Eczema for the last 6 years. Need help.

[nh_user_1043595]

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a great day.  My girlfriend has been struggling with Eczema for the last 7 years, and after visting multiple doctors, dermatologists, allergists, and natruopaths, we've really run out of ideas.  Any help or insight into the issues she's having will be extremely helpful. 

- 7 years ago, my girlfriend had Eczema on her forehead/corner of the eye to which she was given Hydrocortisone which she used for 3 years.

- The Eczema returned on her neck, no more than 3 x 3 cm, and she was given Protopic 0.03%, which she used for 4 years.  

- She has also tried Fucidin.

- All creams didn't really work.  She's gone cold turkey on these creams.

- She's gone and seen a naturopath, who has given her a tissue repair cream made of Mallow and Confrey, and a Quercetin for allergies.  

- All while this has happened she has been suffering from IBS and GERD, as such, she's made a huge lifestyle change, and since January 2017 she is:

- She is now Gluten Free

- She is Dairy Free

- She eats low fod map foods

- She takes probiotics, omega, gaba, vitamin B, and a magnesium citrate.  

- She quit birth control pills (which she was previously on for the last 5 years).

- She stopped wearing nail polish, wool clothes, and neck scarves.

The issue here is that the Eczema on her neck is actually bigger now, it's now taking half of her neck and is coming up to her jawline and behind her ear, and the ITCH is unbearable which causes her sleep issues. So the cold turkey is making it worse, and nothing is helping her.

To give additional clarification.

- her stomach and digestion issues seem to be better since she's made her diet overhaul.

- She's alergic to dust mite and hay fever.

- She did not have asthma or allergies as a childe

- She is prone to serious PMS pains.

- She says tumeric and warm milk seems to help stop the itch.  

If anyone has any guidance or help on what's going on, please please let us know.  We've gone to many health care professionals, and no one really knows the answer.  Much appreicated.  

 

[nh_user_984495]

Hi. I hope she will get some relief soon. Going gluten-free is what seems to do it for me. I hope she is pretty strict and paranoic about gluten, as you should be in order to avoid all possible cross contamination. IBS symptoms and skin rashes especially if they are symetric and have small papules could be caused by gluten. I hope she will hang in there and i hope it will prove helpfull for her. In my case, when i quit topical steroids and started going gluten free i first got the rash spread across large portions of my body. The worsening stage lasted for a couple of months then it topped off for a couple of more months and then it started going down and i was actually starting to get some relief. You have probably read about dermatitis herpetiformis and know that symtomps take anywhere from a couple of months to 6 months to a year and gastrointestinal distress can last for even longer. With dermatitis herpetiformis, from what i have read some people respond to topical steroids and some do not. I hope she stays strong and will soon see the end of this. If you want to rule out gluten you could go for the genetic tests which test for the HLA-DQ2 or DQ8 genes. If those are absent then literature says that it's probably NOT gluten. Hang in there. Other things you may want to look into is SIBO but i would say that it is unlikely and hard to track down anyway. Beware of protopic. There are mixed oppinions but keep that skin out of the sun.

[nh_user_462869]

Very recent advances in science tend to suggest that the most probable origin of eczema and most forms of atopic dermatitis is the common, but antibiotic-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus. Simply type "Eczema and Staphylococcus Aureus" in your search engine if you want to read about this recent discovery.

Initially, a genetic or environmental factor causes the skin barrier to lose its impermeability; usually, the cells that make up the skin barrier - keratinocytes - do not proliferate or differentiate normally in this situation. Then, an exterior pathogen (Staphylococcus Aureus in most cases) colonizes the skin, forming biofilms. This bacteria emits a toxin that causes the mastocytes to degranulate, liberating the histamine that causes the familiar itch. We then have the onset of a disease for which very few find a cure or even relief.

There are many natural products that may help combat antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus such as Aloe Vera, Calendula, Plantain, Comfrey and St-John's Wort among others. St John's Wort may also help the proliferation and differentiation of Keratinocytes over time, thereby helping the skin barrier to regain its impermeability. Small scale clinical trials have confirmed the efficiency of a St-John's Wort cream against Eczema. Again, please use those keywords in your search engine if you want to read about this.

I personally have cured myself from a 20 year case of Eczema after taking St John's Wort pills over a 6 month period. I have a post on the subject in the Alternative and complementary medicine forum of this site. Pills are probably the best hope for a complete cure, but they may interact with other medication so one should be careful before attempting to take some. A cream, on the other hand, may not penetrate deeply under the skin layers, but has the advantage that it will not interact with other medication taken internally,

Enjoy reading and best of luck to your girlfriend should she decide to try this new potential treatment!

Greg.

 

[nh_user_1043595]

Thank you very much livi.  Much much appreciated for the write up. I'll definitely pass it on to girlfiend.  Thank you!!