# Eczema, also: cucumbers



## vilk

So, I have pretty chronic atopic dermatitis (eczema) on my face, especially on my eyes (not just around, but actually on my eyelids as well). I also have it other places, but the skin is thicker there so I can treat it with medicated ointments and creams when it gets bad, which it isn't right now.

So, the thing about having eczema on your eyes is that you cannot use lotions or other topical medications. Nearly any steroidal medication will say do not use it on your eyes, but even ordinary creams that are sensitive and made for the face will cause mine to become very swollen and painful. 

I am taking antihistamines twice a day. I really hate taking pills everyday but I get in a seriously bad condition allergy-wise and eczema-wise if I don't.


Getting to the point, I recently read that cucumbers work really well for treading eczema in terms of topical application as well as consuming them. I've only been at this for one day, so I can't really say how well it's working, but last night I placed slices of cucumber over my eyes, and since this morning I've eaten two whole cucumbers. I will probably eat another when I get home, and do the slices again. The slices made it feel comfortable, but again they were cool from the refrigerator so that's a given. 

What are your experiences using cucumbers to treat skin conditions? it seems rather well ratified by the internet... but so are lots of other things that aren't very helpful. Should I continue wasting my time and money on cucumbers? (they aren't expensive or high in calories, but still, is there something better I could be using?)

What do you use to treat eczema? How about eczema on your eyes?


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## WestOfSeven

baron samedi said:


> So, I have pretty chronic atopic dermatitis (eczema) on my face, especially on my eyes (not just around, but actually on my eyelids as well). I also have it other places, but the skin is thicker there so I can treat it with medicated ointments and creams when it gets bad, which it isn't right now.
> 
> So, the thing about having eczema on your eyes is that you cannot use lotions or other topical medications. Nearly any steroidal medication will say do not use it on your eyes, but even ordinary creams that are sensitive and made for the face will cause mine to become very swollen and painful.
> 
> I am taking antihistamines twice a day. I really hate taking pills everyday but I get in a seriously bad condition allergy-wise and eczema-wise if I don't.
> 
> 
> Getting to the point, I recently read that cucumbers work really well for treading eczema in terms of topical application as well as consuming them. I've only been at this for one day, so I can't really say how well it's working, but last night I placed slices of cucumber over my eyes, and since this morning I've eaten two whole cucumbers. I will probably eat another when I get home, and do the slices again. The slices made it feel comfortable, but again they were cool from the refrigerator so that's a given.
> 
> What are your experiences using cucumbers to treat skin conditions? it seems rather well ratified by the internet... but so are lots of other things that aren't very helpful. Should I continue wasting my time and money on cucumbers? (they aren't expensive or high in calories, but still, is there something better I could be using?)
> 
> What do you use to treat eczema? How about eczema on your eyes?


 
That's brutal man, I had eczema pretty bad growing up and I couldn't even imagine having it on my face.

Try udder balm for your face if you don't want to use the medicated stuff.


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## ilyti

I had eczema on my eyelid a few times in my teens - I think it must have spread there from my hands. I put cortisone cream on it at that time, and I didn't go blind, so I guess no harm was done.

I still get bad eczema on my hands, and I have tried using everything for it - regular coricosteroid cream, coal tar based products like Psoriasin, sea buckthorn oil, and most recently, I bought a medical UV lamp to treat the patches on my hands. I don't think it worked for me, but it did for my wife, who also has eczema on her hands. Well, it got rid of most of it, except for one patch still on her finger, which she's still trying to get rid of by using cortisone cream again. 

As a teenager I got it so bad on my hands that I got a prescription for a hardcore cortisone cream, "betaderm," which is super concentrated, and works a lot faster than the store-bought stuff. It would last me for a year before it finally ran out. THEN I would have to go to the doctor once my eczema flared up again in the winter, and say "You remember when I came in last time about this, and you prescribed me this stuff? I need it again. Yes, I know my eczema doesn't look nearly as bad this time, but trust me, IT WILL if you don't prescribe me this stuff." And so I would be forced to wait until it got really nasty looking before even making an appointment. Eventually I got tired of explaining that crap over and over again, and purposely allowing my skin to get bad, just so the effing doctors (actually medical students...) would listen to me!! So I manage what's there with the store bought stuff, by putting it on every day. I hate the idea of using topical steroids over a long period of time, I don't know how that could be affecting me, but I see no other option. I could try that cucumber thing, but I doubt it would do much for me.


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## metal_sam14

I can't testify to the cucumber trick, but as a sufferer of chronic eczema myself I really feel your pain man. I actually had some really ....ing shitty times with stress/depression triggered eczema when I was 18/19 which resulted in a suicide attempt, ....ing stupid idea I can tell you that much. 

I usually rely on steroid cremes these days, it is a shitty solution but I am the best I have ever been, cleaning up my diet helped a lot as well, I find sugar is a massive trigger for outbreaks. 

For eczema on my face I use really cold water for just my face/head when I shower, hot water seems to aggravate it and the cold water is soothing. Also try cutting your nails right back if you haven't already, I scratch in my sleep a lot and triming them down keeps the damage low. 

Feel free to PM me if you have any troubles man, I am only too happy to help, I hate to see people suffer with Eczema like I have


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## sage

I have it and it seems to be triggered by stress, sweat, dry weather, hot weather... It's not super bad, I've known dudes with way worse. I use Noxzema. It's not super powerful, but it calms down the itchiness, moisturizes the dryness, and generally gets rid of a bad patch in 3-4 days. I've had to use it in the corners of my eyes. It got in there once and it was uncomfortable, but not blindness inducing.


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## Seanthesheep

Cucumbers are mostly water so any benefits from consuming them or applying them to affected areas would most be from better hydration I think


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## IbanezDaemon

Sounds like the issue around your eyes could be blepharitis. Have you tried using manuka honey on your dermatitis?? Manuka honey has incredible antibacterial/antifungal/healing qualities. The higher medicinal
grade honey you can get the better. UMF 15 to UMF 20 has been shown to be very beneficial for eczema and other skin problems. If you can't get manuka any raw honey will suffice but it must be raw and unprocessed/unheated.

You actually need to add non chlorinated water to the honey to release the enzymes/hydrogen peroxide in it. 90/10 honey water ratio is advised though you may find that a 60/40 ratio may be absorbed more easily.

It's worth reading up on as it's a great natural treatment. I would avoid using steroid creams especially on the face as they can thin/damage skin with prolonged use.


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## Elena

vilk said:


> So, I have pretty chronic atopic dermatitis (eczema) on my face, especially on my eyes (not just around, but actually on my eyelids as well). I also have it other places, but the skin is thicker there so I can treat it with medicated ointments and creams when it gets bad, which it isn't right now.
> 
> So, the thing about having eczema on your eyes is that you cannot use lotions or other topical medications. Nearly any steroidal medication will say do not use it on your eyes, but even ordinary creams that are sensitive and made for the face will cause mine to become very swollen and painful.
> 
> I am taking antihistamines twice a day. I really hate taking pills everyday but I get in a seriously bad condition allergy-wise and eczema-wise if I don't.
> 
> 
> Getting to the point, I recently read that cucumbers work really well for treading eczema in terms of topical application as well as consuming them. I've only been at this for one day, so I can't really say how well it's working, but last night I placed slices of cucumber over my eyes, and since this morning I've eaten two whole cucumbers. I will probably eat another when I get home, and do the slices again. The slices made it feel comfortable, but again they were cool from the refrigerator so that's a given.
> 
> What are your experiences using cucumbers to treat skin conditions? it seems rather well ratified by the internet... but so are lots of other things that aren't very helpful. Should I continue wasting my time and money on cucumbers? (they aren't expensive or high in calories, but still, is there something better I could be using?)
> 
> What do you use to treat eczema? How about eczema on your eyes?





vilk said:


> So, I have pretty chronic atopic dermatitis (eczema) on my face, especially on my eyes (not just around, but actually on my eyelids as well). I also have it other places, but the skin is thicker there so I can treat it with medicated ointments and creams when it gets bad, which it isn't right now.
> 
> So, the thing about having eczema on your eyes is that you cannot use lotions or other topical medications. Nearly any steroidal medication will say do not use it on your eyes, but even ordinary creams that are sensitive and made for the face will cause mine to become very swollen and painful.
> 
> I am taking antihistamines twice a day. I really hate taking pills everyday but I get in a seriously bad condition allergy-wise and eczema-wise if I don't.
> 
> 
> Getting to the point, I recently read that cucumbers work really well for treading eczema in terms of topical application as well as consuming them. I've only been at this for one day, so I can't really say how well it's working, but last night I placed slices of cucumber over my eyes, and since this morning I've eaten two whole cucumbers. I will probably eat another when I get home, and do the slices again. The slices made it feel comfortable, but again they were cool from the refrigerator so that's a given.
> 
> What are your experiences using cucumbers to treat skin conditions? it seems rather well ratified by the internet... but so are lots of other things that aren't very helpful. Should I continue wasting my time and money on cucumbers? (they aren't expensive or high in calories, but still, is there something better I could be using?)
> 
> Hi I also have atopic dermatitis (chronic eczema) I've never met anyone with my skin condition before and it's nice to know that I'm not alone . I recently started getting eczema around my eyes and it's so painful have you found any kind of relief for this? I'm using cucumber right now and it seems to be soothing and helpin .


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## USMarine75

vilk said:


> So, I have pretty chronic atopic dermatitis (eczema) on my face, especially on my eyes (not just around, but actually on my eyelids as well). I also have it other places, but the skin is thicker there so I can treat it with medicated ointments and creams when it gets bad, which it isn't right now.
> 
> So, the thing about having eczema on your eyes is that you cannot use lotions or other topical medications. Nearly any steroidal medication will say do not use it on your eyes, but even ordinary creams that are sensitive and made for the face will cause mine to become very swollen and painful.
> 
> I am taking antihistamines twice a day. I really hate taking pills everyday but I get in a seriously bad condition allergy-wise and eczema-wise if I don't.
> 
> 
> Getting to the point, I recently read that cucumbers work really well for treading eczema in terms of topical application as well as consuming them. I've only been at this for one day, so I can't really say how well it's working, but last night I placed slices of cucumber over my eyes, and since this morning I've eaten two whole cucumbers. I will probably eat another when I get home, and do the slices again. The slices made it feel comfortable, but again they were cool from the refrigerator so that's a given.
> 
> What are your experiences using cucumbers to treat skin conditions? it seems rather well ratified by the internet... but so are lots of other things that aren't very helpful. Should I continue wasting my time and money on cucumbers? (they aren't expensive or high in calories, but still, is there something better I could be using?)
> 
> What do you use to treat eczema? How about eczema on your eyes?




Try using head and shoulders on your face. Apply when you shower. Obviously don’t get in your eyes but use in eyebrows and anywhere you have skin folds, hair, and itch/rash. The zinc, salicylic acid, and selenium help alleviate the symptomatic cycle (see below)
Don’t use too hot or too cold of water. 

Don’t scrub or use towel vigorously, pat dry your affected areas. 
Apply small amount of hydrocortisone to itch/rash areas.
Take antihistamine daily. What type are you using? Long story short some work better like cetirazine (Zyrtec)
Use antihistamine such as benadryl on sudafed for bad days.
Eczema is the “itch that rashes and the rash that itches”. It’s a self licking ice cream cone. You need to break the cycle.
So, avoid touching your face or itching if at all possible. It perpetuates the cycle. Better than itching is to gently put water on face and pat dry, do not scrub.

If all this doesn’t work see a dermatologist. We have prescription meds now that work wonders.


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## vilk

Lol why was this necrobumped? Man, the 7 years flew by...

Recently I've not had the eczema problems so badly, and coconut oil is currently my favorite moisturizer. It doesn't irritate my eyelids and its not as greasy as other kinds of oils or ointments.

For the record, cucumbers did not help, and I've even read since that applying them topically can make your skin worse despite that consuming them is theoretically good for your skin.


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## Elena

I went for patch testing and I am allergic to almost everything it's pretty ridiculous. I take coconut oil tablets everyday they seem to help I don't like applying it to my skin. I'm going to try this cucumber for a week and see what happens.


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## USMarine75

vilk said:


> Lol why was this necrobumped? Man, the 7 years flew by...
> 
> Recently I've not had the eczema problems so badly, and coconut oil is currently my favorite moisturizer. It doesn't irritate my eyelids and its not as greasy as other kinds of oils or ointments.
> 
> For the record, cucumbers did not help, and I've even read since that applying them topically can make your skin worse despite that consuming them is theoretically good for your skin.



FFS Elena got me. Next it's going to post a link for cucumber tablets.


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## Elena

Hahaha if you find one feel free to share it


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