How to manage eczema
I’ll never take a clear skin day for granted ever again.
I’ve had occasional flare-ups of eczema since I was a child, but the last 6-months have been nothing short of a nightmare.
It started around Christmas time last year. It’s not uncommon for my skin to get dry in the winter months - especially when it’s cold outside and I’m layering clothing or sitting in a heated house all day. But unlike before when I could pop on some extra moisturiser or wait for the warmer weather to help clear up my skin, this flare up is different and just doesn’t seem to be going away.
At its worst, my skin really was affecting my day-to-day life. I’d wake up in pain. Any clothes I’d put on would feel too tight or restricting. The simplest of tasks felt like an enormous effort. I was exhausted from my body trying to heal itself and I didn’t feel like doing anything. I’d spend most of my free time on my own feeling helpless. It’s so frustrating to live with itchy skin, especially if you feel like you’ve tried every avenue to find a cure.
The best prevention is to identify potential triggers. To do this I’ve tried cutting out dairy and gluten. I’ve also tried food intolerance tests, blood tests and different creams but unfortunately I’m still on a mission to find out what causes my flare ups.
In the meantime, I’ve found a few things that have helped my symptoms immensely:
Simplifying my skincare routine
If you have a skin condition, you’ll know how tempting it is to try lots of skincare products in one go with desperate hope you’ll find something that might help. I actually have two huge baskets full of products off the back of peoples recommendations but the thing I’ve found helped the most is stripping back my routine to 2 or 3 products. I also try to opt for dermatologically tested products or skincare made for children as it tends to be more gentle. I love Child’s Farm Shower Smoothie and Palmers Cocoa Butter Daily Skin Therapy.
Focusing on nutrition
There’s lots of research that suggests an unhealthy gut can lead to skin issues, so I’ve been trying my best to eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables to support my microbiome. I’ve also been taking daily supplements including a high-strength probiotic and Bare Biology’s Life & Soul Omega -3 Capsules. Omega-3 has lots of benefits for skin, especially a type called EPA which is anti-inflammatory.
Cosi Care Scratch Star
I’ve been giving the Cooling Scratch Star a go from a brand called Cosi Care and I can’t tell you how genius it is. I couldn’t be without it now. It’s the world's first, medically graded itch-relief device with ‘fingernail like’ bumps to help safely scratch eczema without breaking skin. I love to keep mine in the fridge as the metal helps to cool any heat/irritation. It’s great to keep on my bedside table for when I wake myself up scratching too!
A positive I’ve taken from this experience is it’s made me so unbelievably grateful for the days I wake up feeling myself. On the bad days I remind myself that my skin does not define me and that those trickier times will pass.
***
It's a few months later now. Not long afterwards, I was offered my first dermatology appointment. I was full of hope they would give me a magical cure, in reality, I was offered lots of medication and left feeling pretty overwhelmed.
After taking some time to reflect, I decided I wanted to find the root cause and see if I could find a way to heal naturally instead.
So, how is my skin now? Truthfully, still not perfect. But I’m doing SO much better than I was and I’m really excited to share my learnings with you.
Managing my stress levels
This felt silly at first as I’ve never considered myself to be a ‘stressed’ person. I remember thinking “I have a great life! What do I have to be stressed about?”.
I quickly figured out I was actually incredibly anxious and my body was channeling it as stress. Looking back now, I was going through quite a lot. I’d just moved away from my family to somewhere new, I was adjusting to a new environment and finding my feet in a new job.
I was desperately home-sick, putting tons of pressure on myself to fit into my new role whilst trying to maintain some kind of social life at the weekend. Mostly because I’m in my 20s and “that’s when you’re meant to have lots of fun!”...
It's no wonder my body was telling me something had to give. I hadn’t given myself a break in months and my nervous system was in overdrive.
From this, I’ve learned that in a world which is constantly on the go, making time to rest is REALLY important. There’s a brilliant quote that says “If you don’t pick a day to relax, your body will pick it for you” which I think is very true. I now consciously make an effort to slow things down, focus on what’s important and be a little kinder to myself.
Topical steroid withdrawal
All this time I thought I’d just been suffering from a really bad case of eczema until I came across a video of someone with Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW). Their skin looked exactly like mine - red, raw, dry and flakey. That’s when I realised I didn’t just have eczema but my skin had become extremely sensitive and damaged by the potent creams I was using.
Since then I’ve stopped using the creams and really stripped back my skincare. I’ve left my skin alone as much as possible to help heal itself naturally. I’m still learning a lot about TSW recovery but so far it seems that time and patience are the biggest healers.
Supporting my skin with supplements
I recently ordered one of our omega-3 test kits to check my levels. It’s a super easy at-home finger prick test, I just had to pop a few drops of blood onto a card and send it to the lab.
Within a week I got my report back which showed I had insufficient levels and needed a supplement with at least 2000mg of EPA and 1000mg of DHA. I’ve been taking our strongest omega-3, Life & Soul Omega 3 fish oil everyday for the last few weeks and my redness has started to calm down already. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone struggling with inflammation.
If you’re reading this and suffer with eczema or any other kind of skin condition, I’m sending you a huge hug. I’d also love to hear your top tips or any product recommendations that have helped you.
Get in touch with me at lucylaight@barebiology.com.
Written by Lucy - Social Media & Content Assistant at Bare Biology
