Somewhere between high school and finishing my degree in university something happened to my thumb nail and its never been the same. Here is what I am talking about:
Here is my annoying thumb nail whose split at the top just won’t go away.
Yes, there is a split right down the middle which makes it pretty hard to grow it out before it catches on something and rips. I’ve tried lots of products such as nail glue (krazy glue for nails), fake nails, nail strengthener, nail repair…. just to name a few off the top of my head. The fake nail was by far the best however because my nails are so fragile the adhesive would also take off a layer of my natural nail when it was removed.
My dermatologist said that the nail bed starts on the finger pretty close to the joint. He explained that if this area of my finger is experiencing eczema then it will reflect in the nail up to “months” later. So, I am pretty much doomed to have this nail stay this way unless by some miracle my eczema vanishes and causes my nail bed to fix itself. For now, its a balancing act of trying to keep it trimmed (sometimes shaped like a heart) and manageable for everyday life. A girl can always dream about having nice nails, can’t she?
I am opening to hearing solutions for this. What has worked for you?
Evening primrose oil- cold pressed- the good quality kind, my hands looked just like this, had eczema my whole life, my skin has been clear for two months- I’ve tried EVERYTHING under the sun for 30 years!!!! Has to be evening primrose, not another oil because I tried all of them- ( I took 10 1000mg capsules every day for about a month)- cant believe something worked for me, was ready to give up-
I loved your blog, suddenly I felt there are others who suffer this pain, I am not alone. What a great feeling. It is very hard to explain it to others who do not have eczema. My husband keeps telling me go to the doctor, even though I have told him a thousand times I have been to doctors, dermatologists, allergists, natural healers, etc. He doesn’t know how painful it is to even bend your fingers when they are covered with the rash, and your skin splits open by simplest of movements.
I have tired everything as well, creams, balm s, supplements, spent a lot on Japanese traditional healing (reiki), with no relief. Haven’t tried acupuncture yet. I am willing to try your tanning method but am too afraid of the damaging UV effects. I haven’t had such a huge flare up since high school, but now my WHOLE body is covered with eczema. What I have found through years is that there is a direct relation between your stress level and your eczema. I know it is almost impossible to avoid stress these days, I try yoga and meditation. Of course they only have a subtle effect.
I have found that my eczema, together with many other people’s is food related. These days I have restricted my diet to potatoes, carrots, and rice. Also some fruit and vegetables. I can’t eat out because there is almost certainly some spice, oil, sauce or other ingredient that I’m allergic to. The results of my allergy tests were not that useful either, because they only test for a few things. I like to add that I am a culinary chef and I love to cook elaborate gourmet meals, but these days it is so hard to do it, because I am afraid I might accidentally use something that I am allergic to. Because your allergies change during time, I don’t know if I am allergic to tomatoes or not, and that’s just an example. So if you, or anybody you know is devastated by eczema, a safe place to start is to follow a strictly allergy free diet, that is rice and potato (they are allergen free). Overtime you can add other ingredients and see if your eczema comes back. Also many supposedly health foods and supplements are not good for eczema patients. They either contain soy (it has 16 known allergens) or nuts (severe allergens) or other unsafe ingredients. Try to eat soy free and gluten free products as much as you can. Lately I started drinking some ooloong tea which is supposed to be good for many things, but then my eczema got way worst, so I eliminated that too. Hope you all find some relief.
I have suffered for years..and the past three have by far been the worse. I am off work on sick leave because my skin condition is very bad. I am also trying to let my body withdraw from years and years of antibiotic and steroid use.
I think I am going to try jucing. I have been eating raw about 75%, but feel I need to speed up my healing process and from what I have researched this seems to be the way to go.
I have had eczema on my toe nails for nearly 30 years. I’ve tried topicals and nothing helped for long. A few months ago I started taking evening prim rose capsules to help with premenopausal symptoms. Holy crap….my nails are beautiful!!! The thickening and raising is gone. I can actually wear nail polish again!!!!!
Hi, I just stumbled upon your blov while scrutinizing the whole internet for sites about OCD, been doing this for 12 hours now.
Just wanted to tell you that I’ve got Eczema too, and I know how gross it makes you feel but, darn.. I dont remember what I was about to type, hehe.
Well, I can understand what you are going through atleast, take care and remember that there are ways to get back in control! There are no absolute truth, only percieved truths and interpretations and everything is in constant motion, even our minds! ^^
/Regards, Jesper.