How to cope with severe eczema?

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I would have said this in a eczema related discussion forum but I couldn't find anything appropriate so I thought I'd post it here or if anyone can relate.
I've always had eczema since a baby - the atopic kind, although it is now at the point where it is very severe. This hot weather makes it much worse. I try to hydrate my skin with emollients but it dosen't get rid of the problem. Steroid creams I've found work up to a point to stop the flare ups, but you can't rely on them long term because they thin the skin.
I recently saw my dermatologist and they said they recommend me to try immune suppressants, they suggested a drug named Methotrexate. They affect the immune system in a way that it reduces flare ups, however I'm anxious to take them because of side effects like getting infections easily or a common cold can turn nasty because the body's defences are minimised. My asthma has been worse recently, so it could be even worse if I take the drugs.

Has anyone had eczema that got so bad they had to take immune suppressants or the drug Methotrexate? I don't know whether to take it and I get very anxious taking drugs or being open to infections. Chronic severe eczema has been really difficult for me though and it keeps me up at night.

Low Dose Naltrexone. It tricks your body into upregulating the levels of various types of endorphins in your body by temporarily blocking various opioid receptors. This causes the negative feedback system in your body to increase the number of receptors, increase each receptor's sensitivity and increase the production of various types of endorphins due to the percieved deficiency. The naltrexone wears off after 3.5 to 4 hours just in the early morning hours when the body is set to naturally release it's highest level of endorphins each day. This all has an immunomodulating, analgesic, antidepressant among other effects in your body. I use 4.25mg prescribed to me and made at a compounding pharmacy. I take it at 9:30pm and it provides really good relief from my severe full body itching/rashes for roughly 21 to 22 hours following each dose. It does this without thrashing my immune system like immunosupressants would.

It is a drug that is dirt cheap and had it's patent expire decades ago. It is in large scale clinical trials for Crohn's disease, MS, and Fibromyalgia but due to it's unique mechanism of action it has a wide range of applications and the conditions that can benefit from it aren't limited to those 3.

Only real side effects are vivid dreams which don't go away while you continue to use the med, mild GI upset and sleep disturbances, both of which go away after the first week or so.

If you didn't live in the UK, I'd have suggested high CBD cannabis/cannabis oils/ high CBD cannabis topicals which work great too without all the nasty side effects of immunosupressants.

Taking a probiotic daily (doesn't seem to matter which one) can really help strengthen your immune system and reduce the frequency and severity of infections like colds.

All I can say is this - identify what you are allergic to. I know this sounds condescending, but I visited a dermatologist who said to me it was nonsense that eczema was made worse by any type of food, and it was all down to genetics. This is a COMPLETE LIE.

It could even be healthy food. Different allergies affect different people. Again, I don't mean to sound patronizing.

Strengthening the immune system is not what you want. Eczema is the body's immune system overreacting, you don't want it to react more.

Preservatives are often allergens, and they are way under diagnosed. Preserved meat makes my eczema worse, because they contain nitrates. Wines and a lot of alcoholic drinks too, because they have sulphites. Olives, chillis, can trigger eczema just because they have preservatives canned in with them, whilst the actual products don't hurt. You have to check every single ingredients list. Even canned vegetables can have preservatives added to them. Coca-Cola and Pepsi trigger it for me too.

That is interesting you mentioned that as I had recently received blood test results confirming I was allergic positive to many things, such as cow's milk, house dust mite and grass pollen, with many others. I've tried cutting out milk and dairy for a little while but the eczema showed no sign of improving.
I showed this to my dermatologist and they said they did not believe these results were the cause of my eczema like your one said. He said people who suspect to have allergic contact eczema should have patch testing but he thinks it's to do with what's called my filaggrin genes causing atopic eczema.

I had bad atopic eczema as a kid. It gradually got better in my teens but it started to flare up again the last couple years. I never taken an immune suppressant but I would get Cortizone shorts as a kid or steroid pills to take for a short time. I take Prednisone nowadays when it flares up but I'm considering trying an immune suppressant. Keep us informed about how it goes if you try it.

I'm sorry, I've only just seen this. Right, what you need to do is do an extremely limited diet (this is for short term only). BUT, what you must ALSO do, is clear up the eczema with steroid creams and do not under any circumstances deviate from the limited diet. The steroid creams are temporary. You need to clear up the eczema fast in order to see any short term results from the diet in order to tell what's affecting you.

1) So immediately start the diet first, and use the steroid creams until your eczema is clear. Continue on that specific diet for a week and see if your eczema comes back. If it comes back, you need to limited your diet even further. I would even suggest only one or two foods at a time at first, to be absolutely certain that you've covered it.

2) If your eczema stays clear for a week, then introduce ONE food at a time and allow 24 hours for any reactions. For instance, I get a flare of eczema from egg after a few hours.

3) In this diet you should cut out the major potential allergens: Nuts, egg, dairy, soy, flavourings, colourings, all preservatives, etc. Look at every single ingredients label - it is not paranoia to do this. Companies, even organic, mislead with their descriptions all the time. One supermarket brand may be excellent and you should stick to them, however they always have exceptions. You also need to check products you frequently buy every now and again as sometimes recipes on the products you trust - change. Don't just rely on a pack of Uncle Ben's vegetable rice and think it's pure.

4) Introduce herbs as you would with any new food. I have reactions to a couple of herbs too. People have reactions to different vegetables as well, and fruits more often. Oils too.

5) Remember that you must have a clean slate, if you like, on your skin before introducing the new foods, because you may get reactions with one food mixed up with others, and that doesn't help in your research.

6) Gluten is not necessarily an enemy, neither are potatoes. They might be for others. Everybody is different. Don't just go along with fads.


The above can prove to you that ingesting these allergens does create your eczema, you will be able to see for yourself. As for that dermatologist, I spoke with the nurse at my doctors surgery, and she told me her daughter hated her (she was arrogant and rude) and refused to see her again.