Daughter (adult) suffers from extreme eczema that GP is unable to treat so finally (few months) got a referral to a dermatologist but the appointment is for September (!!!) and tried to tret with steroids all the time (awful)
Can anyone recommend somewhere we could do allergies/sensitivities/intolerance tested privately and can give me some idea about the potential cost?
I am not looking for Googe search results as I can find those myself.
I am looking for personal recommendation as we are both at our wits ends - it is very severe.
Thanks a lot
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Hi Anka,
My brother suffered with eczema from primary school until his early 30s when it suddenly cleared up practically from one day to the next with no explanation. It is a notoriously difficult condition to treat and steroid creams and oral steroids are the standard and most effective treatment options. There is no "cure" as such, it's about managing the condition. There are clearly links between food intolerances and whether this aggravates the condition but in my view there are a lot of charlatans out there peddling half truths about this aspect and whilst you might feel September is a long way off, I think you're safest in the hands of NHS clinicians who won't try and peddle you "products" or "programmes" that are unnecessary or worse, which will aggravate the condition. My brother did do private tests for intolerances through the post, but that was 20 years ago and he couldn't recall any of the details. Would be long out of date now anyway. They told him that he might be gluten intolerant but he completely cut out gluten from his diet and it made no difference whatsoever. Pets allergies can be an issue too. I know you have dogs, but your grown up daughter may live elsewhere. But it's worth keeping a food diary, and record contact with animals too, to see if you can spot patterns. That's possibly something a dermatologist will ask you to do, so if you have that already in hand when you go for the first appointment that might speed things along. It certainly can't hurt.
In the meantime, bathing in emollient baths is an obvious solution that people often ignore, with a good layering of E45 cream 20 minutes later. Cotton clothing is a must. Man-made fibres are terrible for eczema which is aggravated by heat and dampness. My brother says he used to make sure his nails were as short as possible so that he didn't cause himself undue damage with the scratching. Stress is also a factor, so bear that in mind too.
I spoke with my sister-in-law who is a consultant in anaesthetics and she recommends the private Dermatology Clinic at the Royal Free Hospital where she also does private work. Apparently, Professor Rustin is an eczema specialist. It's not a personal recommendation as such, but medics do tend to know who is good and who is not.
This is the website - http://www.cosmetic-dermatology.co.uk/
Had positive experience with this dermatologist (saw her first as NHS patient and then as private patient):
https://www.myhealthspecialist.com/patient/specialist/162/Natasha%2...
Private clinic is in Golders Green.
Hi Anka, I had quite alot of eczema (upper body) for the past 15 years. I had tried everything from steroids and creams and although they worked temporarily nothing solved the problem for longer than a month.
However last year, I stopped using soap (in fact any type of chemical) on my upper body and after about 4 - 6 weeks my eczema disappeared and has not returned. Has your daughter tried that?
Sometimes it's the simple things that work :)
I don't know how old your daughter is - but my extreme excema was largely abated by acupuncture. There's a great place in Archway attached to the hospital.
Also, did you see this yesterday
- http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/mum-baby-eczema-skin-cream-...
i spent years looking for cures and have some knowledge of most. so feel free to DM me if you need any other steers. it's an awful thing to live with but can be treated. I'm less keen on the steroid creams myself but I know how desperate things can get...
Hi Anka
I suffer from eczema and psoriasis myself and have a few points to make that you may have already considered and sorry if they seem obvious but here goes:
1. I am sure you have tried this but from what you describe it sounds like your daughter should get an urgent referral (ie ahead of usual referral where you are behind everyone else waiting for consultant appt) to dermatologist from GP. I have got this myself before, at the Royal Free. My dermatologist was Dr MacBride at Royal Free, who is excellent.
2. If your daughter has so far only seen GP, do you definitely know it is eczema? It could be psoriasis for example and oral steroids are not recommended for psoriasis.
3. What worked for me was seeing dermatologists (NHS) and things they offered that helped included light treatment, oral steroids (for eczema), steroid and non-steroid creams (some that only dermatologists not GPs can prescribe). For one particular flare-up I had patch tests that discovered I was allergic to a textile dye (this is unusual).
4. No dermatologist has ever said anything to me about diet, gluten etc and I am not sure if such approaches are evidence-based. I have previously tried acupuncture and Chinese herbs which did not work for me. (I know this will be controversial for some people but this is what worked for me).
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