THE ITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

This guide aims to provide the knowledge and tools required to manage eczema symptoms and support a full recovery.

Eczema is a skin condition that causes dry, irritated skin. Up to 10% of the UK adult population suffers from eczema, of which, 30% have moderate to severe symptoms [1]; Severe eczema can dominate an individual’s life making it extremely difficult to cope with both physically and mentally [2]. Effective treatments exist however some have significant side effects. Determining the solution is non-trivial since eczema is a complex condition which is unique to each individual.

My name is Oscar and I've been living with eczema of varying severity since I was a baby. I've had numerous appointments with my General Practitioner (GP) to tackle various flare-ups. This has been sufficient 95% of the time however, GP's lack the specialist knowledge and waiting lists for NHS specialist appointments are simply not practical. I waited for 6 months for my Dermatology referral and a further 8 months for the '6-week follow-up'. In the mean time, I was battling debilitating symptoms and was forced to do my own research. There were times where 80% of my skin area, from my ankles to my eyelids, looked much like the pictures here.

Since taking control of my condition again, I've written up my findings into this 3-step guide. The aim is to inform the reader about eczema, how to identify the cause(s) and to outline the available treatments and techniques. Please do share with friends & family who could benefit from reading. I hope it helps!

Disclaimer: I am not medically trained and this website should be used to inform discussions with your GP.

I've developed this resource in my own time and I'd like to keep it up to date with current science. To support me with the development of the content, I have a "Buy me a Coffee page, any contributions are greatly appreciated!

Eczema

Step 1 on the road to recovery is to identify what the problem is. In this section, the different types of eczema are outlined and the most common types of eczema, Atopic and Contact, are explained.

Trigger Identification

Step 2 is to identify the root cause of the problem and to manage ones exposure to it. This section explores how to approach this, focussing on Atopic and Contact Eczema.

Skin Maintenance

Step 3 is to give your skin the best chance of recovery. This section goes over how to maintain healthy skin and explores the tools and techniques which can be used to manage eczema symptoms.

References

References are highlighted throughout the site, here they're all listed together.

Index

Find a table which maps each technique against each of the symptoms of eczema, with links to the relevant pages.

Contact Me

Feedback is more than welcome! To date, I've been living with eczema for a few decades and I'm still learning about my condition, what triggers my skin and what is best to heal up. If you have any additions to offer, questions to ask or success stories to share then please do drop me a message and I'll do my best to get back to you.

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