After struggling my whole life, I finally figured out how to get rid of eczema. I truly believe that this is the only thing that has ever worked for me. I have been following these steps to repair my skin barrier for over three years now. Therefore, I feel confident to share my knowledge with others. Disclaimer: While I am a registered nurse, I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose or treat any medical conditions. This article is for informational purposes only. This post contains affiliate links. This means if you use my links to purchase certain items, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
In this post you will learn how to get rid of eczema. Please understand atopic dermatitis or eczema is not a condition that can be cured. It is a chronic condition. As I already mentioned, I have been following the steps I will be sharing with you in this article for over three years. Since I have been doing these things, I no longer use steroid creams and I have not visited a doctor or dermatologist for treatment of my eczema.
Learning to repair your skin barrier will prevent eczema flareups for the long haul! Using my 5 steps will help you to repair your skin barrier and will be the eczema solution you have been hoping for!
This post is all about how to get rid of eczema.
The Skin Barrier
As mentioned in last week’s post. People who suffer from chronic eczema have an impaired skin barrier. For an in depth read on this, please see last week’s post. What Causes Eczema? | What No One Tells You.
The skin barrier is made up skin cells that are bound together with fatty cells. When the skin barrier is damaged these fatty cells are not binding the skin cells together. There are open areas of the skin barrier. These openings allow allergens, pollutants and bacteria into the skin. It also allows water to exit the skin known as trans epidermal water loss. This condition leaves the way open for easy eczema flare ups. At this point, even foods that would cause you no issues normally, may cause eczema flare ups. The same with products you use. Therefore, it is IMPERATIVE to repair the skin barrier to prevent eczema flareups. To do this successfully, I followed the following 5 step regimen:
Step 1: Stop Using Topical Steroid Creams!
These are nothing but a crutch I have learned. They ruined my skin. I am still bitter with the providers who allowed me to use them for years and years on end without providing me with the proper education upon giving me the prescription. They treated the rash and not the underlying problem. Not to mention long term use of steroid creams thin the skin.
Every time I went to stop using steroid creams or Elidel cream on my face, I got a flareup. (Elidel is often prescribed for facial eczema. It is not a steroid cream but it does suppress the immune response.) While Elidel is less invasive, it should still be avoided, in my opinion, and you’ll see why.
You must understand that when you have been using these creams long term there is a withdrawal period! Once again, no one ever explained this to me! So the rash you get when you stop the steroid creams is withdrawl. Like any withdrawal, you simply have to go through it to get better. There is no short cut. It has to get worse to get better. Again, this is if you have been using the creams long term. While Elidel is not a steroid cream, I found I still had to go through a withdrawal period just the same. It was not as dramatic as steroid cream withdrawal though.
In the following photo you will see my skin a few days after stopping the Elidel. Had I known I’d one day be writing a blog post, I would have gotten more pictures as it did worsen during the withdrawal. The picture on the right is my skin today without any steroid creams or Elidel for more than 3 years now.
My Withdrawal Story
At the time I learned about this withdrawal, I was only using Elidel, I had moved to Istanbul. I had taken a big tube with me because I couldn’t be without it. I’d had a chronic rash for two years on my face. Each time I would skip the Elidel, it got worse. So I kept using it twice a day for a year or two, at least. In Istanbul I had some time to look into eczema and I wanted to know what was really going on. I wanted to know why it was so bad to use the creams long term. That’s when I discovered that topical steroid withdrawal was a real thing. Just google it, you’ll see. The photos were so alarming and disheartening, I literally cried all alone on my couch, flipping through the pictures knowing I had to go through this to get better.
The withdrawal period can last up to six months from topical steroid creams. As I said, I was not withdrawing from steroid creams, but Elidel. My withdrawal was a solid month. But I did get through it. I followed the steps in this post to do so.
Step 2: Simplify Your Skincare Routine
This is SO important! At this point your skin barrier is damaged and your skin is very vulnerable. All I recommend is to wash and moisturize the skin no more than twice a day, at this point. If the skin is very inflamed, once a day is plenty. As it starts to improve, you could increase to morning and evening. You should use your hands to wash the face and pat dry. No scrubs, exfoliating or rubbing. A wash cloth lightly on the body for washing is fine. Once the skin barrier is in good shape, you can introduce other products one at time, beginning with a physical sunscreen as this is critical in reducing inflammation and preventing further damage from the sun and environment.
In Turkey, I found a skincare pharmacy and the woman there spoke some English (very rare there). She gave me a wash and moisturizer to use. They were GOLD! I would recommend both products for the withdrawal period or when you have an eczema flare up. See below for these products.
Wash
The facial and body wash I used to get through withdrawal is Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel Moussant (links are below). Unfortunately, it has been discontinued.
Because of this, I now use a fragrance free cleansing oil made for skin conditions such as eczema and severely dry skin. This cleansing oil works really well and is more hydrating to me than the Bioderma was. It is the Triage Xemose Cleansing Soothing Oil. It is soap free and fragrance free. I would use my link because there is another oil they make that is not fragrance free. I only recommend this one. It is safe for babies and can be used on the body and face. I really like this cleanser because it provides the skin with a protective barrier to avoid aggressors getting past the skin barrier. The skin feels soothed and not tight at all. It’s just what you need right now!
You cannot just use a good cleanser when you’re trying to rebuild the skin barrier, you need to moisture the skin after every single wash. ALWAYS! See below for the moisturizer I recommend.
Moisturize
This is an absolute must. The skin barrier is dependent on it. You should moisturize directly out of the shower while the skin is still a bit damp. This will help to pull water into the skin. There are 3 types of moisturizers:
Occlusives: they slow down trans epidermal water loss
Emollients: help rebuild the lipids (mortar of skin barrier) and soften the skin.
Humectants: Draw water from the deeper layers of the skin to the outer layer. They can also draw moisture into the skin. They help control the pH of the skin.
Ceramides are fatty lipids that make up 50% of the skin barrier. They are essential to skin barrier function and should be present in a moisturizer for those dealing with eczema. People with eczema tend to be deficient in ceramides, they decrease with age, and they can decrease with irritation or excessive washing. Ceramides help to start skin barrier repair.
Niacinamide: An antioxidant that helps to both repair and maintain a healthy skin barrier. It helps the skin to produce it’s own antioxidants. In high doses it can be used to treat acne. In these high doses though, it can be irritating. So don’t go overboard during the skin barrier repair stage with niacinamide. A small amount in your moisturizer is great, but avoid high dose serums and treatments at this time.
The moisturizer I recommend to repair the skin barrier is Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume. This moisturizer is great for any type of eczema flare up or even rosacea. It checks the boxes above and is fragrance free. Once the skin barrier is repaired, you may find this moisturizer to be too heavy for the face. But in the beginning it is necessary and not too much. I recommend Bioderma Atoderm Cream for a maintenance lotion once the eczema flare up is gone. See recommendations below for oily vs dry skin.
Below are the two products i recommend to repair the skin barrier and get you through the steroid cream WITHDRAWAL period:
Once you feel you no longer need this on the face, you could switch to The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA (for oily skin, face only) or Bioderma Atoderm Cream (for dry skin, face. Can be used on that body for maintenance as well). This is only once your skin barrier is repaired and you are not having any flare ups. Also you’d find your face to be somewhat oily from the Bioderma Atoderm Baume.
Always use Bioderma Atoderm Baume and the Triage Xemose Cleansing Soothing Oil as needed when you feel a flareup wanting to start or any signs of irritation on the face or body.
Step 3: Avoid Foods That Cause Gut Imbalances or Lengthen Withdrawal Time
I also read that by avoiding certain foods it could speed up the steroid withdrawal process. The foods I recall were gluten, dairy, eggs and sugar. I had gone through allergy testing and knew I had no real allergies to any of these foods. As I mentioned last week, if your skin barrier is impaired and your gut is unbalanced then it can lead to worsening eczema. So I figured if I could avoid anything irritating my already angry skin, I should. I just eliminated dairy and eggs as gluten and sugar would have been too extreme for me to keep up with.
Once my skin was clear, I introduced eggs and dairy intermittently, one at a time. I would study my body for itching or patches of eczema starting. I would start to get eczema when I ate them. After about a year and a half, I was able to eat them again without any signs of eczema. I had been doing the 5 steps in this post to rebuild my skin barrier during this time period. So I believe that once it was nice and strong, I could then eat freely again.
Step 4: Eat Proper Fats, Protein and Take Supplements
This step is very important as I feel that healing from the inside out is more beneficial than it gets credit for with eczema. People often don’t think past moisturizer I find.
If possible include healthy fats that will help to rebuild the fatty mortar of the skin barrier. Good choices are:
Avocados and avocado oil, fish, nuts.
Omega 3: I personally take a cold water omega 3 supplement daily to ensure I am getting enough. If you’re a vegetarian you could take a flaxseed supplement. This is critical to building a healthy skin barrier. People with eczema struggle to maintain this fatty mortar on their own.
Protein: Protein is essential for healthy skin in general as it is a building block of skin tissue. It also aids in the production of collagen.
Adequate Water Intake: You should be drinking half of your weight (in pounds) in ounces. So if you weigh 120 pounds, you should be drinking 60 ounces of water per day. I would add a glass or two if you’re a coffee drinker as that dehydrates you. I see so many people pump in water and never rebuild the skin barrier, so essentially the water ends up being sucked right out of the skin. You need to have a healthy skin barrier to trap the water in.
Multi vitamin and/or B Complex and Vitamin D: I also take a multi vitamin and a calcium and vitamin D supplement. I’m not big into milk and yogurt and I don’t see much sun where I live, so I need to supplement. If you do not take a multi vitamin, I would at least take a B complex vitamin and vitamin D. B vitamins help to build and maintain healthy skin from many different angles. Vitamin D helps to maintain the skin barrier and immune functions.
Kumbucha, yogurt or take a probiotic: I drink an 8 oz glass of Kumbucha per day. This helps to balance my gut bacteria. This is helpful if for some reason my skin barrier becomes at all impaired. I hate to aggravate my skin with toxins from inside if I can help it. The antioxidants from the Kumbucha don’t kill either! You could also opt for yogurt or take a probiotic. I am now eating dairy with no issues, so I could have yogurt, I just don’t like it. I personally take a probiotic as well.
Collagen Supplements: Collagen helps to maintain the skins moisture. The studies are not the most definitive to be honest. Because of this, I opt for collagen that also has hyaluronic acid in it as well, as this is a humectant. This way I know I’m getting some moisture properties in there. Make sure whatever you use is hydrolyzed collagen. I linked below to the pills I am using right now and a powder you can use instead of pills. Both have hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, all great things for the skin! Either option works.
Step 5: Avoid things that further damage the skin barrier
This step I will be discussing in next week’s post. Read it here:
Thanks For Sticking With Me
As I said earlier, I truly believe that repairing the skin barrier is the best eczema treatment there is. I really want to thank you for reading this post and I hope you benefited from it. Keep in mind everyone’s eczema journey is different. But at the end of the day, repairing the skin barrier is fixing the root cause of the eczema. So please give these steps a try. Understand that these are lifestyle changes as eczema is chronic. So you cannot just follow these steps until your skin clears up and think that is enough. You need to continue to do these steps to maintain the skin barrier. Otherwise your skin will just revert back to what it was. It is worth it and nothing else I have tried has worked. I actually get compliments on my skin! I NEVER thought that would happen!
Since I have been doing these steps, I no longer use steroid creams or see a dermatologist for treatment of my eczema. Once, I had oral steroids and a few shots. I had used a new hair gel which led to an allergic contact dermatitis reaction. However, on top of the rash, I had facial swelling, so I went to urgent care. This is pictured below, the bottom photos were after a few days on the oral steroids. I used the wash and moisturizer on my skin that I recommended above. No steroid creams.
Other than this, I have not had eczema flare ups that I could not quickly control on my own. And these instances are very few and far between. When they happen, I know the triggers and can stop the flare up in it’s tracks before they have a chance to even get going. These “almost” flare ups are contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. So it is external factors messing with my skin. In next week’s post I will have tips to prevent this from happening. The chronic atopic dermatitis flare ups I have completely controlled on my own!
Next week I will have one last post on the topic of eczema. As you can see, I can talk about this forever, LOL!! I will share some tips and tricks that can help to prevent eczema flare ups in general by not not damaging the skin barrier. Using those tips along with these steps to repair the skin barrier will help to get your skin where you want it! I hope you’ll come back for that! Thanks for reading!
This post was all about how to get rid of eczema.
Love Love Love this article❤️
Thank you so much!!!