Well, I went to an "eczema nurse" about 4 days back, and boy did I learn a lot. I found out that I was not allergic to anything; in fact, the reason why my eczema gets irritated has to do with external factors. So, right now I'm going to try rack my brains and attempt to summarise everything I learnt during my visit.
People with eczema have cracks in their skin (this is because the skin cells are not being produced properly, leaving gaps when creating a layer of skin). Think of it like this: a person with healthy skin has skin that lines their body like a wall of bricks. A person with eczema has skin that lines their body like a wall of cracked bricks. Now, because of these cracks, allergens have the capablility of entering them, causing the skin to become irritated and itchy. The worst invader of these allergens is a bacteria called "Staphylococcus (spelt right?) aureus", a bacteria that lives on your skin.
Now, here is the worst part, and I'm really sorry if this affects some people, but you must know it. YOU MUST NEVER PUT YOUR HAND IN A POT OF CREAM TWICE. I will explain why. As you place your hand into a pot and smear the cream onto the surface of your skin, then the bacteria will cling to your fingers as you spread the cream around, and then when you put your hand back into the pot again to get more cream, the bacteria contaminates the pot's contents, where it spreads. The bacteria changes its shape to counter the effects of the cream, so the next time you go to rub it on, the cream will have no effect. If this is the case with you, then it is best to throw the pot away, or wait 7 days as it takes this long until the bacteria just dies.
Okay, now this is the next part. Imagine you are the brick layer for the damaged "bricks" of your body. I follow this process nearly every day, and right now I have stopped scratching my body completely! Here's what to do:
You need to bathe in bleach. Yes, that's right. Fill up a bathtub of warm water about 3/4 of the way, and add 1/3 cup of bleach. Don't worry, your hair will not go white; neither will your skin. As long as the bleach is diluted, you're safe, and it's just like bathing in a swimming pool full of chlorine. Now, once you get into the bath, bathe for at least 5mins, then rub yourself with a moisturising cream (any will do, I use Health-E Fatty Cream) for the next 3mins. That's 8mins in total. DO NOT BATHE FOR MORE THAN 10-20mins. This may be counterproductive and could dehydrate your skin. All in all, this entire process kills the bacteria living on your skin efficiently, and make sure you rub your body well to knock them off your skin.
Important note! Get a bleach that contains "Sodium Hypochlorite" with 4-6% strength. Any lower or higher may do too little damage or high damage to your skin. There is also an alternative to using bleach, and that's raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. The main health features of organic raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar include potassium, which helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses; acetic acid, which slows the digestive breakdown of starch and therefore glucose; pectin, which regulates blood pressure and reduces cholesterol; ash, which maintains pH levels; malic acid, which makes organic raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal; and calcium, which creates strong bones and teeth. Raw apple cider vinegar may help with heartburn, bowl irregularity, acne, joint pain and stiffness and breaking down fats. Soak for 15mins if using this vinegar.
When 8mins (or 15mins if soaking in the vinegar) is up, get out of the bathtub immediately. Dry yourself off (do not rub your skin with the towel, just gently pat) but make sure that there is still a thin coating of water on your skin. If you have any flare-ups (red patches) on your skin, use a steroid cream to soothe it. Here are some tips: if you have extremely bright-red blotches on your body, it's best to use a very strong cream, such as dermol cream/ointment or diprosone OV cream/ointment (ointments work best). If the patches are red, but not a bright red, it's best to use a strong cream, for example Advantan (methylprednisoone aceponate), Locoid (hydrocortisone 17 butyrate 0.1%), Flucicort Beta (bethamethasone valerate 0.1%) or Elocon (mometason furoate 0.1%). If the patches are namely a pink colour, it's best to use moderately strong creams/ointments, for example Eumovate Cream (clobetasone butyrate) or Aristocort Cream/Ointment (triamcinolone acetonide 0.02%). If the patches are a lighter colour than any of the above, then a mild cream is ideal to use, such as Pharmacy Health HC 1% (hydrocortisone), DermAid Cream/Soft Cream, DP Lotion-HC, 1% Skincalm or Pimafucort Cream/Ointment.
Once any patches have been covered, then quickly apply a moisturising/emollient cream thickly on your skin and even over the steroid cream/ointment. These processes trap the water in the cracks in your skin, hydrating it and also the emollient cream acts as a barrier to protect it from allergens (namely the staph. aureus).
Note: Once you get out of the bath, try and apply at least the steroid cream in 2mins. This was a bit of advice, but I'm sorry to say I'm not really sure why, perhaps your skin may get dehydrated.
And that's basically it! It is possible to buy these cotton wrap things that you can wear like thin clothes on your body and help trap the emollient cream on your skin.
Also, if you have pretty bad flare-ups and really dry skin, follow the above process for 5 days, and then see the result. One final thing I have to say is, never stop moisturising, even if the skin is looking good. If the skin is looking good, you can resort to having showers instead, but remember to wash your body thoroughly and apply the creams afterwards. All in all, I think that's all I know what to say for now, and I really, really hope this works for some people out there! If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below and I'll try my best to answer them. If you think I might've missed something out, or am not making sense, I would be more than happy to hear your response. Take care!
Post edited by: ShadowMajor, at: 08/19/2011 02:18 AM
Post edited by: ShadowMajor, at: 08/19/2011 02:26 AM
Post edited by: ShadowMajor, at: 08/28/2011 03:19 AM
Post edited by: ShadowMajor, at: 08/31/2011 12:58 AM
