Dry Skin on my Face
My eyelids have been quite dry and itchy for a few weeks now but now next to my eye I have got a small patch of dry skin that looks suspiciously like eczema!
Eumovate, the cream I have been using says not to use it on your face as it can damage the skin which is a shame as it has worked wherever I have put it before. Hopefully it won’t develop into full blown eczema as I don’t think I’d be too happy with it on my face!
E45 Cream gets UK TV Advert
Just saw a TV advert for E45 cream for the first time and it mentioned it was used to treat eczema. I use it when my skin is dry and it helps with that but I’ve not had much success using it on my eczema.
HC45 cream on the other hand is much more useful for eczema but it is an over the counter cortisol cream so that is to be expected.
There are a number of products, a shower gel, cream etc.
Impetigo
I think I have found something worse than eczema: Impetigo!
Similiar to what I've got/had
It first appears as a small scratch or itchy patch of eczema - skin inflammation - on seemingly healthy skin. A small red, itchy spot quickly develops into a blister containing a yellow substance.
Later, the top of the blister becomes crusty and weeps while new blisters develop in the same place or on other parts of the body. Impetigo usually begins on the face, especially around the corners of the mouth, the nose and back of the ears.
I started getting really dry lips a couple of weeks ago and then they started to become itchy and scratchy. I thought it might be a cold sore but as I’d not had one before I wasn’t sure. I tried some Zovirax but it didn’t make it any better. Next I tried some Blistex cream which is for dry and damaged lips. This kept them moist if I used it regularly but the itching persisted and soon little bubbles or blisters where appearing. When I’d wake up in the morning my lips would be covered in a a layer of yellow crust as the blisters had wept in the night. Not only was this painful but it was now starting to look very gross!
I thought it must be eczema as I have had weeping eczema before but I spoke to a few people and they suggested it might be impetigo. After doing some reading on the web it looked like I would need to see a doctor. I booked my appointment and told them the symptoms and they said it was likely to be impetigo. I got a prescription for some Fucidin cream which is fusidic acid and started applying it three-four times a day with instruction from the doctor to come back in a week if it had not cleared up. Within a day it was starting to get better and by day four it was almost gone and the lips were no longer so dry. But then I woke up this morning on day six and the blisters and the golden crust was back! Looks like impetigo might be an formidable opponent as eczema!
Article: Spa trips for eczema a sufferers
Article in The Times about a spa for eczema and psoriasis sufferers.
In France patients with severe skin conditions are referred by their GPs for a minimum three-week stay at the Avène Hydrotherapy Centre.
Update
Just a little update so I can keep track of what’s going on…
I am still using the Eumovate cream on the initial patch on my hand.
I’ve got little spots of eczema on my forearms and upper arms which I am using the cream on to keep at bay.
I had a blister on my big toe which didnt heal and turned into eczema, the cream is keeping this away but I have to use it every day.
The skin on my cheeks is quite dry but is not eczema yet.
There is some suspicious looking dry patches of skin just infront of my ears but hopfully it won’t become eczema.
Summer is nearly here so hopefully that will help with the dry skin and maybe cure the eczema?
I am quite stressed at the moment as I am arranging a stag do and have a best man’s speech to give at a wedding in about a month. Plus I am skint as usual!
Red Face
Well, after my very red and dry skin over Christmas I am now back at work and back in the gym. My skin was totally clear on my face when I went back to work but after a hard cardio workout yesterday lunch time it got really red and lumpy. It had calmed down by the following morning but one can just see the red areas although they are quite faint.
It seems the heat from the workout and the shower after are causing my face to go all red and patchy. I can’t stop going to the gym but don’t want the red face.
I have googled some cooling face creams, has anyone used any of these:
Korres Yogurt Cooling Gel Moisturising Face And Body Aftersun Gel:
Jason Witch Vera Cooling Gel:
If so let me know what you think of them.
Thanks.
Home-made Humidifier
As I suspect the dry heat from central heating is drying my skin and helping to bring on my eczema.
Due to this I have been looking at humidifiers. I have read you can make your own by draping a wet towel over a radiator or even leave a bowl of water on top of the heater - I tried that but no water appeared to have evaporated.
I came across a few products that clip on the radiator, has anyone tried them?
Back in the offfice…
Well I am back at work after two weeks off for Christmas.
On around the 23 December my face was really dry and scratchy and I set off for Christmas with an angry looking face. I used E45 cream over the next few days which didn’t really do much. But a few days out of the dry office and avoiding hot showers my skin was on the mend. I bought some Botanics skin cream which goes on well and seemed to help clear it up as after a few days my skin was totally clear on my face. I’m not sure if it ‘cured’ it as it was clearing up a bit any ways but it stops it from itching. I will continue to use it for the foreseeable. Hopefully being back in the dry office won’t set my face skin off again. Its not very hot today so fingers crossed. Also I will be back in the gym at lunch time after two weeks off, ususaly getting hot and sweaty makes my dry skin a fair bit worse.
What triggered my face to go all scaly:
- stressing about Christmas?
- the dry heat of the new office?
- the cold winter air?
Who knows…