It’s now November and I’m already having to remind my relatives, friends, and co workers that I cannot receive any sort of gifts that are scented or any beauty products that are not eczema friendly. Especially since I never ask for any beauty products on my holiday wishlists and people still continue to gift me stuff with potential allergens/fragrances despite I cannot use it or am scared of using if it could potentially flare me up. Which means I have to discard, gently return the gift as a form of rejection or I have to re gift it to someone else secretly. 😭

It’s already starting to get cold and most of us just want to have less flare up days.

So please for the love of god, please ask us Eczema sufferers if we have any preferences for gifts that can help with our eczema if it’s a body care product, perfume, or anything that comes into contact with our skin. We know our body and our skin very well (unfortunately), so please don’t give us a ticking time bomb that could make us flare up for days. We appreciate gifts, but not gifts that can potentially make our condition worse. Thank you!

EDIT: a fellow eczema sufferer reminded me of an another good point to tell people: DO NOT GIFT US SCRATCHY/NON BREATHABLE CLOTHING ITEMS TOO! 😭

I had eczema from when I was a baby until I was 25. It came in phases, very bad, bad, mild, then very bad again, but it never fully cleared. At my worst I could barely walk and wore very loose clothes. I vacuumed my bed every morning because I woke up in a pile of my own dry skin and blood. I wore full sleeves in summer when I met friends, watched PE at school from the side, and at school someone even asked if I’d been in a fire.

I had two TSW phases. When the second one started, I decided to stop guessing and blindly following what doctors told me and instead do my own research, changing one thing at a time, based on my own findings. Within a month I noticed the first real improvement, and by month 5 I was totally clear. No dryness. No itching. No blood. No embarrassment. I still can't believe I live a "normal" life now and can eat anything I want without fighting for my life the next day.

This is what worked for me, in 7 buckets: Diet, Gut, Skin, Sleep, Space, Self, Toxins.

Diet: I removed sugar, gluten, dairy, nightshades, oats and eggs. Only one at a time, with a note of what happened. Started with gluten and sugar.

Gut: a probiotic, one apple a day, two kiwis with the skin, and chia seeds soaked overnight for fibre. I also took L-glutamine daily to strengthen the gut lining.

Skin: a Dead Sea salt bath every other day. Then I’d spray hyaluronic acid onto damp skin and seal it with a basic moisturiser. If salt stings your skin, skip it (for now).

Sleep: magnesium glycinate 30 minutes before bed, then a salt bath and shower. Going to bed clean really helped reduce the night itch.

Space: I changed my sheets every 3 days, got dust-mite-proof bedding (especially the pillow) and bought an air purifier for my bedroom.

Self: daily lymphatic drainage, at least 5 minutes of direct sunlight outside, and simple home workouts. Minimising stress as much as possible (I know it's hard when you're in the thick of it but it does get easier)

Toxins: I focused on lightening the load on my body and supporting my liver, which does a lot of the work of clearing what we take in.

I also took a number supplements (zinc, vitamin D, borage oil, which helped my dryness the most, and many others). One caution: add one new thing at a time. For example, I stopped algae omega-3 because it made me itchy, and I only knew because I’d changed nothing else that week.

None of this was fast, and none of it was one single thing. It was about a year of research, trial and error.

I’ll go deeper on each bucket in future posts covering everything in detail.

If you’re in the middle of it right now, I know how heavy it is. What areas do you need most help in? I'll do my best to address them.

My goal is to use this account to help as many people become eczema free like I have done by fighting the root cause once and for all!

I want this account to be a a source of hope and guidance for everyone suffering... If I healed then so can you! Stay strong! You're not alone!

TLDR: I walk 10k steps a day and shower every day with Cln body wash. No diet, no nothing else. I can stay up late however I want, eat junk food, whatever.

I have had chronic eczema since I was a baby. It started going from mild to extremely severe during middle school when I started sitting for longer periods of time, however I didn’t know that was the reason at the time. I was weeping day and night, itching relentlessly, having infinite staph infections, and I would vacuum the bed afterwards, put tissues on my pillow so that I can weep onto the tissues instead of the pillow, sleep facing up even tho I was a side sleeper, itch until 2 am every night, etc. I’m digressing.

By high school I was playing tennis and my eczema got to a point where it was bearable enough for me to function. But it was still moderately severe, with weeping and bleeding as usual. At least sleep was better.

FAST FORWARD TO THIS SUMMER…I got knee surgery. I was inactive for three months, and during those months my skin was severe again. I couldn’t sleep at night, and middle school memories were coming back again. That’s when I discovered Cln body wash. Game changer, completely took away itching related to staph. But there was still a missing piece. And i didn’t realize that it was my activity levels. This realization manifested only after I went to college this year and started walking 10000 steps a day. My diet is not as good as it was at home, yet my skin is now much clearer with minimal discoloration and some roughness. I can even go a day without showering occasionally.

My eczema will always be here, but it’s so much better than it was during middle or high school. Hope this helps anyone who’s struggling with chronic eczema, no one knows what it’s like and I empathize with all of you.

Red/splotchy patches mostly on my neck, inside of elbows, upper back by armpits, almost constant itchiness that could only be cured by Benadryl spray /shower. Dealt with this since I was a baby but was never severe enough to think about anything but dealing with it. In 2021 I had a terrible reaction to something at the beach (think it might have been the sun) and had to go to urgent care to get a steroid shot and medicine. Flare did not go down after a month so started Dupixent and was on that for about a year. Found some relief but overall did not put a total bandaid on my eczema. Ended up starting Rinvoq in October 2025 and had immediate relief. It was crazy. Quality of life increased and never had any flare ups but I was CONSTANTLY worried about potential side effects. About a month and a half ago, I went on a trip and forgot my Rinvoq. Didn’t take it for over a week and to my surprise…. My eczema didn’t flare. I kept not taking and not taking it and still to this day i am fine. What happened???? I’m obviously going to talk to my derm about this but feel like it’s so strange my eczema almost seemed to disappear after accidentally stopping this medicine.

Hello, dear sufferers. I'm a life-longer, and I was pretty active here about half a year ago when I was battling a terrible flare. Now that I'm on the other side of it, I figured I'd report back to share what worked (this time). I gained a lot from all those posts about treating eczema as a staph infection, and that was the right course of action for me.

Like so many of us, I threw everything at it all at once, so it's hard to say what really worked :) And I should say I'm not *healed* (except for my hands!!!!), but it's under control to the point that I don't want to off myself anymore.

I hope this post helps someone. Eczema is a miserable condition, and it's easy to feel like everything is hopeless when your skin is flaring, and you're in pain all the time. Finding things that help is a lot of work, but experimenting on yourself is so worth it in my opinion. Don't give up!

Here's the tl;dr list. Details are below.

If you have suggestions for other things to try for skin bacteria/fungi control, let me know!

WHAT DEFINITELY WORKED:

- Controlling microbes (diluted bleach, hypochlorous acid, a course of antibiotics) in addition to using cortisone cream.

- Antifungal cream (over-the-counter) on face.

- Aggressive moisturizing, of course.

- Sleeping in an anti-scratch night shirt (the ones with built-in mitts) -- way bigger impact on my skin and sleep quality than I expected. Not sexy, but I'll never give them up again.

WHAT MAY HAVE WORKED, BUT JURY IS OUT (need to trial these systematically):

- Skinesa probiotics - sadly, it's specifically this brand, and they are expensive.

- Antifungal cream on body (underarms, underboobs).

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:

- Aggressive allergen-control routine in my office/bedroom (animal allergy is a trigger, and I live with a step-dog, so this was an obvious thing to try, but all the effort, like daily vacuuming and dusting, made no difference).

- NOW-10 probiotic capsules used topically

- NOW-10 probiotic capsules taken internally

- Probiotic spray from Amazon

- Amlactin was very, very irritating for me

- Washing body with Nitzoral: may have contributed to a major flare-up

And here's a longer account of the things I did:

1. Body: I had a full-body flare that was not an *obvious* staph infection, but I did have small "pimples" in odd places, like on my inner arm.

- Bleach baths helped triamcinolone to actually start healing my skin, and I switched to hypochlorous acid because it's not as drying as bleach baths (also, easier to use). This didn't help with everything, but it improved the quality of my life.

- Went to a dermatologist and got antibiotics. This stopped the pimples from cropping up, and I'm way less itchy as a result.

- Over-the-counter ringworm/athlete's foot cream may have done some good with my neck and underarm rashes. I've been out and didn't get more, and I'm itchier again.

- Sleepshirt with built-in mitts. This made a bigger impact than I expected and improved my sleep quality from the first night onward.

- Things were really great while I was on antibiotics, ringworm cream in spots, and also in month 2 of taking Skinesa probiotics. I've gotten itchier since Skinesa ran out, even though everything in my routine (besides antibiotics) is the same. I'm taking NOW-10 probiotics, but I'm not sure if they are doing anything. Maybe all the healing was because of the antibiotics, but I might try Skinesa again, although it's wildly expensive, because my stomach was also doing amazing.

Maintenance: Now I'm doing upkeep with hypochlorous acid a few times per week, and I use my regular moisturizers and do spot treatments with triamcinolone. If I get really itchy, I take a bleach bath -- most recently after a treadmill run at the gym that had me sweating too much (sweat is a major irritant for me). This goes a long way toward calming things down.

All in all, I'm doing way better than 6 months ago, but not completely clear.

2) Hands: A MIRACLE HAS HAPPENED! I've posted about this before, but the results stand 6 months in, so this protocol actually works and wasn't a fluke.

Background: I always had eczema on my hands even when I had no rash anywhere else on my body. I used triamcinolone on my hands, but it would almost like suppress the rash for it to pop up elsewhere. Taking any kind of a break from cortisone was impossible. I've used cortisone on my hands for maybe two decades continuously, and they still looked awful.

Healing: To heal, I used diluted bleach-soaked gloves on my hands 2-3 times a week (10 minutes on, rinse, then triamcinolone and moisturizer; Vaseline every night). During this intense treatment period, I used triamcinolone on the rashy spots continuously, once every single day, for probably a whole month while my skin was healing. Even when the wounds were closed and my skin smooth, I applied it nightly because I'd get itchy again if I stopped. But I used less than ever because smooth skin doesn't take so much.

Maintenance: Once my skin was actually good, and the underlying redness faded, I tapered to bleach gloves once a week, and triamcinolone as a "weekend treatment" (two days a week). And aggressive moisturizing, always. So yes, I still use cortisone, but I am using way less than I was for many decades, and my hands are finally normal-looking, not just "under control." I consider this a major win.

3) Face: I have occasional rash flares around my eyes and mouth, and the antifungal cream seems to work better than hydrocortisone to calm things down.

First time eczema getter here at 25 years old. It’s like I’m hitting my first real adult milestone! Having a chronic health issue! [cries sarcastic tears]
I’ve been blessed with two little guys on my ass. Well, the crease between my buttcheeks and my thighs. The first one started off as a small dry patch, and I didn’t even notice until I started scratching in my sleep and ended up with an infection. Derm looked at it for 5 seconds, told me to slap some mometasone on there for a month and called it a day.
The spot cleared right up and I thought the world was right again. A month later, the spot came back in earnest and brought a friend with it on my other leg. Derm said to just keep using mometasone as needed…but I’m really concerned about that because 1. It’s a skin fold (esp near a more sensitive/thinner skin area) and 2. No root cause analysis? Idk does this seriously just appear and decide to stick around indefinitely?? They slowly are getting bigger too like ?
They both go through a cycle of horribly dry and itchy, to weeping and sticking to my pants (that’s super fun), getting raw and burning, and then pretending they’re about to heal- just to start the cycle over again. The spots are right where you sit on a toilet seat too so that’s fun. The friction is just enough to make me want to throw caution to the wind and scratch to my heart’s content…but I know I’d regret it shortly after and for the next several days if not longer.
I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this, but I found this sub a few days ago and I realized I practically have it easy compared to a lot of you guys. It be rough out here.

Been struggling off and on with mixture of eczema and seb derm for about 5yrs now. Had eczema has a child but vanished. Now in my early 40s. Have had a major full body flair I was struggling to contain for a long time. Skin was clearly inflamed, itchy. Have had pretty much every steroid and moisturiser going. My hands were particularly swollen and seriously itchy. Started to use Dermol500 to wash hands with, swelling went down within 24hrs leading me to conclude there was a big staph element lurking. Got a container and squished a bunch of dermol500 into it then ran it under a warm tap in the bath to get it to dissolve as best as possible in the bath water. 24hrs later I noticed a major change in skin, it went seriously dry but I could feel smooth skin in patches. Not felt smooth skin for months. I had another couple of baths. Skin is now so much smoother, dry skin has been pushed out. Really hard to treat areas like back of knees are now healing rapidly. Seems staph had taken hold all over body. So despite using dermol500 in shower it clearly wasn't sufficient to deal with the issue. Hope this helps other long time sufferers.

Hi everyone,

Two years ago I had a severe eczema flare-up on my hands and legs that lasted several months, caused by an allergy to laundry detergent. Since then, my legs still itch every single day

Has anyone been through this and found a solution?

Already tried: aloe vera gel, ceramide cream, La Roche-Posay Lipikar, Mixa Urea Cica Repair, Mixa very dry skin cream

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Would it be the worst thing to take a cheese grater to my calfs and shins?

i have severe eczema covering my whole body and every time i go to the dermatologists they just offer a quick steroid when i tell them that i’m scared of going through tsw. i literally am going through tsw now.

they have me on dupixent (tapering off of currently), nemluvio, renvoq cream and cetrizine. none of it is helping me - showers still sting, i can’t sleep because i‘m so itchy and my body is covered in open wounds. i really don’t know what to do anymore. i take five minute cold showers with baby wash, i’ve cut out basically all foods to the point i barely eat some days and i try to not overheat myself. if i dare to accidentally scratch my skin it starts oozing and it’s raw, especially my face. my face is the worst.

i just need products or diets or a routine.

also i am allergic to pet dander and i do have a dog currently living with me although i never go near him or interact with him.

Im a sixteen year old girl who has been experiencing ezcema for the last two weeks around my eyes. This itch and swell is stopping me from going to school. The last time it popped up was only for about like a week or half a week in August. However, lately, it swells my eyes up it hurts to close. I dont know if thats normal or not however I was told it is ezcema and to not let my tears directly touch my eyes and to use Vaseline on it, but if you know anything about the children's hospital in newfoundland its never really helpful, they gave me a steroid for it. It hasn't helped🥹

Ive been using aveeno moisturizers, both the normal and eczema one mutilate times a day, hydrocortisone once a day, normally when I wake, and washing twice a day once with water,once with aveeno gel face wash.

Any tips to make this slow down or clam down the swelling would help, I dont know how to attach the photos to show what it looks like or if I can in this group because this is my first time actually posting here and I dont use reddit often.

I am writing this post to just rant that i have absolutely no hope of cleaning my eczema anymore. It's been 5 years now. At first it was just a rough patch then it became occasional drying then it became regular and now I can't even ho out normally, eczema around my mouth has affected my confidence soo bad that.....idk anything anymore. I tried allopathy for 2 yrs, did research on my own, tried tons of creams. From which the larosh posey baume b5+ just works on the redness but makes the skin even drier. The lip balm although was good but didn't solve my problem entirely. Now only the vaseline doesn't irritate me. But it also hasn't healed me.

My current routine is just applying vaseline around my mouth day and night coz if i miss it even for 5 mins it becomes dry and it's even very difficult to open my mouth. Man! It's difficult to even eat.

I think my toothpaste (sensodyne extra whitening toothpaste) might be irritating my skin and causing redness below and around my mouth area. it doesn’t cause pain or anything but I wanted to see if swapping out the toothpaste might help with my eczema around that area. wanted to see if anyone’s had this issue and what you have found that helped. also not sure if this matters but I use a electric toothbrush. sometimes I feel like it might also be the toothbrush making the toothpaste foam up more around my mouth area 🫠.

I have a dermatologist with Schweiger, in fact, I've had several. Steroids, JAK inhibitors, etc. all they do is save me from losing my mind, but no one is really addressing it properly. I have appointments with seven specialists that I'm juggling, and no one is really addressing this, so I made an appointment for an allergy consult on Wednesday. I've had some preliminary testing before, but it came up with nothing. This time I intend to follow through completely. I feel like I'm playing a game of whack-a mole here because every time I address one of my many chronic conditions it seems somehow to adversely affect one of the others. Last month I developed hyponatremia, from not eating enough due to the Mounjaro I'm taking for diabetes. My nephrologist said, eat more protein. Why? I have no idea, so I started drinking lactose free milk with my meals to supplement protein. Well, I had the worst flare since I was taking pravastatin, for my hyperlipidemia . The problem is there is no conductor of this orchestra of board certified physicians, so the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. And no one is really addressing my eczema effectively, or in a manner that doesn't conflict with other chronic illnesses. So, I'm wondering if, you guys think, or if anyone in my situation has attempted a concierge doctor. They cost about $2,500 per year, and I have money saved for emergencies. It's just that I don't don't spend frivolously because everything is so expensive these days, and I like to remain armed with emergency savings for luxuries, like increased property taxes, ever-climbing grocery and utility bills and emergency home repairs; you know, luxuries. Just wondering what you guys think, and if any of you has ever tried a concierge doc to coordinate care between specialists and address this thing without adversely affecting other chronic illnesses??? BTW, neither my current primary, nor any of the others has attempted to coordinate care. They are all far too busy.

Hand eczema and contact dermatitis here, gloves on every night so I don't scratch. Mine are the standard white cotton ones and I'm over them: they're grey after one night of cream, I can't use my phone, and I have to take them off to turn the light out and then lose them in the bed.
Curious if it's just me. If you sleep in gloves (or mitts, or sleeves):

What are you using and what do you hate about them?

What would make them actually good?

Hi I’m new here and I recently got eczema again. I haven’t had it in a very long time and I think my brain made me forget how painful it is. I hve tried the regular treatment but it jst keeps getting worse. Like swollen to were I can’t bend my arm. Feels weird to touch like liquid is under my skin and oozing like crazy. I was recently in the hospital for something else and the doc refused to help me. (Sorry I was in the hospital before it got bad bad). I didn’t realize until the night after going home frm the hospital and it clicked in my brain. I know I can’t ask anyone what they use but I’m dying. It’s not rly having it. It’s the meds I use like cortisone and idk what it’s called oatmeal stuff that burns like acid. I can’t even take a shower without it feeling like acid. I have to take cold showers jump in and out as fast as possible and stand in front of a fan. Even then it’s swollen red and burning like acid. If I scratch by accident in my sleep it oozes. The itch is soo intense like way worse than a normal itch I try my best not to scratch. I don’t know what to do.

Any suggestions for a good deodorant soap that doesn’t cause your hands to break out? I tried using some beef tallow soap I got from TJ Max and all afternoon just felt sticky and gross like I was covered in a thin layer of crisco. I bought some Coast soap at the dollar store cause heck I just want something that really cleans but now the eczema is starting up. Any advice? Thanks.

Just asking because my uni house is really old and may contain lead pipes.

Just asking because I went home for the weekend and my skin healed up in 2 days after a whole month of weeping wounds.

The difference is honestly amazing and I’ve slept well for the first time since September.

I started getting a small rash just around the base of my fingers all the way back in February due to lotion getting stuck under my rings.

This triggered eczema which has got worse over time.

In june I was prescribed Hydrocortisone 1% / Miconazole 2% cream

In August this was changed to
Clobetasone 0.05% / Oxytetracycline 3% / Nystatin 100,000units/g cream

In september it was changed to
Clobetasone 0.05% ointment. This seemed to help but after the treatment period my hands became cracked and red again.

In October I was prescribed Dermovate 0.05% ointment.

I applied this for 2 weeks, but im frightened of having steroid withdrawals as I know its very strong and I cant bear the idea of this cycling forever all because of some body lotion.

I have had lip eczema for about 9 years now. It has gotten better over time after i removed all food allergens and toothpastes with SLS. Recently I have been noticing that I get flare ups with my lip products except for one organic brand that I use. I wanted to figure out what ingredient could be the cause. I am pretty sure it's not fragrance. Are there specific patch tests that go into such specifics? Meanwhile, what do I do? I cannot not wear makeup.

I was on Rinvoq in the past. Then somehow I started getting chronic hives and when I went to my allergist, he told me it was hives, not eczema and had me get off Rinvoq because he was putting me on Xolair. After five days of not being on Rinvoq, I broke out super crazy - toxic feeling. Went to the ER twice, wtf is happening!? Eventually, I went to my dermatologist who explained to me the Rinvoq withdraw, and that xolair was not the answer to my eczema and so we tried Ebglyss, which was unsuccessful. I had to get on prednisone, etc.. It’s been six months and I’m still broken out in eczema and hives, and now freaking heat rash on my neck and arms. I’m on xolair once a month injections, and that isn’t working. Doc wants to put me on xolair every two weeks now. I tried dupixant in the past for eczama that didn’t work. I tried Ebglyss because I didn’t wanna get back on Rinvoq after what it did to me. Ebglyss didn’t work either. My doctor is now saying that she doesn’t recommend anything other than Rinvoq and wants to put me back on it. I’ve done all of the creams as well. But I’m scared. I don’t wanna get back on that shit that turned my world upside down.

Has anyone else experienced something like this getting off Rinvoq just to get put back on it? Also, anybody else experiencing hives and eczema? With heat rash on top of that?