Medical question- skin condition

[superjohn]

My brother has been suffering from a skin condition for a while and nothing is working. Dermatologists say it's eczema. It started on his feet which was mostly just a nuisance and he could cover it up. He now has it all over his body, on his scalp, his hands. He's gone to at least three different dermatologists and is seeing another one tomorrow. Anyone who has experienced this or a doctor who has advice? He's at his wits end and I feel terrible for him.

 

[8893]

My brother has been suffering from a skin condition for a while and nothing is working. Dermatologists say it's eczema. It started on his feet which was mostly just a nuisance and he could cover it up. He now has it all over his body, on his scalp, his hands. He's gone to at least three different dermatologists and is seeing another one tomorrow. Anyone who has experienced this or a doctor who has advice? He's at his wits end and I feel terrible for him.

What about plaque psoriasis?

 

[ClifSpliffy]

stress kills.
other than a mechanical genetic dysfunction regarding fillagrin
'filaggrin is actually the name of a specific protein that could play a key role in your eczema.
Filaggrin helps our bodies maintain a protective barrier on the top layer of the skin. But research shows that some people with eczema have a mutation of the gene responsible for filaggrin,'
AD can be mostly a result of psychological stress on epidermal barrier dysfunction. 'too much stress' is a highly individualized measurement across the entire spectrum of all biological life. some plants or animals can shake off mental or physical triggers to their system, while other such suffer from the same input.
AD is inflammation at the skin. while there are a host of man-made pharma concoctions that sometime can be very effective in 'treating' outbreaks (there, too, it seems that the ones that work are the ones focused on 'calming the brain'), there are also some 'natural' therapies that are worth trying first before going all nuclear.
also highly individualized in effectiveness, there is no doubt that regular exercise, balanced eating, and proper rest can be all the tonic one needs for many sufferers.
and, as an inflammation of the skin, topical anti-inflammatories can be helpful for some. one topical anti-inflammatory therapy that is getting more luv lately, again, for some, is a well-researched and generally recommended version of a topical cannabis treatment. smoked, plain vanilla cannabis may also prove to be an internal therapy as well. if nothing else, it can make folks sleep better - also a known therapy to beat the condition for some.
in a nutshell,

Psychoneuroimmunology of Psychological Stress and Atopic Dermatitis: Pathophysiologic and Therapeutic Updates

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by impaired epidermal barrier function, inflammatory infiltration, extensive pruritus and a clinical course defined by symptomatic flares and remissions. The mechanisms of disease ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

one more,
'Results: The subjects as a group demonstrated a decline in permeability barrier recovery kinetics after barrier disruption by cellophane tape stripping, in parallel with an increase in perceived psychological stress during the higher vs the initial lower stress occasions. During the follow-up, presumed lower stress period, the subjects again displayed lower perceived psychological stress scores and improved permeability barrier recovery kinetics, comparable to those during the initial lower stress period. Moreover, the greatest deterioration in barrier function occurred in those subjects who demonstrated the largest increases in perceived psychological stress.'

Psychological stress perturbs epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis: implications for the pathogenesis of stress-associated skin disorders - PubMed

These studies provide the first link between psychological status and cutaneous function in humans and suggest a new pathophysiological paradigm, ie, stress-induced derangements in epidermal function as precipitators of inflammatory dermatoses.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[ClifSpliffy]

and, on a personal note...
3 or 4 months into hs frosh times, mostly my hands started to have 'skin inflammation.' like, 'hey cliff, why u hands be bleedin? stop getting it on the ball!' we played a lot of outdoor hoops.
pops sez 'we got to have that checked.' he takes me to an ancient skindoc pal of his, and the guy does an examination mostly centered on questions.
afterward, sitting the waiting room with pops, doc comes out and says to pops, 'ok, come on in cliffpop, i have some thoughts.' pops be like 'it's aboot him, not me, so we'll come in together.' okeydoke says doc.
'it seems like cliff has a lot of change going on in his life right now, so im thinking that stress is causing this.' pops looks at me and sez ' really? what's bugging you? everything seems pretty normal to me in ur life. what do you think aboot this?'
me? 'i dunno, i got no complaints, except for this hand thing. it's messing up my shot and handle...'
doc recites an obvious littany of new things happening to me (new school, etc), looks at me and says 'what do you think?'
'could be. it's true that, all of a sudden, there is a lot going on for me. you may be right.' he gave me a topical cortosteroid balm, and said 'come back in a month or so.'
forewarned is forearmed, and a few weeks later it all disappeared. permanently.
Slow down
You move too fast
You gotta make
The morning last, just
Kickin' down
The cobble stones
Looking for fun
And feeling groovy.
i asked pops 'since this is all some kind of stress thing, and brilliant medical inquiry has determined that school might be one of the triggers, shouldn't i get carte blanche to decide what days i feel like going to school?'
he said 'no,' and then prolly sumthin like 'and when we get home, don't forget to take out the trash cans, rake the leaves, go to the store for ur moms, wash the car, walk the dog, then go to the un and straighten that mess out...'
everrthing cuttin into my hoops time.
now, that's stress.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

'and i'll try, oh lord, i'll try, to carry on....'
everrbody got sideways stuff in life. healthy folks learn to minimize the impacts of it, and keep going -one day at a time, and despite our infirmities.

 

[Dove]

and, on a personal note...
3 or 4 months into hs frosh times, mostly my hands started to have 'skin inflammation.' like, 'hey cliff, why u hands be bleedin? stop getting it on the ball!' we played a lot of outdoor hoops.
pops sez 'we got to have that checked.' he takes me to an ancient skindoc pal of his, and the guy does an examination mostly centered on questions.
afterward, sitting the waiting room with pops, doc comes out and says to pops, 'ok, come on in cliffpop, i have some thoughts.' pops be like 'it's aboot him, not me, so we'll come in together.' okeydoke says doc.
'it seems like cliff has a lot of change going on in his life right now, so im thinking that stress is causing this.' pops looks at me and sez ' really? what's bugging you? everything seems pretty normal to me in ur life. what do you think aboot this?'
me? 'i dunno, i got no complaints, except for this hand thing. it's messing up my shot and handle...'
doc recites an obvious littany of new things happening to me (new school, etc), looks at me and says 'what do you think?'
'could be. it's true that, all of a sudden, there is a lot going on for me. you may be right.' he gave me a topical cortosteroid balm, and said 'come back in a month or so.'
forewarned is forearmed, and a few weeks later it all disappeared. permanently.
Slow down
You move too fast
You gotta make
The morning last, just
Kickin' down
The cobble stones
Looking for fun
And feeling groovy.
i asked pops 'since this is all some kind of stress thing, and brilliant medical inquiry has determined that school might be one of the triggers, shouldn't i get carte blanche to decide what days i feel like going to school?'
he said 'no,' and then prolly sumthin like 'and when we get home, don't forget to take out the trash cans, rake the leaves, go to the store for ur moms, wash the car, walk the dog, then go to the un and straighten that mess out...'
everrthing cuttin into my hoops time.
now, that's stress.

I couldn't tl/dr this post...

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I couldn't tl/dr this post...

i figgered that the one before it would be the tldr winner, with all its' psychoneuroimmunology and pathophysiological paradigm stuff, but hey, someone did ask a question, and i was just adding some food for thought. the 'hands story' was added as kind of a color commentary on the whole subject.
'been there, done that, learned a lesson, moving on now.'

 

[metsfan2323]

I have a much milder case of eczema and I have seen improvement taking vitamin B supplements.

Try the Super B complex Kirkland brand (Costco). I take two per day. It has also cleared up my skin as I would frequently get adult acne brought on by food allergies but the Vitamin B supplements have really helped.

I also take vitamin D supplements to bring up my good cholesterol and apparently there is some evidence that this can also help eczema.

Good luck!

 

[Hey Adrien!]

My brother has been suffering from a skin condition for a while and nothing is working. Dermatologists say it's eczema. It started on his feet which was mostly just a nuisance and he could cover it up. He now has it all over his body, on his scalp, his hands. He's gone to at least three different dermatologists and is seeing another one tomorrow. Anyone who has experienced this or a doctor who has advice? He's at his wits end and I feel terrible for him.

Any chance it's Pityriasis rosea? I've had it for a few years and first got it after returning from Arizona. Originally, I thought it was a real bad case of heat rash because PR gets worse after the body sweats.

However, after about six months, it took me three dermatologists to figure out what it was. There's not much to do about it besides trying to keep cool and avoid sweating, which is pretty hard to do in the summer and/or when I exercise, but wearing looser clothes (sleeveless shirts, shorts above the knees) really helps. Whenever I have a breakout, I can use a steroid cream for up to three weeks.

The good news, it's harmless and most breakouts happen from covered skin, but it's just annoying. The common age for PR is 10-35, so that's one reason I'm looking forward to my 36th birthday in July.

 

[Cuse Socks]

I have a minor skin condition called Seborrheic Dermatitis, (Doctor said it's slightly worse than normal dandruff/dry skin, but not bad to the level of Eczema). I have a prescription selenium sulfide shampoo I use during flare ups, otherwise just head and shoulders for dry scalp. I also have prescription strength over the counter repair cream called "First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream" for dry skin on my face during the winter, and for really bad flare ups a steroid cream given by a doctor.

My advice to your brother @superjohn is to just keep talking with specialists and keep trying out different things that might work. Everyone's skin reacts so different to different treatments. Also, from a mental side of things don't worry what others may think. Nobody notices as much as he probably thinks they do so just remain confident, nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[superjohn]

I have a minor skin condition called Seborrheic Dermatitis, (Doctor said it's slightly worse than normal dandruff/dry skin, but not bad to the level of Eczema). I have a prescription selenium sulfide shampoo I use during flare ups, otherwise just head and shoulders for dry scalp. I also have prescription strength over the counter repair cream called "First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream" for dry skin on my face during the winter, and for really bad flare ups a steroid cream given by a doctor.

My advice to your brother @superjohn is to just keep talking with specialists and keep trying out different things that might work. Everyone's skin reacts so different to different treatments. Also, from a mental side of things don't worry what others may think. Nobody notices as much as he probably thinks they do so just remain confident, nothing to be ashamed of.

Thank you, he has been injecting himself every two weeks with something the Dr. prescribed to him. He thinks it's like 60-70% better but it's a long process.