Ahhhhhhhhh!
People with eczema or other allergic conditions can certainly relate to the panicked feeling upon looking in the mirror or at our bodies and seeing that our eczema has flared up.
What did I do? What did I eat? What was I around? Did I use a new product?
We go over every single little thing which we’ve encountered over the past week or more. Was it that new food I tried? Was it because I used my hairdryer more often than normal? Is it because we’ve had more fires in the fireplace than we did last winter? Is there mold the heating system in my car? Am I allergic to a new soap, shampoo, hairspray, perfume? Is it the laundry detergent? Do I have bed bugs or some rare, exotic disease for which there is no cure? Am I allergic to work?
With all these thoughts running through my head – some rational, others not so much – I rush to make changes. Okay, I won’t eat that food anymore. No problem. I’ll stop blow drying my hair this week and see what happens. Back to unscented, fragrance-free everything! Back to the foods I eat regularly, which I know don’t cause problems. No more fires, let’s just use the heat. But what if THE HEAT is causing it? We need heat!! Okay, we’ll keep using the heat for now. Oh, and another great idea! How about YOU do the cleaning instead of me? You heard what the doctor said … “the house should be cleaned when the allergic person isn’t present.”
If you’re like me, you’ve maybe gone through an extended period where bath and beauty products didn’t cause you many issues and you’ve become complacent. Now with this flare up of eczema/allergies, I have to go out and buy the most gentle shampoos and conditioners, the most basic lotions and body washes. I have to go without makeup (no big deal for some people but I do tend to wear makeup). I have to buy new, natural, fragrance-free laundry detergent. (Thanks to Courtney for the recommendation of Molly’s Suds!) And spending all this money doesn’t even bother me because I’m just desperate to find something, ANYTHING that will make this stop!
If you’re like me, you’ll frantically research anything and everything that could maybe have caused your problem. You’ll see causation where there is only correlation. You’ll drive yourself absolutely crazy obsessing over what could have caused this new flare up.
And like most things in life, eczema and other allergic conditions have their ups and downs; flare-ups and periods of normalcy. We will wonder if it would have calmed down on its own, or did we find the perfect combination of products, diet and environment to maintain the period of normalcy? We will keep doing all the right things, until eventually the cycle will repeat itself.
I’m so sorry, I’ve had some eczema issues here and there, but nothing compared to what you and Courtney go through. Molly’s Suds is great and I can’t believe how long it took to finish my first bag, took 6 months (and I have an 18month old). Good luck to you, make sure you take some time to relax and breathe, stress could also be the cause:(
Thanks! And so far, so good with Molly’s Suds!
I definitely need to relax, that’s for certain
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with these frantic thoughts at first itch…
. My husband asked me what I ate, and I do not have any idea what I came in contact with. Food has been the same, bathroom stuff the same.
I think you know my story, I’m newer at this…may I ask a question? During any of your reactions do you have freezing spells?
In the beginning I realized my normal wasn’t normal and certain things were actually a reaction. As I’ve gotten better at living with allergies and eczema, I’m still questioning what is positively an allergic reaction and what is symptoms of a cold/flu. The flu has been passed around my house a couple of times in the past few weeks. Back in October, I noticed, in order: upset stomach, itching, freezing spell ( me covered with a blanket, AC off, living room temp nearing 90, and still shivering), body aches and cramps, headache, fatigue, then within a day or so, the blisters show. Each occurrence seems to last longer and longer. I never noticed headache or freezing before, just stomach, itching, and blisters. Since I’ve been so cautious, learning what my problem was, this has only happened 3 or 4 times since October even though I have had repeated blister patches flare since then. What does it sound like to you? Does it sound like an allergic reaction or just a super cold day? My flu coming back again? The last two days my stomach has been tore up, last night the freezing and headache began. My husband added two extra blankets to the bed and placed an electric heater on my night stand and that was how I slept without getting hot. When I woke this morning, the headache had subsided, but I kept a blanket on me until about noon, when all of a sudden, I was warm. Pulled up my sleeves, put the blanket back on the bed, and I am fine. Now, I’m just waiting for what I am afraid is the next phase
Well, I’m not a doctor so I don’t really know. Just out of curiosity, do you have Celiac Disease? What you’re describing sounds like some people after they ingest gluten (especially after being gluten-free). What kind of blisters are they? If you look up Dermatitis herpetiformis, does it look like that? That’s commonly seen with Celiac Disease as well.
I never ingest anything I’m allergic to anymore, but when I used to, it would be vomiting, hives, itchy throat, swelling throat, wheezing, anaphylaxis. It’s usually my environmental or contact allergies that cause the itchiness and eczema for me.
After being glutened, however, I have the upset stomach, freezing, body aches, cramps, headaches, fatigue.
Anyway, as I said, not a doctor and knowing nothing else about you, my guess would be Celiac disease, or, if you already know you have it, then I’d guess you’re somehow getting gluten in your diet without knowing it.
I have only had a blood allergen test by my family doctor and no celiac test. I didn’t think I had enough celiac symptoms to worry (maybe a denial issue). The allergy test showed allergic to milk, wheat, eggs, and breathing hickory and pecan trees. I have cut out wheat, but not necessarily gluten as somethings I consume was made with barley and or rye. I definitely don’t have the gluten I used to, but I can’t say I’m completely gluten free. I have been very confused, honestly. Am I going about a wheat allergy wrong in consuming barley? I know your not a doctor, but very experienced. I need a new doctor that can really help me. I relocated, my doc is 3 hrs away and not an allergist. I have never seen an allergist. I live in the middle of nowhere and have limited doctor resources. An allergist comes to a town an hour away from me twice a month. My appointment is a two month wait from now. A dermatologist diagnosed me in 2011 with dyshidrotic eczema. it is supposed to be limited to the palms of the hands and souls of the feet. It spread and covered me head to toe with horribly itchy blister patches. Hundreds of blisters on the palm of one hand. My mom took me to her family doctor. He took one look, said eczema, sent me for the allergy test, prescribed steroid ointment and loratadine. The next appointment, my IGe’s were telling him I was allergic. I have been improving since avoiding the allergens, but…still end up with patches in various spots. I’m sorry, just the only other person I know who is really allergic to something knows nothing about it like I do. Just trying to get some ideas about it from someone who has had to deal with it. Thanks for listening.
I just looked up dermatitis herpetiformis…I think I need a Celiac test.
With Celiac panels (the blood work) and the endoscopy, you need to be consuming a fairly significant amount of gluten (including wheat) for a couple months for a test to show as positive. Since you’re allergic to wheat, I wouldn’t recommend that! If you want an official diagnosis, I’d talk to a doctor, but if you’re not concerned with that, you could try cutting out gluten and see if it helps. Not all people with Celiac Disease present with GI symptoms — or obvious symptoms at all. Just a thought! Good luck!
Also, does your rash look like dermatitis herpetiformis? Where do you live, and do you have health insurance? I think it is important to see an allergist for your allergy issues (if your IgE levels were that elevated then your doctor is likely right in that you have allergies!), but food allergies and Celiac Disease aren’t mutually exclusive.
I think knowledge of Celiac Disease is unfortunately lacking, even among GI doctors. If you do get a referral to see one, I would definitely mention that you are wheat-free, because they may not bother with the test.
When I have a severe reaction (whether it is food, exposure to something like mold or a chemical) I get very very cold.
Sorry it has been so long. I lost my health insurance after a job position change following a sick leave of absence. I live in deep southern Ohio, small town with the nearest bigger towns at minimum an hour away. I did go to the doctor last week (my dad’s) and we are going with a self diagnosis of Celiac Disease for now. I’ve paid extra close attention to the Gluten in my diet and have it cut out. I have cleared up a lot more and feel I’m now headed in the right direction.
I feel ya. Just when you get in a groove thinking you have it under control, it comes back. I recently gave up and started using prescription lotion. But after a few applications and symptom worsening, I read the side effects: “May cause eczema.” Seriously?!?!
Yeah, it’s insidious like that! What prescription lotion were you using? It seems like a lot of medication targeting a specific symptom CAN worsen the symptom. I don’t get it!
This was a really helpful post. My husband’s family has a history of eczema and a rash recently broke out on his arms and legs. We haven’t seen a doc yet, but we have started buying organic food and gentle cleaning products. We’re also cleaning out some mold we found. Hopefully that clears it up – he really doesn’t want to see a doc.
Is this his first time having the rash? If so, I would recommend seeing a doctor at some point, just to rule out anything else! But hopefully the more gentle cleaning products will help. Same with shower products like shampoo, soaps. And for me, this helps, but washing my bedding really often with on a sanitize setting (if your machine has that) to kill any dust mites. Hope it clears up soon!
(Something weird went on with my WordPress and I no longer get your posts delivered to my inbox! So i missed this one!) Like many of your posts, this one felt like it was speaking straight to me. I was doing pretty good eczema-wise until yesterday when I started to itch again like crazy. The same kind of frantic thought process went through my mind – What did I eat? What did I do? What did I NOT do? I think I’ve narrowed it down to either being the extreme cold weather, eating more nut products than usual (maybe I am sensitive to nuts, who knows), or eating something with dairy hidden in it. I had a post way back in the summer where I was convinced, yup, that my CAR was giving me eczema because I would always get better on the weekends when I didn’t spend so much time in my car. I’m sure it wasn’t actually the car causing most of my concerns, but there’s always that hunt to have some kind of cause to “blame”.
Hahah, that totally sounds like something I would think — like maybe the leather in my car was making me allergic! Who knows?! It’s so aggravating. I’m proactive about everything in my life so when something is wrong, I immediately try to figure out what the situation is and how to fix it, and eczema is no exception!
Ugh… what a nightmare! I get flareups on my scalp, and I’m still trying to pinpoint what’s causing it. I tend to have food cravings during a certain time of the month, and especially for pasta and cheese. I believe that one or both is causing it.