Life with Eczema

My mom has various theories why I have eczema. 2006 was the year my parents immigrated to the US and I was born the same year in December. They were first time parents and new to the country. To protect me from the cold temperatures, Mom kept the heater on high and didn’t know there was something called a humidifier to be used. She fears that is the reason my eczema started. And then sometimes she thinks it is something she ate in pregnancy. But again these are all theories.

Doctors cannot tell you why you have eczema. The only thing they tell you is that there is no cure for eczema and it is a condition that you have to manage. In my opinion, topical steroids do more harm than good. Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is a PAIN to live with. If you are a caregiver, researching for your loved one who has eczema, please understand that the itch is unbelievably painful. In all my pictures till I was about three or four years old, I am wearing onesies and my hands are covered in mittens so that I don’t scratch. As a baby I had eczema at all the classic spots, face, elbow pits, and knee pits.

The Eczema symptoms subsided from age 4-12 but they never went away completely. I always had to moisturize right after showering. I had to moisturize at least 2-3 times a day. I always wore long sleeve shirts, even in the hot Texas summer. We were trying to avoid steroids but had to use it sparingly. My mom used homeopathy medicines and they really helped. (more on homeopathy later)

Most kids grow out of eczema once they are 7-8 years old. But once I hit puberty, the symptoms got much worse! This was when the doctors really pushed the steroids. Year 2020 was a nightmare for everyone. But it was a nightmare for my family for one more reason.

Once the lockdown began in 2020, I started eating a lot of junk. Chocolates, ice creams and chips. This completely messed up my gut and it started a major eczema flare up. The doctor just gave a stronger steroid but guess what, it just made things worse. The doctor asked my mom to apply the steroid twice a day, but Mom knew how potent these things are so she used it once a week! And I still got, what is called, TSW - Topical Steroid Withdrawal. Please look up TSW, if the doctor has prescribed steroids for you or your loved one. I would not want anyone to go through that nightmare! It took me 2 full years of clean eating to heal my gut, and I am a vegetarian so that made the diet extremely strict. Lots of green juice, green veggies but no dairy, no eggs, no gluten. I will continue to add details of my diet and how the diet helped me in consecutive posts.