Pompholyx Eczema

Hi levaS,

You mention that you first noticed the skin condition while working in a restaurant. I presume your hands must have come into contact with harsh detergents. Have you ever had an allergy test done? I am asking because some people are allergic to surfactants used in dishwashing liquid, shampoo, liquid soaps.

In my case, dishwashing liquid would cause the skin on my hands to become very rough and scaly. It would not heal well and was painful and sometimes bleed especially around the knuckles. I used a cream called Calmurid with urea and lactic acid. It would sting when first applied but would calm the skin down after a few minutes. Of course the cream would only alleviate the condition and speed up the healing. What really helped was to stay away from whatever triggers the dermatitis. 

My advise would be to stay away from detergents of any kind and to use products such as soaps and creams that have as few ingredients in them as possible.  

I really hope you find out what causes your skin condition. 

 

My 16 yo boy has it too. W've tried over a dozen kinds of moisterizers, homeopathic creams, teas, you name it. A few weeks ago out of desparation, we went back to a dermatologist and now he's back on steriod oinment. She says he shouldn't suddenly stop it. We should taper it down. She says diet has nothing to do with it. Here is why I disagree. Oinment helps with the trouble areas, but guess what. The rashes show up where there weren't any before. My theory is, the inflammation has to get out of the body through the skin. If one area is protected, it's going to find a different place to leave. I honestly believe it's the diet. Something is causing inflammation in his digestive system. We have recently switched to all organic everything. I only cook meet 3 nights a week. The rest we eat organic, farmers market baught veggies. If it doesn't help, it's not going to hurt. 

I strongly encourage you to try it. Elimination is good, but add GOOD food. You owe it to yourself to try it. Research specifically what helps with inflammation. Here are a few:

Ginger, turmeric, Nettle (tea), celery, Manuka honey (not fake ones), blueberry, etc. Do your own homework and don't rely on doctors. As a temporary relief, Egyptian Magic helps. Not a cure. The cure has to go through the digestive system. It is going to take months to cleanse the body and get rid of the toxins. Don't give up. Imagine, by end of summer you could be free of this godforesaken condition. Switch to whole foods. Good luck!

Eczema forums

Hi, I have to ask if you tried going on a GLuten free diet. You're avoiding some foods that may cause you allergic reaction and it is obviously reflecting on your skin.

With steroids your skin has became more sensitive as well. Creams don't solve your problem in my own experience. My 9yrs old daughter suffers severe eczema, I tried everything!!! and just 3 months a go I decided to put her on a GF diet (as I'm gluten sensitive). I suspected she was sensitive to G like me and perhaps Celiac. I did all the blood tests to find out in fact she's celiac and she had to avoid gluten for life.

You might not know but gluten besides being a protein contained in Wheat, it's also in Barley, Ray and some Oats, gluten is pretty much in everything we eat that's processed, meets, soy sauce (you won't believe it), breads, pasta, even toothpaste!!! You just have to read the product labels at the back.

Anyway, to my surprise after following strictly GF her skin improved exponentially. It's amazing how changing her diet started helping her to heal her skin and also her gut.

I encourage you to find the cause, I believe we are what we eat. Do your blood tests to find out what else are you sensitive to. There are immediate and onset allergic reactions and those can be easily identified on a skin prick test and blood test.

Remember, you're not alone. There are many sufferers like you looking for a cure. I don't think there's a cure as such, but I believe improving your diet will heal your skin with time and patience. It also means you'll have to go back to the basics, eat simple food, try and challenge. Eat fresh!

Keep searching on the web. There is a lot of documentation in regards to the Gluten Syndrome and how affects our bodies. There's a Dr in NZ that has treated eczema in kids and adults and so far he has succeeded.

Will be around here if you have any question. I hope the above info has been useful. Good luck in your journey.