miserably scraping my foot on a boot rack. He looked, was horrified and said it had become too infected to recover without a course of antibiotics. He said there is often a fungal element to Pompholyx - especially on the feet. So this worked brilliantly for me and is definitely worth a try.

I get it on my fingers too and this doesn't work in same way but it's never come back on my feet.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ps dousing in cider vinegar saw it off on my finger tips!

[Kerry-76 in reply to Hidden]

I was at doctors today and got antibiotics as she felt it looked infected, I've just sent my partner out to buy some terbinafine, fingers crossed this works, so fed up thinking and talking about my feet 😩🙏🏻