Hand eczema

[Jennn_yy1]

This summer I had a lot of ice cream and I didn't know that triggered eczema until I researched more about eczema because my hands really flared up...So, I got a allergy test and I am allergic to cats, milk, dust mites, wheat, and eggs. I stopped eating all of those things, cleaned my room, stopped touching my cat. Also, before I got a allergy test my doctor gave me a cream and it really thinned out my skin really bad and made the eczema worse...Then, she gave me a stronger steroid cream which I didn't use because those steroid creams would just make it worse and plus, my mom wanted to try this remedy since my skin was open and thinned out. The remedy was lemons and coconut oil which probably killed the germs but didn't really help the rash. So, since my rash was so bad I had no choice but to use the strong steroid cream and these antibiotics the doctor gave me which made it feel better but didn't make it better...So, when my hands started getting better I was like hey why don't I take a shower? So I took a cold shower not hot and it made my hands raw. It's so hard for me to be even near water and right now I can't go to school because it's so embarrassing and painful and it starts oozing, it's swollen, red inflamed and itchy at times. Also, I'm taking zinc pills, I was drinking ACV but stopped, and fish oil pills.. I'm going to the dermatoglist tommorow but I don't want to use steroids they make everything worse! What do I do? Take pills for eczema?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For eczema, do not use any cosmetic products at the sites. You can apply some calamine lotion at the rash as it will help in soothing the skin. You can take some OTC oral antihistamine medications like Benadryl or Claritin and see if it helps.

For mild-moderate symptoms a weak steroid may be used (e.g. hydrocortisone as dermacort), whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).But they are available under prescription and should be taken only after consulting a dermatologist. Symptoms  can be exacerbated by dryness of the skin. Use good quality moisturizers to prevent moisture loss from the skin.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Jennn_yy1]

Well actually the strong steroid cream and antibiotics made it better like it was less inflamed but I think all it was doing was masking the eczema not really helping my thinned out skin