I have it on the small of my back about the size of a hand print and it drives me mental, been to the docs a few times got some cream works for a while and the it flares up again, tried E45 cream made it a lot lot worse,
so any one use anything else that I might buy over the counter rather than going to the doc,s again
thanks
craig
my dad takes aloe vera gel (drinks it) and it has been amazing. gone from open wounds on his knuckles to a bit of dry skin occasionally.
apparently some brands are purer than others and some are worse tasting. 'forever living' stuff is the best apparently. 
thanks for that
Find the cause, rather than treating the symptoms. Go have some allergy checks, lower your stress etc.
Sounds like you have something other than atopic eczema (in the joint areas usually) - so might be irritant contact dermatitis for example.
I get the occasionally split crack on my fingers or knuckles. TBH they come and go as they please no matter what I do. Managment is all I can, er, manage.
I use a combination of topical steroid nicked from Jr's stash and E45 lipsalve stick which I use to "fill" the crack to get a solid moisturiser in there.
It used to be stressed based, now it usually flares if Im playing with petrol (cleaning bikes parts etc, )
lol not bad.
I've had it all my life (joints) but it's really died down in my 30s such that it's not a problem any more. It's a catch all term so it caused by all sorts.
One thing I found was that if it got really bad (like weeping) then a topical antibiotic was a good idea as it would almost always be infected and any topical steroid treatment was pointless.
My son had it bad on his back for about a year (when he was 2) but it has completely cleared up. A mild steroid was needed to zap an outbreak, but then the right emolliant seemed to keep it in check. We needed to try several emolliants till we found one that worked - a few made it worse.
guten free diet has worked wonders on two of my friends with Eczema
I bathe in dead sea sea salts when mine flares up, when it's bad I get it on my feet, my arms, thighs, shoulder blades, stomach, virtually everywhere! Feet and ankles are usually worse but if I can stop them becoming infected I'm generally ok! I'm far worse in the winter time, this year I think I'm not going to wrap up quite so much as I think mine is triggered by sweat..
Using some eumovate cream ATM and it's not too bad for an over the counter cream!
funny you should say that greeble.
I moved to idiet 2 weeks ago (functionally gluten free) was in the middle of a fairly long running flare (previous 3 months) and its seems to be on the wane, as is my mass. hitting about 1.2Kg loss a wekk....
I had it last year for the first time, lower back, elbows and waist were the worst, used e45 for a while, but I ended up going to the Dr's as it wasn't getting any better.
It turned out to be my shower gel, one I had not used before, it was foam burst. Now I only use Sanxex, never had any problems since.
As above, find the cause before the cure, easier said than done.
e45 contains lanolin which a lot of people are allergic too
have heard good things about some beeswax based stuff
steroid creams from the doc work best for me, i find keeping hydrated is important, seems to get worse when the central heating comes on as my skin dries out
reducing dairy and wheat can help too apparently but i like bread and cheese too much for that
I get it on my right hand when it has been exposed to certain detergents, Fairy Liquid being the worst.
I saw a dermatologist who prescribed Fucibet to clear it up initially then told me to use an emollient when I could feel it coming back. E45 did nowt. Best results were had with Vaseline and Avon hand cream.
Betnovate from the docs is the stuff for me. A tube can last me a couple of years these days - whatever was causing it for me isn't anymore.
Me and my sister had it really bad when we were kids. Mine disappeared as I got older, my sister continues to suffer. The only thing that ever helped her were summer holidays where she spent about 6 hours plus a day in the sea. After 4-5 days, she was fine. Baths with sea salt added also helped, but not by the same margin.
adh - that mirrors me and my brother perfectly. He grew out of it, but I still suffer today (albeit nowhere near as badly). Summer holidays and time in the sea were a welcome relief!
Fish Oil, anything Omega 3.
Small of back isn't a 'classic' location for eczema, especially if it's there and no-where else. Might be a dermatitis reaction to sweat, I guess.
If it is eczema, best thing is to hammer it with the prescribed steroidal stuff for a short period, then try to keep it from flaring up using emollient cream. Try reducing your use of bubble bath/soap products for a bit and see if that makes a difference.
Don't use acqueous cream as an emollient. It's just about the worst thing you can use on eczemous skin. I use an emollient cream bought over the counter at the pharmacist and it's made a big difference.
There might still be something in diet. A recurring very itchy rash on the back could be dermetitis herpetiformis, which has been linked to gluten. If you google some images then you'll see how it might be confused with eczema.
Trouble is, there are so many different presentations of different rashes, varying from patient to patient.
Avoid soap, use emulsifying ointment instead then 50/50 afterwards. And see your GP about steroids.
Mine reached a point in the 90s where I ended up in hospital for three weeks 
The above (in huge quantities) plus UV treatment sorted it eventually.
I think MH is spot on with the (very medical) assessment above. Having struggled with it throughout my life including the week of tests in hospital etc I would emphasise the point about soap/detergent use. Washing powders etc seem to be particularly good at aggravating. Have learnt to avoid bio washing powders in particular.
Sunlight definitely helps to keep it under control so yes its going to be a long winter..
Had it all my life, hands constantly affected.
E45 or any emmolient drives it mad instantly. I just use white soft parrafin - vaseline. Applied about 10 times a day. Its a hard wearing option. Use Dermovate (the ointment = in WSP not the cream = emollient) when it gets bad.
Anything the takes mositure flares it up = dry weather both crip cold and hot, air conditioning. I come off a plane felling like a pringle.
Plus stress. Reduced massively when I learned to calm my mind a bit.
Lastly, to stop the itching I douse my hands in very hot tap water as needed a few times a day. Not recommended by most doctors but it has worked for 20yrs. This and permanently short fingernails to prevent self harm...
I was getting a rash on my back from where I stood in the shower and the hot water hiting me, stopped doing that and it got better. I get eczema on my hands but had it worse as a kid.
Don't use biological washing powder, use fairy or boots non bio. Don't use synthetic soaps like Carex or washing up liquid, shower gel etc.
neoprene is really bad for me, can't wear neoprene gloves, smoking makes it worse, cold weather makes it worse. Dry affected areas properly and gently with a towel - if I get lazy drying my hands it appears between my fingers.
I'm pretty good now though, jsut get a bit between my fingers in the winter.
Aqueous cream.....used often, with hot water
My dad had it real bad as a teenager, used to have bandaged hands. I get just the one spot, about a 50p size on my left index knuckle. It comes and goes as it pleases seemingly but after a week in Morzine it disappeared. I put it down to lack of washing up and do changed detergents to a gentle one (forget the name).
Its actually starting to come back though.
Usually I zap it with steroids then keep on to of it with fragrance free moisturisers.
I also get very painful splits in my thumbs and fingers at random mostly in the winter. Can't seem to do much with them as the lip of the split goes very hard and impervious to moisturisers. I have been known to glue the splits back together with super glue.
a few of us in our family have it and we all use and swear by it. its called DOUBLE BASE, they do a range of products, you can get it on pre scription as well,
bagbalm works wonders for me. it's used to stop cows getting sore cracked and infected udders.....it is good though 
Goats milk rather than cows milk sorted my wife and kids out...
+1 gluten free diet. Cured my hay fever too.
Sun has always worked wonders for when I had minor issues.
I used to get it on my feet when a kid, unable to walk through cuts etc.
I used Emulsifying Ointment. Get it from Boot (used to be prescription only) and rub it on thick.
Worked for me.......!
had it past 8 years really,really bad at one stage, bandages on at night etc, bedsheets would look like someone was shot in the morning!
Calmed down a bit now - mainly on arms and feet. It's a pain, but I use epiderm from prescription. slap it on after shower etc and does the trick.
Resigned myself to never getting rid now tbh. tried all sorts of things like bath salts, chinese mediciene etc, none worked for me.
DH
billyboy - MemberAqueous cream.....used often, with hot water
NO! Aqueous cream has been shown to be positively evil, especially for eczema. Hot water is also bad as it strips the body's natural oils.
I don't have eczema but something along those lines. Being careful with soaps and detergents helps. Avoid things with sodium laurel (or lauryl) sulphate since it's bad for the skin (and the reason why aqueous cream is evil), but because it's a cheap detergent it's very common so hard to avoid. Baby-wash products tend to use better (milder) detergents.
Bad in mid teens, face & upper arms.
Reduced over time, Aqueous Cream helped.
Dissapeared a few years ago when I started using olive oil soap. Amazing stuff, had a very,very positive effect and have used it since.
I use stuff called 'Olivia', usually get it from wholefood type shops.
Worked for me.
Big +1 for doublebase to stop the skin drying too much. Short burst of steroid cream when required to keep things in check.
In oz we have a range from a company called moogoo, they ship internationally I think, good for shampoos etc. worth a look
I dont know if this is any use, or if your this way inclined, but, a friend of mine, a tattoo artist , told me that if you have the area where you suffer from eczema tattooed, it wont return as it(eczema) cant form on scare tissue. I dont suffer from it myself tho, so cant say from experience.
Good luck, i had a girlfriend with it once, lovely girl, cracking tits! sos couldnt resist.
Had it flare up in my late 30s on legs, arms and waist. Was prescribed Betnovate steroid cream, Aqueous Cream and some very expensive shower stuff by the GP. Was also told not to use bio washing powder, use basic unperfumed soap.
Changing job reduced my stress levels and doing the above means that it has disappeared, and only very occasionally reappears and then only in very small areas.
Wasn't aware that Aqueous cream was not recommended.
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