Eczema on My Eyelids and In Ears

[versagal]

My eyelids are flakey and the skin is itchy. There is a little crack in the skin, which is difficult to clear up. The skin doctor prescribed Protopic tacrolimus ointment, 0.03%. This helps, but as soon as I stop using it the problem returns. My ears also get the skin fissures and they are flakey. My mother had the same problem with her eyelids, so I guess it is an inherited thing. Lately, to help heal the fissure on my eyelids I've put a drop of liquid bandage on them using a  cotton tip. It stings for a minute but seems to seal the crack so it can heal. Have to be careful not to get the stuff in my eyes.
Really don't know what else to do for it. Seem that doctors only can prescribe temporary measures for this type of thing.
Any suggestions would be welcome.

[Chrisjoy]

Try using a dandruff conditioner on the affected areas. I had this and my doctor diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis. They prescribed nizarol shampoo to apply to those areas as well. I also find that my eyelids flake after using eyeshadow that is not hypo-allergenic.

[nellydoretha95]

I've had severe Eczema for 35+ years on my scalp and ears. I've tried every salve, cream, soak and shampoo. ******* serum is very calming. It's not a quick fix. It's a serious, healing serum. It's not heavy and gloopy either. Very light and soaks in quickly. I'm on my second bottle.

[CherieJ]

What all those foods you mentioned have in common is that they are all high in histamines.  In addition to what you mentioned, anything fermented (cheese, tofu, wine, vegetables that have aged too much), and most berries are high in histamines.  Citrus fruits aren't high in histamines but cause the body to produce histamines.  Some people are deficient in a small-intestinal enzyme called diamine oxidase that breaks down histamines in the foods we eat.

After awhile, that person's body becomes burdened with too much histamine and this can lead to multiple symptoms in a variety of body systems.  Symptoms can include heart arrhythmias and smooth muscle spasms (the kind you get with a stiff neck or low back pain), flushing, pain twinges in the intestines, diarrhea, and--guess what--eczema and/or pruritis.  If left untreated too long, there are some who say it can also lead to panic attacks since apparently the body sends out adrenaline to help deal with the excess histamines.

The reason I'm going into so much detail is because I had an outbreak of eczema (around one eye and on my neck) for the first time last year and nothing I tried helped.  At Easter we went to a buffet and I ate pretty much anything I wanted--bacon, smoked salmon, macaroni and cheese, wine . . .  you get the picture.  About three hours later my heart started doing weird stuff.  I had had little races with it before, but nothing like this. Also, my belly started making noises and I ended up with GI issues.  I vowed to make an appointment with the doctor the next day, but looked up causes of arrhythmias that day out of curiousity.  That is when I tripped on histamines as an issue associated with several things I had going on.  

Here's the happy news.  There is a solution that has been working for me since then.  The only time I have trouble with eczema now is when I forget to take Histame, which contains diamine oxidase, when I am going to or have eaten histamine-laden food (which is most of the time).  In addition, my arrhythmias are all but non-existent, my belly is happy, and I got a benefit I didn't anticipate--I'm sleeping better than I have in decades!!!!

Hope this helps someone else.

[discreatperson]

This message is to everyone on this board.  Blepharitus is rather rare.  Dermatologists are only good to rule out serious problems, and most family doctors don't understand the skin enough to even provide diagnosis.

I've been battling this brutally painful issue for 5 long years now.  I have consulted Naturopaths, TCM and Acupuncturists...the latest cause we may have found is a FOOD ALLERGY.  I don't know what that is yet.  You need to request your family doctor give you a test to measure your IgE levels...if they are high, it may suggest a food allergy.

Common food irritants "NUTS, Nightshade vegetables (avocados, eggplant), eggs, dairy, caffeine (tea and coffee).  Try and narrow down when your eyes, ears and other parts of your body are dry....and write down the foods you eat.    I would love to hear from people directly related to success at discreatperson (at) hotmail (dot) com

[Orki1960]

I haven't tried J&J Baby Shampoo yet but I have tried other moisturizers and so far, the best has been Perfectly Pure A,D & E ointment I got from Puritan's Pride:  

http://www.puritan.com/e-beauty-products-010/vitamins-a-d-e-ointment-006320

[Hgratz]

Google blepharitis.  My dermatologist diagnosed me with ecema on my eyelids over a year ago.  Nothing has helped.  After reading about the baby shampoo solution, I came across an article on blepharitis (a chronic eyelid irriation) and I am convinced that is what I have.  Good luck. I am off to buy some baby shampoo!

[minx3]

try washing your eyes at least once a day with a cotton ball and johnsons baby shampoo.  i know sounds crazy but it will not hurt your eyes and after 24 hours my son had almost normal look again.  we had been dealing with it for over a month.  but it kept coming back.  when i notice it getting red or itch or flaky thru out day i just wash them again.  it has been 2 days and just looking at him you would never know that 2 days ago eyes had looked so awful i was sure that they would not let him in class next week  lol
i hope this helps.  i never reliazed it could be such a easy fix.  i have a eczema uses for over 30  years and my kids for over 10.  wish i had heard about this sooner.

[Orki1960]

I have same thing going on for so long, I got real bad this past winter.  I can't cure it, just kind of relieve it by adding bleach to my bath water and using Palmolive dish soap to wash the effected areas - both eye lids, inside both nostrils up front and on the bottom, lower lip and corners of the mouth, inside my right ear and behind my left ear. After all is clean, I apply Corona Ointment, which seems to help the most.  I have tried Nystatin and that inflames the areas and Miconazole does nothing. Using just plain Petroleum Jelly is the second best thing. Five years ago my doc gave me a few samples of Elidel and it helped but didn't cure it.

[Cetareh]

I also have cracked eyelids that hurt and cracked earlobes.  It makes my eyes tired and  has been going on for months now.  You asked the other person if they had dandruff.  I have an unexplained scalp problem that fluctuates between minor and major.  A few times I have hair fall out with a white bulb attached.  Any advise?  Thank you for your help.

[versagal]

Hello, Thanks for your reply to my skin problem. I will try to answer the questions you have asked and give you a short history as follows:

1. I never have any dandruff on my scalp.
2. I have lesions on my right elbow at present. There is a red patch of skin and peeling skin around it.
3. I have had eczema on my eyelids for about 5 years, on and off. Also the cracking of skin on the upper part of my ear, just inside the fold of the ear, which comes and goes for about the same amount of time. It seems to heal up and then I notice a crustiness, which oozes followed by flaking of skin, both in ears and on eyelids at the same time.
4. If I wear woolen socks I will get the same small red patch on my ankles as I do on my elbow. It is quite itchy.
5. I have seasonal allergies to pollen, trees and outdoor molds and take an antihistamine every day starting in spring.
6. No injuries to any of the areas mentioned and I don't wear eye makeup at all. When I used to wear mascara I noticed that my eyes became very watery when I had it on.
I moisturize my face every day with a mild, fragrance free moisturizer for sensitive skin, but even so, the lesions return periodically.
The problem was worse a few years ago. I consulted three or four different doctors (family doctor, skin and eye doctor) and was repeatedly given cortisone ointment to apply, but it was useless. Finally, a doctor at a walk-in clinic diagnosed it as a systemic staph infection and prescribed an antibiotic pill that cleared up everything for a while.
Now, I'm more aware of what's going on with this and am vigilant in keeping it under better control with daily moisturizers and the Protopic ointment that was prescribed by a dermatologist.Healing the fissure before it gets infected is key. The liquid badage applied to the crack seems to help heal it. Then I use the ointment to finish the job. Looks like this is a chronic problem. I remember my mother had the same thing and got absolutely no help for it when she had it years ago.
I would be very interested to learn what you think about my case.
Thanks for your interest.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

I would like to ask you some questions:

Do you have dandruff on your scalp?

Do you have such lesions anywhere else on your body?

How long have you had this?

Are you allergic to any substances?

Have you had any injury at the site?

Moisturizing the lesion is a good idea and you should continue to do it. I wonder why this has not been prescribed earlier.

Let us know the answers to the above questions to help you better.