BC Is My Eczema Trigger?
I saw an acupuncturist for the first time yesterday in an attempt to see if TCM could help control the itching, pain, and weeping on my left areola. She was asking me about my medical history and medications that I currently take. When she heard that I was on long-term birth control, her face darkened, and she suggested I talk to my OB and stop taking BC immediately. I originally started taking BC in February 2020 due to intense menstrual migraines. I haven’t had my period for 6 years since I don’t take the inactive pills.
My eczema developed out of the blue after sleeping one night in an apartment-turned-hotel sofa bed in Vienna in May 2025. Since then, I’ve spent thousands on doctor visits, hydrocortisone creams of varying potency, antibiotics (oral and cream), antifungal medication, begging to be referred to Dermatology, spiraling stress, experiencing lingering brain fog coming off of the 30-day Atarax prescription that my primary doctor claimed would help me sleep, and lost time from work.
I’m currently on my last half pill of a three week Prednisone taper prescribed by my dermatologist, but the weeping on my left areola never stopped weeping, so she’s reevaluating.
I’ve been blaming the vacation to Eastern Europe this whole time, but the suggestion that this horrible condition could have been bought on by BC makes me want to stop the medication right away. I’ve heard horror stories of eczema getting exacerbated when stopping birth control. Does anyone have any good, hopeful stories to help me see the light at the end of the tunnel? I know the eczema will never be fully “cured”, but I’ll do anything to feel some sense of normalcy after a year of h**l.