Day Fourteen – Feeling Human Again
Day 14 – January 21, 2009
Yesterday I spent the morning watching the 2009 Inauguration and then spent the rest of the day in face-to-face appointments. I was feeling borderline human. However, by the end of the evening, I was starting to feel a bit more puffy and red, so I just went to bed early.
… Today I feel even MORE human. My eyes are a lot less bloodshot, and I have had to put less Aquafor lotion on my face throughout the day. As you can see from the picture, I am WAAAAY less red and puffy. And the Eucerin Aquafor has helped smooth out my skin – removing all the cracks and flaky crap. My face is still a little discolored/blotchy, but much, much better.
I am sticking to my pseudo-Macrobiotic diet: rice and rice products, water, baked chicken and fish and steamed veggies. I am also sticking to the Prednisone regiment prescribed by my doctor. I am in the process of slowly tapering off the dosage until I am completelty off of it … and completely healed.
<(^^,)> … Today I feel happy.
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My Eyelid Eczema
*Please note: I am not a doctor, nor am I selling anything. I am just sharing the journey that I had through a horrible bout of face/ eyelid eczema and what I did to cure/overcome it.*
UPDATE: My Eczema was an allergic reaction to CATS. It got progressively worse until I had to (sadly) find a different home for my cats and move into a new house that never had cats.
Every winter for the past 3-4 years, I have spent at least one month with eczema on my eyelid(s). It is itchy, painful and ugly. I live in Colorado, where there is NEVER a lot of moisture in the air. Also, eczema can be genetic. I NEVER had it before, but my youngest child was born in 2003, and once he turned 1, he started getting eczema on his legs and upper arms. We could not figure out WHO he inherited it from until the Winter following his 1st B-Day when all of a sudden I wound up with the SAME raised, cracking itchy stuff on my eyelids.
My guess is that it was dormant in me until after he was born.
Anyway, he “got over” it by the time he was a about 3 … but I still got it … on my eyelids … Every Winter. In 2009 – during the creation of this blog – it got the absolute WORST that is has ever gotten.
According to Wikipedia:
“There is no known cure for eczema, thus treatments aim to control the symptoms: reduce inflammation and relieve itching.”
MedicineNet.com says,
“The goals for the treatment of eczema are to prevent itching, inflammation, and worsening of the condition.”
Basically, there is no “CURE” for eczema. But I am not okay with this. There IS a cure … the cure is to remove the CAUSE of the eczema (an auto-immune reaction to an allergen) which will get rid of the eczema.
I am not in a business where I can hide in my cubicle until is goes away on it’s own. I am in a face-to-face business that requires me to be somewhat presentable at any given moment. Eczema on my eyelid is NOT helping me or my business. The worst part of having unsightly eyelid eczema is that it itches like crazy … and scratching only makes it worse. (Did you know? “Itching (pruritus) is a sensation that instinctively demands scratching.” – Merck.com LOL.)
Over the past 3-4 years, I have just been putting pure Vitamin E oil on it. I know that there are the corticosteroid creams out there that can help, but the thought of putting that so close to my eyeball just completely freaks me out.
Not to mention that I was raised by my Mom, who can cure almost ANYTHING naturally, so I KNOW there is a natural cure out there. Her words ring through my head “treat your skin ailments internally AND externally” …
With this pre-wisdom from my Mom, I decided to talk to my friend who owns a health food store in Colorado Springs – Mountain Mama’s. She helped me pick out some things for internal and external use.
This blog is dedicated to my journey to CURE My Eyelid Eczema.
UPDATE: My Eczema was an allergic reaction to cats. It got progressively worse until I had to (sadly) find a different home for my cats and move into a new house that never had cats.
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Curing My Eyelid Eczema 
Dear Mariana,
I found your journal while searching for eyelid cream for eczema. About a month ago I started to get dry itchy eyelids, not severe but I’m worried it will get worse. I’ve had eczema for about 20 years mainly on my feet but never on my face until now. After 20 years, several dermatologists, every ointment and cream under the sun, fasting, natural “remedies” and prescription cortisones, etc. the only thing that really helped me was an Elimination Diet as suggested by an Allergist. Try to find an Allergist or Nathuropathic Doctor that believes in FOOD INTOLERANCE (or do it on your own) Every Dermatologist I’ve seen has dismissed this ( and none has ever asked me about my diet!) Basically you eliminate the most common foods that cause food intolerance (dairy, wheat, eggs, corn, soy, and anything you suspect) for 3 weeks. Then you add each food back into your diet one at a time for up to 3 days to see if there is a reaction.This is not as easy as it sounds because most of these ingredients are in almost all packaged foods. You have to be very careful, read all labels, keep a food diary and be very diligent. For me it paid off. Let me just say that after 15 years of ECZEMA HELL on my feet, within that 3 weeks the eczema was almost gone. It was dramatic and totally convincing. I said almost, but it was like the difference between having poison ivy all over to having 1 mosquito bite!
Sorry this is so long but I wanted to tell you about this and also warn you about the Prednisone that the doctor may not have let you in on. I haven’t seen a posting in your journal for some days so I’m assuming you feel much better. With the Prednisone your skin will clear up like magic and you will feel great emotionally too. I remember it well, my skin felt new, I had tons of energy, I felt “high”. WOW! I thought this stuff was great. Sorry to sound like a bummer but within 3 months it came back – WORSE. I took the Predisone on and off for 2 years but in the long run it actually made my eczema worse and each time the drug loses it’s effectiveness.
I think you are on the right track with the fish oil and healthier diet and I hope you look into the Food Intolerance theory. Also there is a good website called TALKECZEMA.COM , it’s like a support group for eczema sufferers with different stories and advice. But as I’m sure you are discovering eczema is still a mystery and different for every person. So if you see people saying that diary is the cause or wheat or corn (my intolerance) that is just their body that can’t tolerate that particular food, it’s different for everybody.
I hope you are feeling better and find something that works for you. If you find any kind of cream or ointment that helps your eyelids please post that on your site. I’m afraid to try too many things on my eyelids for fear of making it worse. The only thing that I feel safe using is just basic eye ointment for severe dry eye and cleansing with Cetaphil cleanser. Please feel free to email me about the Food Intolerance Diet or my experience with eczema. I understand the frustration, the itching, stinging and the PAIN. And then you have the additional torture of having it your face, I just can’t imagine that. Not many people understand that this is physically and emotionally painful. My heart goes out to you. Please take care and keep us posted on your condition!
Valerie
Valerie – Thank you SO MUCH for your comment! I believe that eczema is one way that your body can tell you that it is unhappy. The Prednisone will help the symptoms but the KEY is to fix the underlying problem … allergies, diet and lifestyle.
I will check out your link and keep you posted!
Thanks again!!
I’ve had eczema all my life but more recently on my eyelids. A couple of things. Stress is a huge trigger for me, aside from seasonal allergies. Also, after the acute outbreak goes away, the skin is so dry and irritated and flaky it takes awhile to heal. I’ve been putting aquaphor on it for a couple of years and it has worked well. I recently tried straight up olive oil because the aquaphor wasn’t even working to soften the skin. Well, the olive oil has worked wonders. My eyelids are almost back to normal and my eyes look a ton better. I’m sticking with EVO for awhile to see how it works in the long run.
Hi Madeline – Thank you for your comment and for the olive oil idea. I will try it!
I will try the EVO, too! Thanks for documenting your journey to healing. I was SO hoping it was without the drugs…I’m finally caving in to go to an allergist. My hand is beet red and painful and itchy….and I’m starting to get weird skin on my eyelids – YIKES – and have some weird spots along the hairline, which psoriasis soap seems to help somewhat. I had E as a kid and didn’t really have more than a tiny patch or two in adulthood – until NOW. I eat super clean (Paleo, all organic) lots of chia and hemp seed and coconut oil. I’m surprised you said that tomato juice can help E….tomatos are one of the known allergens and I have a sneaking suspicion that they caused my hand to freak out and go all red and scaly and painful and itchy. I have a lovely heirloom tomato garden and I have noticed that touching the plants makes my skin itch!!!!! Will stop touching/eating tomatos and see what happens! I do not eat dairy or sugar or any grains at all since all of those things can be allergens. (Sigh) please wish me well.