r/EczemaUK

I don’t really know how to start this, so I’m just going to write.

Last night I slept through the entire night, and when I woke up there was no blood on the sheets, no pile of dead skin to shake out, no memory of clawing at myself at 3am. It’s such a small thing to be writing a whole journal entry about, but I think I actually have to say it out loud (or on paper, or whatever this is), because for the last however many months that has not been my reality.

This whole thing has been harder than I let on, even to myself. My skin is discolored in patches that probably aren’t going away anytime soon, I’ve lost more sleep than I can reasonably count, and I’ve thrown hundreds of dollars at creams and oils and supplements and random “miracle” things that did absolutely nothing for me. But honestly, looking back, the money and the sleep weren’t even the worst part of it. The worst part was the shame I was carrying around without ever really admitting that’s what it was.

I didn’t want people to see my skin, didn’t want anyone to touch it, and that applied to pretty much everyone who got close enough to notice, whether that was a partner or a coworker or just someone standing next to me in line. There was always this background hum of are they going to see it, are they going to ask about it, am I going to have to explain. And I think I told myself I was fine with it for a long time, but I wasn’t. It was a genuinely dark place, and I don’t think I admitted how dark until I started climbing out of it.

What’s strange now is how undramatic the relief actually is. My skin doesn’t feel like sandpaper, my body doesn’t feel like it’s on fire, I can sleep, I can wear a t-shirt without thinking about it. None of that is a big cinematic moment, it’s just the absence of suffering, which is apparently what most people walk around with as their baseline every single day of their lives. And I think that’s the part I want to actually remember, because I know myself, and I know that when I’m not in a flare I forget. I stop being grateful for any of it. I go right back to taking it for granted.

So I’m taking a moment now while I can still feel the contrast.

Things are getting better, and honestly I’m getting better too.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I have been struggling with eczema since birth. My parents used to give me baths and smother me in olive oil and Bepanthol. Now I am 23 years old and I’m still trying to manage it.

I use mousturisers daily on my face and body. I prefer the brand “Weleda” because of its clean ingredients. I also use a mousturiser with Urea on my body especially with flares. And I found that it is the only thing that has helped.

The pharmacist told me today that Urea can accumulate under the skin and that I shouldn’t use it everyday. Does anyone have any knowledge on what it can do, long term? Whenever I have a flare I use it daily and with a hydrocortisone cream my dermatologist prescribed me. I haven’t experienced any side effects either but am worried now. My dermatologist was the one that recommended I start using a mousturiser with Urea but they didnt mention any restrictions on the use.

I’ve waited 8 months on a referral from dermatology when my skin was at its worst. It’s now mostly clear, but I still want to attend the appointment for som advice as I felt abandoned from my GP as soon as they referred.

I was thinking of printing off photos of how bad the flare up was? How else can I get them to take me seriously and not waste anyone’s time with this appointment?

"Haha, yes,"

I reply, not having the courage to say what I want to say.

"No, actually it's a severe, life-long condition I have to cope with every day, meaning I don't actually get much sun because if I overheat it's like someone stabbing me with 100 needles all over my body"

It's very common in the UK to tell someone if they are sunburnt. Now that the weather here is getting warmer and the sun is out more, I'm getting this comment 2-3 times a week. I hate it so much.

I would totally rather the person say "your face is quite red, do you have eczema?" I would feel so comfortable talking about it after that. I'm not really sure why I feel this way but I do.

Anyone else?

I was basically eczema-free for a couple years after cutting out dietary triggers like dairy... And then I decided I wanted to learn how to apply makeup. Turns out micellar water is a trigger for me :(

So I've been dealing with red, scaley, flakey patches around my eyes for the past three weeks. The only positive thing is that, while they are sore, they are not itchy.

I've tried so many things, including 1% hydrocortisone after a visit to the GP. It was helping a bit, but I stopped using it after five days because I was too worried about the consequences of using steroids on and near my eyes. And then I very cleverly ate some cheesy tagliatelle and caused the flare-up to get even worse...

One of the many things I bought to try out was the extremely popular LPR Cicaplast Baume B5+. It wasn't entirely ineffective, but what I've found to work even better for me is something I added to my basket on a whim while buying the LPR Cicaplast: E45 Dermatitis Relief Cream. I wasn't very confident in this one (especially because I had already tried regular E45 and it hadn't worked) but decided to give it a go because of the positive reviews on Amazon (especially this one).

And I am so glad I did!!! Not only did the flaking and scaliness go away in one day, the redness is FINALLY reducing some!!! I've been using it for three days now. My skin barrier isn't entirely healed, not yet, but I believe it's well on track.