About

March 21, 2012 , 2 Itchy skin

I am 37 years old and have had the pleasure of dealing with eczema, (atopic dermatitis) since I was a child. I have seen specialists of all sorts who have told me lots of conflicting stories on why I have it and what causes it, and to be honest, I don’t care why or how I have it, I just want to treat it. It may be genetic, it may be due to diet or inflammation, but really, I have it and I don’t like it, and I wish more than anything, it would just go away.

Firstly and most importantly, I will confirm that no, eczema is not contagious. Sometimes I wish it were so that I could share it with the kids that ridiculed me for having terrible skin rashes that made me feel like I had the plague or share it with the people who think it’s “not really that big of a deal.” Seriously, do you know what it’s like to have a rash that makes your skin puff up, turn bright tomato red and itch like crazy? And when you decide to scratch your skin because you think it will make it feel better, it then breaks and bleeds and causes excruciating pain and nothing helps, that’s no big deal right? Bite me….

When I was a child I would get bright red, ITCHY, puffy rashes that were always behind my knees and in the bends of my elbows. Occasionally I would get a rash on my neck or on my back. As an adult the locations of my rashes have spread to my ears, eyelids, around my mouth, and most prominently on my hands. The only good part is that they are not as red or puffy, yippee! They do still itch and cause me much pain and frustration.

Eczema stinks, and there is no cure for it currently. I have tried most of the creams, lotions, medications, soaps, natural home remedies, etc., on the market and can tell you what works best for me and what’s a complete waste, in hopes that it will save you some pain, time, frustration, and even money. And perhaps someday, someone can figure out the real cause of eczema and then find a gosh darn cure for the stupid thing! Til then, well at least we all have each other…