Okay, that title sounds a bit harsh, but anyone who has had eczema knows what I mean. It's the itch to beat a thousand itches and giving it a good scratch will make you feel something akin to bliss. It will also leave you red, flaky, scaly and in pain.
Now I'm not going to do the whole "What is eczema?" post because, honestly, if you are reading about it you probably know exactly and are here because you need as much help as I did. For those who don't know - it's basically a red, dry, flaky skin condition with an otherworldly itch and the more you scratch, the worse it gets. But, often you can't stop the itch and so you end up scratching which just makes it worse and ends up being a never-ending vicious cycle.
Anyway, here is my story:
My eczema began about four years ago in the winter and it started with a small spot behind my right knee. All I remember is that I was sitting down and suddenly had this overwhelming desire to scratch this itch that, at the time, I just assumed was a mosquito bite. I remember still wondering how on earth a mosquito had managed to bite me through my thick leggings. I also remember thinking that scratching had never felt so good. I gave it a quite a good scratch until I got that slightly stinging, painful feeling that usually means you've gone too far and broken skin. Now, usually a mosquito bite goes away after a day or two, but on the fourth day when I was still scratching, I went to a mirror and was horrified to discover a small red area of flaky, rough skin that was actually oozing a bit in places (sorry, TMI?). What was going on?
Of course I hit Google right away and found out pretty quickly that I was suffering from eczema and what astounded me more was that it affected so many people and yet there was no cure or even definite explanation as to what causes it. Don't ask my why or how it happened so suddenly, but there it was and it only got worse from that point on. From then on I was on a mission to beat it and I can finally say that I have been 100% free of eczema for three whole months now!
Anyway, back to my story. It got worse and worse. The patch got bigger and it got itchier until basically the entire area behind my knee was affected. It looked terrible and I was embarrassed to wear anything short. Plus, the overwhelming desire to scratch was like nothing on earth and although giving in and scratching felt heavenly for a while, the burning pain and bleeding that followed definitely wasn't. I know it sounds disgusting, but I'm sure other sufferers will know exactly what I mean. And I have so much sympathy for those who have it all over their bodies. I've heard of some people even having it on their faces and I can't imagine how awful that must be. I had it in one area and it drove me crazy, but at least it could be hidden and even if I was out and the itch got too much, I could sort of put my hand under my knee and pinch or scratch the area for relief without anyone seeing anything.
Anyway, I'm big on natural cures, but I truly felt like I tried everything! And for each thing I used, I would try it for two weeks before deciding it it was worth continuing or not. I tried:
- changing my diet
- changing my laundry detergent
- switching to natural soap
- cortisone cream (not natural, but I was desperate)
- various lotions and creams
- Vaseline
- wrapping the area in wet bandages
- coconut oil
- turmeric
- aloe gel
- aloe gel with MSM crushed into it
- apple cider vinegar (internally and externally)
- lavender essential oil
- castor oil
- glycerin
- iodine
- zambuc herbal extract
- papaya extract
- olive oil and milk
- oatmeal
- rubbing alcohol
I'm listing these because maybe if what cured me doesn't help you, you'll be able to research one of these other remedies and hit on something that works for you. As I mentioned, I always tried to stick with a new treatment for at least two weeks and sometimes I really felt it was working during the first week, but then by the second week it would go back to being really bad again. This is going to sound strange, but I almost felt like the first week took the eczema "by surprise", but during the second week it had regained its composure, rounded the troops and come back stronger than ever!
And then I hit on the gold prize. Let me just say that I have no patch at all now and I have been 100% clear for three months which I feel is long enough to make me feel it truly works and makes me want to share it with the world. What was red, flaky and bleeding before and covered the entire back of my knee, is totally clear and smooth now. The skin is soft and you cannot tell that there was ever any sort of skin condition there.
Okay, sorry for keeping you in suspense! The thing that has been my savior is something called ROOIBOS TEA.
I'm not going to give a major description except to say that it's a herbal tea from South Africa with some amazing properties. I decided I was going to try it after I had done some research on green tea (which I'm going to try if the eczema ever comes back again or starts up somewhere new and I'm out of rooibos - it isn't always easy to find where I live). Anyway, I started reading about all its health benefits and was sold and decided to start trying it right away.
This is what I did: I made a mugful of tea by boiling water and steeping one tea bag in it for about five minutes. Then I took the tea bag out, waited for it to cool down and poured it into a glass container (which I now keep in my bathroom for easy access). Every morning and night I would take a cotton pad and pour on a generous amount and wipe it all over the area and then I'd wait for it to dry a bit before putting on my pajamas. The next morning I'd repeat the process. Now that I'm eczema-free I still put it on, but only at night. It's just become a part of my bedtime routine and I do so because I'm paranoid that it will come back. It wasn't magic. It took time and consistency, but after two weeks there was a definite improvement. The affected area was still big, but the feel of the skin was improving and it was itching less and the desire to scratch was suddenly less intense which, of course, helped a lot. Don't get me wrong - sometimes it still itched like nothing on earth and I'd give in to it, but I just kept putting it on every day and night and it started going away and the area got smaller and smaller until, maybe around two months later, there was nothing there at all. Sweet victory!
I must also admit that I did start drinking the stuff around the same time as well. Herbal tea isn't usually my thing. I'm a coffee girl mostly, but now I force myself to drink at least one cup a day. I wait for it to cool down and then just drink it down like water. I guess that could have an effect as well, from the inside out, but I don't know for sure. I'm just mentioning it, so you have all the details and know exactly what I did because if this helps just one other person, I'll be glad.
Two more things:
I did find that only one thing really helped me when it came to dealing with the immediate itch and struggling with that desire to scratch, and that was to take an ice pack from the freezer and hold it on the area until the itch subsided. This isn't going to take the eczema away, but it definitely helped with the itch and subsequent desire to scratch which is a big part of stopping it from spreading. Nothing else worked for me, but the ice would switch the intense itch into a slight burn and slowly the feeling would pass.
The other thing is that my son has something called keratosis pilaris, commonly referred to as "chicken skin", on the area of skin around his elbow. He has had it since he was a toddler and the area was getting bigger. He is 8 now and I've been using the rooibos tea remedy on him for around five months now. I apply some to a cotton pad and rub it onto the area. It isn't clear yet, but the size of the area has been reduced by half and I am very optimistic that this is going to do the trick. Perhaps one of these days I'll be able to do a post about beating that skin condition, too! Now I just need to work on what it takes to get rid of wrinkles... ha! Anyway, I feel as though I have tried everything on him for that condition, too, and this is the first time there has been real improvement. The little bumps became darker and rougher with this "bit" of skin at the top that would fall off and leave a flat surface. Anyway, it's all very exciting for me to see.
Okay, signing off. To anyone who is suffering, you have my deepest sympathy and I truly, truly hope that this post offers you some hope.