Eczema, in many cases can be a truly debilitating condition. Some people have mild eczema which does not effect their daily life more than mild discomfort. For people that have more severe cases of eczema it truly ruins your quality of life. Getting up out of bed in the morning can be a struggle. Simple things we take for granted like being able to walk or turn your neck to check your blind spot while driving can be extremely painful and challenging experiences. People that have it do not want to be seen in public and lose all will to live. Going to work and dealing with other people can be extremely embarrassing and frustrating, especially when people ask, what happened to your face/neck/arms?? Why did you scratch up your skin like that?
Unfortunately modern medicine does not have answers to address this disease. Dermatologists can only offer some shabby moisturizer, cortisone creams which only ruin your skin in the long term, and advise to take many showers. For people that have severe eczema, dermatologists have never been able to provide real eczema relief. As a result, many desperate eczema sufferers go to alternative medical doctors in hopes that they can provide a cure. Unfortunately, many of these alternative healers end up charging tons of money, making handsome profits, but are also unable to provide effective relief.
A few years ago there was a doctor that supposedly found a cure. He created a cream called "Clear Cream" which supposedly was able to effectively put a stop to eczema flare ups. This cream really did end up helping thousands of people. Unfortunately it was discovered that this cream contained extremely high and very dangerous levels of cortisone, a steroid. It was subsequently banned by the FDA and banned from being sold in the USA. Without clear cream, many eczema sufferers were left with no solutions when they experienced eczema flare ups.
In truth, no one knows why people experience eczema flare ups, not dermatologists, not alternative healers. Nobody knows. However, despite this fact, there are a few proven techniques which have the potential to control eczema. Here are a few proven strategies, that have shown results in helping people deal with eczema:
1) Cut your nails 2 times a week. Make sure your nails never grow to the length to be sharp. Eczema flare ups and sharp nails are a deadly combination.
2) Shower/Bath 2-3 times a week. Over showering dries the skin and prevents it from healing itself. I would suggest taking one bath a week with Aveeno colloidal oatmeal. These has the ability to keep skin extra moist for a day or two, which does help. Try to use at least two packets of oatmeal per bath.
3) Take Benadryl when you go to sleep. This will prevent you from scratching in the middle of the night, which is when most of the damage happens to eczema sufferers.
4) Moisturize twice a day. 99% of moisturizers are no good. They work for a few hours. You need something that will last at least for 12 hours. In my experience there is one cream that was able to last this long- CVS brand moisturizer (similiar to cereve cream) I found the CVS brand version more effective than cereve itself, which only lasts for a few hours. I also found that Lanolin cream, which is basically sheep sweat/fat does a good job in moisturizing for long periods of time.
5) Cut out common allergen foods from your diet. There can be certain foods which are triggering your eczema outbreaks. Certain foods which can cause eczema are dairy/wheat/soy/peanuts. Every person is different and has different triggers. First try elimnating all known allergens, and then slowly try to reintroduce different allergen foods back in. If you see a negative reaction, you know you are allergic to that food.
6) Drink lots of water. This will hydrate your skin
7) Eat Fish, sardines, salmon, anything with fish fat.This has properties which help speed up the recovery of your skin.
8) If you live in a moist basement. MOVE OUT! Moist basements often breed mold which is absolutely the worst possible thing for eczema sufferers.
The key to understanding how to fight eczema is understanding that your body has the ability to heal itself better than any doctor or medicine. Your body is your own best doctor. In order to let your body heal itself you need to give it time. By constantly moisturizing your skin, cutting your nails, and taking benadryl, you are giving your skin time to heal itself and preventing the endless cycle of scratching and flare-ups which destroy your skin and your quality of life. You need to let it heal itself and not interfere in the healing process. The steps above will give your body the maximum time and ability to heal itself.
One final point, that perhaps you have not read on any other eczema website or blog. There is one other tool that has proven success. Most people have never considered it, but I suggest you give it a shot. Its totally free, and requires minimal amounts of time and effort. If you are in real pain, and you feel that your eczema is literally ruining your life, and every day is complete torture- voice your concern out loud. In your own words, cry out. Cry to the point that your tears are pouring out of your eyes. There is someone listening up above who can help--you just need to ask.
Good Luck!
If any of these tips proved to be useful, let me know!
Avrumshusteris@gmail.com
