Excema and treatments?

[Tabby]

I have suffered with eczema all my life, in the last year it got so bad I was hospitalised because my skin was infected and bleeding and would not clear up.

I am now on cyclosporine, which is basically an immunosuppressant and has a lot of side effects, but in three months the eczema is totally clear - hurray!

however I am only allowed to take if for a year or so, my blood pressure is constantly high, a side effect, is was 147 / 100 last check, this is not good.

I would be interested in chatting to other people who have a similar skin condition and have overcome it with herbal remedies and suchlike. I am vegetarian so do not like to take fish oils. My diet is fairly healthy and i do not drink much.

I have tried a lot of products over the years, nothing has really had much effect before the cyclosporine.

 

[Into The Light]

eczema can often be triggered by stress, and from your other posts you show you are under stress and are anxious a lot. of course i realize this is not the only cause of eczema, but it in fact may help it quite a bit if you are able to reduce some of the stress in your life.

the other factor may be food intolerances. sugar quite often is a culprit in worsening eczema, and certain foods can trigger it as well. however this seems to be something that each person needs to work out for themselves, as person a reacts to different foods than person b. do some experimenting and see which foods may worsen your condition. i assume you have talked to a dermatologist but if not it would be well worth it. it sounds like you have it quite severely.

the climate you live in may worsen eczema. should you live in a cold place (like canada ), the winter time and dry air can wreak havoc on your skin. you need to take care to moisturize your skin a lot. you need to try different moisturizers to find the one you like best.

excessive bathing/handwashing are not helpful either. you may also have a low tolerance for certain types of dishsoap, soaps, shampoos, or laundry detergent. use gloves when washing dishes. you may want to consider goat's milk based soap for handwashing, and special non-allergenic detergent for your clothes.

i have also heard that acupuncture can be helpful in treating eczema; however i have not tried this. you would want to make sure you have this done by a qualified acupuncturist.

this is what i can think of off the top of my head.