Skin Problems – Part 3

Skin, skin such a wonderful thing! Not in my case. After putting it off for a ridiculous amount of time, hoping my problems would just ‘go away’, I finally saw a Dermatologist about my skin reactions. After an initial consultation, he referred me to have some skin testing carried out to find out if I was allergic to a particular ingredient that you might find in an everyday product, like soap or shampoo for example. The Consultant treating me had chosen about forty items to be tested and along with these, I was also able to test my own creams, including some Liz Earle products that I’d just started using along with some other items like lip balms etc. Fifty products were placed in small pods, which were then put on my back and taped on. As you can see from the picture above, my back was covered! It felt very odd and after a day it became quite itchy, but I had it in my mind that it would be worth it, if it transpired that I was allergic to something specific.

Mmm comfy

Everything was removed two days afterwards and a nurse made a note of any pods that looked like they had reacted. I felt quite positive as she said a few things looked like they were flaring up, however you don’t see the main Consultant until a further two days later when a final assessment is made. I remained hopeful but typically, and I still can’t quite believe it, when I finally saw the Consultant (a different one this time) she looked at my back and said that I hadn’t reacted to anything, I couldn’t believe it! Not a single thing!  *weeps*. The Consultant and I had a chat about my concerns over using steroid cream on my face (for those who don’t know, steroid cream can have some serious side effects and was probably the cause of my massive eczema flare up in the first place) I was prescribed a slightly less potent cream called Protopic, which acts like a steroid cream, but isn’t one and it was suggested that I try this for a week in the hope that this would keep the eczema at bay. I came away feeling a bit gutted. I had really been hoping that if I was allergic to a certain ingredient then I could just avoid that product and all would be well, but it wasn’t to be. Basically I have Atopic Eczema, cause unknown and no known cure, big sigh.

With my never-ending quest to find a miracle cream for my face, I started looking into natural products once again. I still tentatively use my Liz Earle products and Dermalogica cleanser now and again, but I don’t feel they are the right things for me to be using on my face anymore. One internet search led me to the Moo Goo website (amazing name!). You can read all about the company here. I decided to give their Irritable Skin Balm and their Cowlick Lip balm a try.  These products have been working really well with my skin as in, it hasn’t reacted to anything so that’s great news for me. I’ve been using the Protopic cream and that has completely cleared up my eye and mouth eczema and alongside this. I’ve also started having regular morning smoothies, adding Bee pollen, Aduna Moringa powder, Flaxseed and Chia Seed and I’ve been drinking Oolong Tea (I know, I’ve been busy!) after reading about the health benefits of all these things, and Oolong tea’s link to helping with eczema.

Do I feel like these things are helping? A little bit yes. I like to think that I am feeding my skin from within 🙂 I’ve stopped taking the various supplements that I purchased, which I talked about in my previous post, they did NOTHING and were a complete waste of money. I’ve been told about Mangosteen and have read good things about this but it’s pricey so I’m going to see how I get on with what I am doing at the moment, before buying yet another product! The only tablet I take now is the occasional antihistamine, I find this helps when my eczema flares up as it tends to be quite itchy. Ideally going forwards, I don’t want to be using my prescribed creams anymore, just natural products, so we will see. There we go, that’s it for now peeps. I will keep you guys updated but in the meantime, if you suffer from eczema too, or if you use any of the products I’ve talked about, I’d love to hear from you x

 

 

 

 

 

8 thoughts on “Skin Problems – Part 3

  1. Hi Emz, thanks for this update! I’ve also been prescribed protopic but my doctor put this on my prescription in brackets and I was told only to use it when the area became itchy. Now I know it is to help with the eczema! Very glad to hear that your skin is much better! All the best.

    • Just make sure you only use it short term, as prescribed by your Dr. From what ive read about protopic, its still a very strong cream and little is known about long term effects (great!) Good luck xx

  2. Hi Emz,

    Long post sorry but just wanted to share that I’m going through something similar to you!
    It’s so crazy that in the modern world, dermatitis/eczema/whatever the heck we have, has no true treatment! A few months ago I went to the dentist for a couple of fillings and noticed that from where the dentist’s fingers put pressure above my mouth, I developed a kind of irritated patch of skin.
    I thought it would disappear over time but that just led to me looking like I had purchased a horrific plastic surgery inflated/clown-like lip job.
    It doesn’t seem to be a latex allergy, so I’m assuming the dentist used a strong chemical or something (will need to investigate that). But I’ve had fillings done before and this has never happened (had been about 2 years since I last had a dentist appointment so maybe somehow I developed an allergy? But that’s weird right? Some people think that oral contraceptives trigger it – again will need to investigate).
    The doctor prescribed me hydrocortisone and it worked magically at first, but it’s effects weakened so I (stupidly) applied more. I realised the bad side effects so stopped using it. The rebound effect has been so painful and now here I am, my mouth looks near identical to your previous pictures.
    There’s nothing I can seem to do except smother Lucas Paw Paw ointment around my mouth. While this soothes everything and prevents my skin from cracking, drying and bleeding, it won’t eradicate this red rash-like thing around my mouth.
    It’s getting so frustrating that I will probably see the doctor again, but I really don’t want to go back on any steroid cream or antibiotics treatment.

    I hope you’ve managed to find some more effective ways to handle yours or that it is clearing up and thank you for blogging about your experience. It is really helpful!

    Mirae

    • Urgh Mirae, I share your pain! Its so difficult isn’t it. I need to write another SKIN post as my issues have gotten no better and I still don’t know what’s causing the reactions I’m having. You definitely need to look into what could have caused your reaction. I tried Lucas ointment but that didn’t work for me, basically my mouth hates everything! Good luck with fixing things & thanks for commenting xx

  3. Oh Ems what an ordeal…! My dad bought me mangosteen soap once from Thailand and it was amazing for my face skin but neither my dad or I have every found it again as bought from a stall with no e-shop. So gutted when my hubby chucked out the last tiny bit “cuz it looked disgusting”. So maybe there is some truth in the good things you’ve heard about this fruit. I will tell you if I ever find it again. Xxx

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