In this little post:

Eczema troubles and me reflecting on what worked so far for me :’)

SuperLeonieMode 326 / Eczema drawing hand troubles 🥺😭🖐️🧤

I *slowly* did this drawing through the uncomfortable pain, expressing my deep inner frustration, agony and helplessness from the past several months & since last year. It did burn, itch and hurt. I had a hard time sleeping one night with the constant itch and not wanting my ointment covered thumb go over my other stuff :'(

It’s an annoying thing I have to manage in my life now and I tried different things (ouch it was pricey; I had to keep testing for the right treatment/management to figure out what will help me) to keep my scaly, sensitive, sore skin hydrated. It got so bad a while ago with redness, scaling, itchiness, pain, burning sensations and pus until I burst, cried and had enough because I was agitating it, frustrated from several months of suffering and struggling. And this is because I still had to hand wash dishes, wash my hands (eep), cook, make art (with a glove & seam that irritates my thumb), exercise and do things with my hands which evidently made things worse :’)

It was as if I was suffering from a severe burn injury with my whole thumb/hand area :< It’s at times like these where I wish I didn’t have to hand wash dishes but I’m glad I could do some other things to avoid making things worse. It hurt to do things with my dominant hand and I needed lots of hydrating eczema-friendly ointment all over it :<

I’ve been asked; “why can’t you see a doctor?” Well they’d just prescribe me a cream/ointment; it’s an incurable skin condition that needs to be managed so it’s a matter of knowing what I’m doing to agitate/prevent/minimise it. I’m not in a rush (due to pandemic anxiety and it’s now manageable) so I’ll probably wait until I eventually get vaccinated for covid or the flu to check up on this ;P

Nowadays I’ve slowly ramped up how often I cook and after lots of trial and error, it turns out my maximum limit is cooking on alternate days noting that I still have to wash dishes 2-3 times every day. I make sure I have ointment over my raw eczema hand as much as possible and I use cotton gloves to protect myself from the irritating plastic dishwashing gloves and to keep my hand hydrated during work and sleep. And it all helps tremendously!

When eventually my cotton gloves wear out, I hope to try the more breathable & eco-friendly bamboo gloves! It’s slowly healing up again; I waited and nursed it but it does flare up and itches again if I’m not careful with treatment and prevention (or sometimes my skin just wants to act up whenever it likes) :’)

As someone who has ezcema on her hand and other places, here’s what I’ve learned from my personal experience so far:

(I am not a professional so please don’t simply follow what I’m doing! Please seek professional help and/or reach your own conclusion with what works for you! I will not take responsibility for your own health and decisions.)

• always have moisturiser to keep the dryness away regularly, after hand washing and every now and then
• sidenote: I do not have a humidifier plus it feels alien to me
• eczema is not contagious, it’s a sensitive skin immunity thing for those who are new to this
• minimise hand washing as much as possible
  • I’m already trying to be efficient as an anxious germaphone :’)
• avoid touching cleaning liquids and wipes directly because they agitate and burn your skin
  • I learned this the hard way and made my eczema worse again :’)
• moisturiser with ceramide for the extra skin barrier is recommended for regular maintenance
  • ointments & natural oils are even better before things get worse and if you feel itchy, dry, flakey, sore
• use ointments if it’s *really* bad, cracked, painful, wounded, infected, full of pus, scaly, red
  • do not use lotions and creams as they dry up fast, especially in this condition (and speaking from experience, it burns your skin and make your wounds worse!!)
• if you have a prescription eczema cream to heal, use that too (1-2 a day maximum or it loses effectiveness & makes it worse)
• use gentle, bar soaps (preservative and fragrance free because they irritate sensitive, dry skin more)
  • unfortunately for me I had to deal with shower gel (yes as a hand wash because that’s how frugal we are) and liquid soaps so I just had to make do with what I have :’)
• lather on ointment overnight with cotton gloves on (to keep the moisture from drying out and from getting it over your bedding and clothes)
  • I didn’t do this until February because the cotton gloves didn’t come on time :’)
  • vaseline, petroleum jelly or paw paw ointment will do fine if you need to get by while you do chores
  • I’ve used both vaseline and Lucas Papaw Ointment! They’re good most of the time!
  • there’s times where they feel too thick, slightly itchy and uncomfortable so I don’t use it too much when I’m sleeping
• if you feel dry, itchy and as if there’s a patch of sensitive, itchy skin, moisturise it asap and/or put eczema cream on top!
  • Nip it at the bud before it gets worse (and to prevent yourself from absentmindedly scratching it!)
• personally I use Cetaphil Pro Eczema Prone Moisturiser for my hands to keep it from getting too dry
  • do so only when it’s not inflected/wounded though! It was this cream that made me cry because my thumb wounds burned in pain and I should have used an ointment instead :’)
  • I also use another few other moisturisers that help (when it’s not infected)
• I use Cetaphil Pro Eczema Body Wash sometimes and I think it helps?
  • it doesn’t irritate me like other soap at least
• Dermaveen Eczema Ointment was wonderful in keeping my hand oiled up and hydrated when it was in pain, infected and really bad throughout the day
  • it’s more gentle, lighter and less irritating compared to vaseline and paw paw ointment (petroleum jelly)
• wearing ointment, then wearing a cotton glove, then wearing a dishwashing glove when washing dishes has been a life saver :’)
  • ideally you should use a dishwasher instead to avoid dish washing altogether but personally I don’t have that luxury and I have to do it
  • I also do this when cooking so I don’t handle things directly where possible (sounds silly and it does feel annoying and clumsy but it helps and minimises the frequent hand washing)
• there’s a bunch of other things that I will try out in the distant future (some body oils, a different eczema ointment) so perhaps I’ll talk about it when I do! I’m learning and figuring things out along the way!

Gosh navigating skin care is so expensive and annoying!! Oof! I’m going to use things sparingly and be frugal about it where possible :<

It’s been super awkward doing normal things and drawing as I had to make sure my oily hand didn’t touch too many of my things and to not agitate my sensitive, wounded, itchy, painful skin :’)

Right now it’s super dry and prone to flaring up and getting itchy again. It’s annoying on a day to day basis yet thankfully more manageable now! :’)

Digressing! I hope this helps someone out there! Also open to hear your personal experiences, suggestions, thoughts and recommendations too!

Thank you for reading my rambling and for bearing with me as I vent here. Please enjoy the rest of your week :’)

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