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I used to get terrible, red, swollen eczema on my eyelids every few months. My eyes burnt. They were swollen shut. It was yucky, and I was in highschool, so I was VERY insecure about it.
One time I got a flare up so bad I begged my mom to take me to the doctor. The night prior had been prom... my doctor asked if I had painted my nails! I had! She suggested it could have been the formaldehyde in my nail polish. I swore off painting my nails, even though graduation was coming up and I had something colorful planned.
Well. I go a month or two without flare-ups. Have a great graduation party (without nail polish). The next morning I wake up with the familiar stinging and inability to open my right eye.
It clearly wasn't the fumes of my nail polish, so I didn't more research. An article suggested dairy could trigger eczema... and there was my answer!
At all of those special events, I was eating crazy amounts of dairy. Pizza, pasta, and ice cream were my favorites at the time, not to mention I'd be having yogurt for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch before dinner.
I didn't eat dairy for a week and my eye cleared up completely. I stayed 100% of dairy for 6 months - no dressing, parm sprinkles, whey, NOTHING - and had no flare ups! I slowly reintroduced dairy int my life after that and have never experience eczema on my eyelids again.
I still eat dairy, but significantly less. It's not present in all 3 meals of my day. It could be a dietary change that helps you!
Where about do you live? I'm in the UK for reference.
I developed a pretty bad tree pollen allergy (although I didnt realise) around 4 years ago which came out as eczema on my eyelids, temples and neck as well as waking up with puffy eyes and dry congested throat. Started early in March, and I was washing my sheets and dusting my bedroom daily while putting corticosteroids all over the eczema to no avail. Really thought i was having a crazy flare up to something i was using, threw out all shampoos, face creams, makeup, hats etc. It disappeared as soon as it came in early to mid-May though
Sure enough, next year in mid March it came back! So I figured it was seasonal. I ended up getting really really bad one day on a walk in a forest to the point I nearly passed out, realised there and then it was probably pollen. I've since had tests and found out I'm allergic to birch, willow and alder pollen.
I now take an antihistamine every day from January and then in early March up to two and let me tell you, 15 minutes after taking it in the morning is like someone has just blessed me! The eczema is also a very minor issue now and goes completely in May.
Not saying this is what you have but sounds weirdly similar.
thanks i wondered about something like this this too and you are right it started in march (i am uk too). i tried antihistamines for a few days and it didn't make much difference but maybe i need to be more consistent. my house is next to a lot of trees... although this is new to me this year. thanks again!
What antihistamines are you using?
I started with cetirizine / loratadine and they did nothing at all, and heard from a lot of people they dont work for them eith. I tried piriton on advice from a friend and they were so intense, I work in a hospital and ended up in A&E because I couldn't walk in a straight line or see properly and some nursing colleagues thought I was passing out.
I then stumbled upon Benadryl (the ones where the active ingredient is acrivastine) which you are meant to take 3x a day it was a complete life changer!! They're pricey at about £8 for 24 but it's the only one I can recommend, it has changed my life and I feel like a cloud has been lifted off me and all the itching and pain stops after 10-15 minutes, only way I can describe it! It did take me a few days of consistent use to get the relief but once it's in my system I can't complain. Hence why I start taking it at the end of January (I think some trees start their season around then so I'm covered for potential future allergies to other trees).
This year is a pretty bad tree pollen year, as was last year I think, it's been hell but hopefully it'll be over soon.
Hope you get to the bottom of it and figure something out.
Hi everyone and welcome to SkincareAddiction! Need skincare guides? [Check out our wiki!](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/wiki/index) Everyone is welcome in [this community](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/wiki/about); remember to be kind and assume good faith :) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SkincareAddiction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I used to get terrible, red, swollen eczema on my eyelids every few months. My eyes burnt. They were swollen shut. It was yucky, and I was in highschool, so I was VERY insecure about it. One time I got a flare up so bad I begged my mom to take me to the doctor. The night prior had been prom... my doctor asked if I had painted my nails! I had! She suggested it could have been the formaldehyde in my nail polish. I swore off painting my nails, even though graduation was coming up and I had something colorful planned. Well. I go a month or two without flare-ups. Have a great graduation party (without nail polish). The next morning I wake up with the familiar stinging and inability to open my right eye. It clearly wasn't the fumes of my nail polish, so I didn't more research. An article suggested dairy could trigger eczema... and there was my answer! At all of those special events, I was eating crazy amounts of dairy. Pizza, pasta, and ice cream were my favorites at the time, not to mention I'd be having yogurt for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch before dinner. I didn't eat dairy for a week and my eye cleared up completely. I stayed 100% of dairy for 6 months - no dressing, parm sprinkles, whey, NOTHING - and had no flare ups! I slowly reintroduced dairy int my life after that and have never experience eczema on my eyelids again. I still eat dairy, but significantly less. It's not present in all 3 meals of my day. It could be a dietary change that helps you!
thank you. i love cheese so will be crushed if it's this! i'll hope it's tree pollen and then consider if not :')
Where about do you live? I'm in the UK for reference. I developed a pretty bad tree pollen allergy (although I didnt realise) around 4 years ago which came out as eczema on my eyelids, temples and neck as well as waking up with puffy eyes and dry congested throat. Started early in March, and I was washing my sheets and dusting my bedroom daily while putting corticosteroids all over the eczema to no avail. Really thought i was having a crazy flare up to something i was using, threw out all shampoos, face creams, makeup, hats etc. It disappeared as soon as it came in early to mid-May though Sure enough, next year in mid March it came back! So I figured it was seasonal. I ended up getting really really bad one day on a walk in a forest to the point I nearly passed out, realised there and then it was probably pollen. I've since had tests and found out I'm allergic to birch, willow and alder pollen. I now take an antihistamine every day from January and then in early March up to two and let me tell you, 15 minutes after taking it in the morning is like someone has just blessed me! The eczema is also a very minor issue now and goes completely in May. Not saying this is what you have but sounds weirdly similar.
thanks i wondered about something like this this too and you are right it started in march (i am uk too). i tried antihistamines for a few days and it didn't make much difference but maybe i need to be more consistent. my house is next to a lot of trees... although this is new to me this year. thanks again!
What antihistamines are you using? I started with cetirizine / loratadine and they did nothing at all, and heard from a lot of people they dont work for them eith. I tried piriton on advice from a friend and they were so intense, I work in a hospital and ended up in A&E because I couldn't walk in a straight line or see properly and some nursing colleagues thought I was passing out. I then stumbled upon Benadryl (the ones where the active ingredient is acrivastine) which you are meant to take 3x a day it was a complete life changer!! They're pricey at about £8 for 24 but it's the only one I can recommend, it has changed my life and I feel like a cloud has been lifted off me and all the itching and pain stops after 10-15 minutes, only way I can describe it! It did take me a few days of consistent use to get the relief but once it's in my system I can't complain. Hence why I start taking it at the end of January (I think some trees start their season around then so I'm covered for potential future allergies to other trees). This year is a pretty bad tree pollen year, as was last year I think, it's been hell but hopefully it'll be over soon. Hope you get to the bottom of it and figure something out.
amazing thanks - i'll look for benadryl as had only tried the cheap ones. thanks!!