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I have suffered with eczema my whole life. Ever since I was little, I can remember being bathed and smothered in all sorts of creams and oils to try and lessen my symptoms. I’d say until I was about 11, my eczema only ever appeared on my arms and the back of my legs. It also was never bad to the point where I couldn’t sleep, but it was just uncomfortable. It also never appeared to be a rash, it was just small scabs with some dryness. When I started secondary school, that’s when my eczema spread from these two areas. For well over 2 years I had disgusting-looking eczema all over my hands. I spent these 2 years only wearing jackets that would cover my hands. I went to the doctors multiple times getting all sorts of ointments, but my eczema was extremely stubborn. It lasted from year 8 till year 10, and I finally got rid of it before my GCSE exams. I say ‘I got rid of it’, but to tell the truth, my eczema comes and goes on it’s OWN terms. I can lather my affected areas with any cream under the sun (and believe me, I have tried them all) and it won’t budge until it wants to.

From year 10 until I started sixth form (year 12), my eczema was practically gone. I could finally wear t-shirts and shorts and it was almost non existent. Only in the winters I’d get a peculiar rash on my neck, just a patch of dry skin, that would disappear with moisturizer. Unfortunately this rash appeared last winter (2012) and it wouldn’t budge. I didn’t think much of it at first, but it started to spread – and now I sit here today and I would say about 15% of my body is covered in this horrid red, dry, itchy, torturing rash that has left me in tears plenty of times. It is on the front and back of my neck (embarrassing, I can always feel people looking at it), my chest, shoulders, the top of my back all the way down my sides and on my arms. I also have two patches of it on my stomach and on the backs of my legs. I am now 17 and in year 13 (my last year of sixth form) and will be going off to University next September and I do NOT want to be dragging this problem with me. This rash of dry eczema has not budged for almost a whole year now, and it is only these spots. It’s hard to explain.. my skin is CONSTANTLY flaking, no matter how much I moisturize. It is very red to the eye and obviously damaged. The best way to describe the way it feels is sunburn – it is constantly sore. Quite often my arms bleed (and I must note, is is my ENTIRE arm, not just my elbow) and occasionally my back and chest will bleed. I have tried EVERYTHING over the past year – steroid creams, ointments, greases (hydromol), bath emoilents, shower emoilents, pharamacutical moisturizers, over-the-counter moisturizers, plain shop moisturizers, E45 cream, eurax lotion.. every brand you can think of, I’ve tried. Smothered over the affected parts. The worst thing about this eczema is the itchiness. I would say about 45% of my nights I am unable to sleep due to the itchy sensation, to the point where it tortures me and I have to get up and shower at 1 in the morning to wash off whatever moisturizer/cream/ointment I have on my body. I can then sleep, although my skin is then extremely dry. It seems whatever I put on it just makes it itchy. The lack of sleep it’s causing is starting to effect other areas of my life, like schoolwork. My mum seems to think it’s the stress of education/university applications etc (I take education very seriously, trying to get into the top unis, revised loads last year and got AAAB in my AS levels). She thinks I put too much pressure on myself and thats why it has flared up the past year as I have entered sixth form. It’s never been this bad and I’m at a wits end. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I’m not expecting anyone here to have the answer, I just want someone to listen to because my family have gotten to the point where they are sick of me complaining. I have been to the doctors about this over 5 times in the past year and my next appointment is on Wednesday. I am hoping he prescribes me some miracle cream that gets rid of it. I feel so disgusting, I hate looking in the mirror at my shirtless body, I hate standing up and seeing a swarm of dry skin flakes floating down to the floor.. it’s disgusting and depressing and making me not know what to do with myself. Sometimes I feel like I just want to jump out of the window so this torture will be over. This may sound dramatic but it seems to be the only thing I can think about because it’s so prominent in my life.

Thank you for reading and if you have ANY advice whatsoever, please feel free to leave a response.

Learn more at http://curemydisorder.com/links/steps-to-cure-eczema-at-root-cause

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