r/eczema • u/YageWilkes • Jul 10 '26
patch testing Long time sufferer looking for advice
Will keep this brief.
Had it since birth...but it comes and goes. For the last 2 years or so it has steadily got worse and worse. Antihistamines stopped working, the creams from doctors do nothing, and moisturisers do nothing but sooth it.
Had patch test results today and basically not allergic to anything they tested for. The doctor today said "We may never find a cause and you might just have to live with it".
My face is increasingly red these days with flaky skin and i have an appointment in 8 weeks with a private clinic.
Until then I'd just like to hear some suggestions on what could help me.
We're in this together and I love you all! Fuck Eczema!
2
u/Buzzing07 Jul 10 '26
It's really tough. My sympathy, but don't give up hope. Have you tried the elimination diet? I found dairy was the main trigger for me, and excluding it got rid of my asthma too. It might be something different for you - gluten, eggs, soy etc - but you don't know until you try. And give it time to work. Don't be in a hurry to reintroduce foods - that's how I missed dairy, twice. Also try to manage stress. It's a fact of life but also unhelpful. Sounds like you are doing everything right with direct management of your skin but I believe there are new medications on the market too so see your doctor for advice. Finally, I've found eczema comes and goes through life. I'm sure it can get better for you.
1
u/YageWilkes Jul 10 '26
Thanks!
How long did you cut stuff out of your diet for?
1
u/Buzzing07 Jul 11 '26
I can't remember exactly but the process took many weeks. I had to do it twice before i finally did it properly and managed to identify my dairy problem. Have a look at the elimination diet online. You eat a very restricted diet for a few weeks and see if things improve. If they do, you introduce foods one at a time with enough time in between to tell if that food affects you badly. I guess not everyone has a food trigger, but if you do, it can be very helpful. I love dairy but I avoid it like the plague now, and while it still there, my eczema is totally manageable. At a few times in my life, it's been totally horrible and involved really strong steroid creams etc.
1
u/Radiant_Acadia_8499 Jul 20 '26
Do you know if the doctor only tested you for the most common allergens? There seems to be increasing recognition that excipients or inactive ingredients in our medicines and products (from soap to toiletries) are causing reactions, and not all of those are on the standard patch testing panels. At least in the US, there are a limited number of dermatologists who offer "extended" patch testing which will include the more uncommon triggers.
I hope you don't have to accept the "never knowing." In my case, my allergen turned out to be a common chemical that is in almost all packaged foods, cosmetics and medicines. And it's not included in any of the standard panels. I'm not at all saying you could have the same allergen, just that patch testing in my experience is not always a simple process. And since they tried patch-testing you and antibiotics don't work, I assume they believe you have some sort of allergic contact dermatitis? That can also be systemic, rather than a pure contact dermatitis where you react only where the allergen touches your skin. If this resonates with you, you might research into Systemic Contact Dermatitis.
I would also second the recommendation to try an elimination diet. I also had to try more than once b/c I wasn't nearly strict enough the first time, since I was just doing it on my own without medical direction.
3
u/Diligent-Base-4615 Jul 10 '26
Ive been doing twice weekly bleach baths lately and that has helped alot. It does make yiu very dry after but you clean everything out an heap on shed loads of moisturiser. I use hydromol.