Help needed

[MarySI]

I'm quite new to this forum but have been suffering with a host of skin issues the most prominant being atopic dermatitis or eczema as I like to call it. I have been living with it since I was 7 years old and have developed ways of coping and managing my skin. Most days are hard with it getting constantly dry and I constantly use steroid creams which is starting to think out my skin. If anyone knows any methods of coping then I would appreciate it and if anyone wants any advice I will sure give some.

[Annieofcornwall]

I have had skin issue since last December - with rash and more recently with very ugly scarring of the trunk and arms and thighs. But the worst part, for me is the 24/7 itching which is incessant. Large doses of anti histamine help slightly, as does emollient cream straight after a tepid shower. Bathing isn't recommended and I did love to take a hot bath. I am currently awaiting biopsy result - another 5 weeks and on the waiting list for UVB treatment. The only other relief is when I take steroid tablets for a few days .If you know of any other avenue to explore, then I will be interested. Similarly, if you see anything that I've tried along my journey, please feel free to incorporate it

[MarySI in reply to Annieofcornwall]

i have really bad scarring to on my hand arms and face and too and i normally try to keep away from soaps and bath washes like Dove and others that irritate my skin.I think using less chemically soaps and creams helps your skin to breath for a bit

Hope this helped!!

[lovesradio in reply to MarySI]

Hi girls, I use no soap now, only substitutes like Dermol, though my hands seem to tolerate Dove handwash sparingly. For the dryness my GP prescribed QV intense ointment. It looks not unlike the gunk used to grease bicycle chains but doesn't fortunately smell like it! I use it at night, shower it off in the morning and apply Doublebase gel in it's place. After a time gap while I have breakfast etc I then apply my corticosteroid very sparingly over the worst patches. I just want to be able to stop scratching as I have made a bit of a mess of my legs. It's a never ending cycle.

[Violetta62]

Hi Mary,

I was just reading another post, I have no idea if it works but it might be worth a try. I've copied and posted in case you haven't seen it.

Good luck,

Sharon

At age 65 I had two strips of eczema approx. 3 inches long and an inch wide that ran parallel along my lower stomach just above my right thigh. which did not respond to hydrocortisone treatment. One day, whilst eating a kiwi fruit I smeared the inside juicy part of the skin along half of the top strip. I specifically did it this way in order that should there be any reaction to the treated part it could only be attributed to the kiwi fruit juice application. About 2 weeks later I noticed that the redness of the treated part had considerably reduced whereas the untreated elements were not. Continued application saw the complete disappearance of the treated part. I then did the same with each half of the other remaining parts individually and they all subsequently disappeared after being treated, but not before. I do not recollect that the strips were itchy. Then, 4 years later I had a severe eczema outbreak on both legs, with heavy scaling mainly down the shins and onto both insteps, with a white crusty looking ring of skin around both ankles, and suffered aggravating itching which was at times unbearable. There was no response to treatment, so I repeated the kiwi fruit treatment mentioned above. I cannot really describe the violent reaction which followed. I haven't been burnt with acid, but I would imagine that it would be more of a description as opposed to hot/boiling water. Fortunately it only lasted for about 10 very long seconds before subsiding. Luckily I persevered with the treatment as the first totally unexpected bonus was that the aggravating itching was replaced by a more tolerable smarting, similar to being stung by moderate strength stinging nettles. This meant that there was not further need to scratch the scaling, but instead to stroke it gently which eased the stinging. I further discovered that spraying the legs with hot water brought a great deal of relief and left the skin feeling very fresh. I carried on with the treatment and eventually all the scaling and the ankle crust disappeared, but, unfortunately, the skin was left reddened where the scaling used to be. (Not too much of a problem if the affected areas are covered with clothing, but on exposed areas such as the face a difficult choice would have to be made as to which is the lesser of the two evils).

Some 10 years later the scarring is not so noticeable, but there is still a moderate smarting of the skin.

Lately I have had 2 further outbreaks of severe itching, one on my back above the left hip, and one on my left knee. Because I could not apply the kiwi juice to my back, instead of using hot water as previously, I turned the hair dryer up as hot as I could and directed the hot air onto the irritation. It was very effective, and stopped the itching for a day or so, so I continued with doing this which has been successful in that I have not had to repeat it for well over 2 months. The same treatment was applied to the knee, with the same result. I told my sister of this, so she tried it on some itching she experienced on her foot, and informed me that it was very successful in stopping the itching.

I do not know what type of eczema I had, but I only became aware of it when I was aged 65. I am now 81 years old.

Hopefully this cheap, (and beneficial as the kiwi fruit is loaded with vitamin C), cure will prove to be successful to anyone who tries it. It should be, because I doubt very much that I am the only person in the world that could respond to this cure.

Please note that great consideration should be given to any decision to use this remedy on a child, due to the violent reaction which was mentioned earlier. It literally brought tears to my eyes for the first few applications. I would also recommend using the hot hair dryer treatment straight away, in the hope that it will immediately reduce the severe itching.

Whether it will be beneficial for psoriasis sufferers I do not know, but maybe trying both of my remedies could be beneficial.

Best of luck to whoever tries it, and I do hope that it is as successful for you as it has been for me.

(Any feedback from users will be much appreciated).

Peter

06 June 2017

[MarySI in reply to Violetta62]

Thanks

I found it realy helpful and i had never heard of putting kiwi on the affected area before.

I will try it and see how it works for me

[Violetta62 in reply to MarySI]

Please let us know if it works.

I've recently had terrible itching and dry skin on my foot and palms of my hands and have been using Aveena cream on them, it really has helped.

Also, try to cut out as much dairy as possible, I've been using almond milk instead and find it ok.

Good luck,

Sharon

[Md2lh9c]

I use Desitin max strength with zinc-oxide which by the way protects the skin from moisture, UVA and UVB.