I've been seeing a lot of people in this subreddit claiming that steroid creams and oral steroids are terrible, do more harm than good, or are just something pushed by "big pharma."

I think this is a very dangerous belief.

I've even seen people here tell those with severe eczema not to use their prescribed steroids and instead recommend things like honey or other home remedies. That kind of advice can be harmful. Severe eczema or other skin conditions that cause constant scratching, open wounds, and bleeding can become serious infections and, in some cases, even life-threatening if left untreated.

In my own experience, I had undiagnosed nodular prurigo and eczema. I was bleeding from my skin every day. After changing dermatologists, I was prescribed prednisolone, and within a few weeks my skin was better than it had been in seven years.

After a few months, though, I wanted to stop because of the side effects. My dermatologist explained that when I first came to him, my skin had become so damaged that I was close to developing a severe infection that could have progressed to sepsis. He also explained that, in my case, tapering off steroids or switching to another immunosuppressant wasn't a realistic option, and that I would most likely need prednisolone long-term.

That conversation happened a year ago, and I've since accepted it.

Steroids have serious side effects, and no one should pretend otherwise. But they also save people from severe complications and can dramatically improve quality of life when they're medically necessary. Dermatologists generally don't prescribe long-term steroids for skin conditions unless they believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

Please don't tell people to ignore their doctor's treatment plan based on general anti-steroid beliefs. Every case is different, and what worked—or didn't work—for you may not be appropriate for someone else.

I will be posting my experience with prednisolone soon and all the side effects that people do not notice

Anyone else feel like their derm just… doesn’t dig deeper?
I’m grateful I even have access to a dermatologist and get my biologics covered, I don’t take that for granted. But every visit feels the same: “yep, that’s eczema,” refill the prescription, see you in 3 months. No blood work, no allergy panel, no gut stuff, nothing. When I bring it up I basically get shut down.
It just doesn’t sit right with me that this is “something I have just because.” Like clearly something’s going on underneath, right? But I can’t get a referral to actually look into it.
Has anyone actually gotten a doctor to take that seriously? What did you say / bring to the appointment that worked? I’m especially curious if anyone’s had luck bringing photos or a log of flare-ups vs how bad it actually felt — did that change how the conversation went at all?

im sure yall are saturated with dont eat this dont use this dont wear this try that avoid those blah blah

for those who just wanna relate and feel heard:

https://youtu.be/GuaBbsL1qKA?si=bqgmoKEUIcvD0w8y

(Not sure what flair to put this on I'm new sorry)

Like the title, should I wrap myself with a bandage? I would probably start with my feet. I got eczema at a very young age, until today. It's better now. I genuinely don't remember much about my eczema experiences in my childhood but I remember it was so bad I had to bandage my body, struggle to walk because of the pain and even not go to school for a while in middle school. There was a time i think my parent said I had to use a special medicine and shower with hot water.

Now that I'm grown. Nothing is that itchy, very rare that's it's itchy. It's picking skin that is the problem. I'm, a very uh dumb? human. Everytime I go to the doctor checkup I just said I'm itchy, thus I start picking my skin. Bc that makes sense. But 90% of the time I just want to pick my skin just because. Bored? Pick. Stress? Pick. Sleep? Pick.

My skin blackened. Look disgusting. My family pointed it out. Probably to urge me to stop. But I honestly couldn't care less. Couldn't care when you never imagine yourself with someone. I tried to wear socks because i really like picking my feet skin. But... I ended up scratching through the socks and even unconsciously opening my socks to "pick only a little" (it was not a little).

My family always say it's got to do with my diet. I agree it have some part but if I keep on picking my skin it also won't heal at all. Wtf, I'm frustrated at myself but I CAN'T STOP. Should I bandage myself like when I was little?

hi, wondering if anyone had a similar experience but i’ve been wondering if my nexplanon is making my eczema worse.. and if anyone had any similar problems.

i got my bc inserted in 2024 and ever since then my eczema started to weep and i started having infections (crusty, yellow, oozing / impetigo) on my face (worst spot of my eczema). i’m seeing my PCP in two days, as well as a scheduled appointment with my dermatologist next month. i’m going to ask for an allergy test when i see my PCP.

thanks!

As I read through some of the TSW this could be what my child has gone through. (we've been trying to identify what biologic/topical was making symptoms worse last few years.)

is there anything that can be done to recover from hair loss/thinning?

Also do if they do have TSW, can we use any topical steroids, or will they trigger more flares and extend recovery?

I live in nyc and it’s been very humid lately. My eczema, rosacea, and perioral dermatitis is screaming. I can’t stop sweating either whenever I go out and the heat and sun triggers my face. How do yall survive the humid heat because im reaching my limit 😭 the amount of flare ups i been having… sunscreen doesn’t help because any kind triggers dermatitis for me.. sensitive skin problems.. I been using an umbrella and a hat.

This is a bit of a rant but if anyone does have advice, I am at a bit of a loss.

For context, I (21F) am a UK uni student and have just come back from a year abroad in Japan which was a part of my degree. Before I left my skin was horrible, so so painful and dry, red and angry patches basically covered my face, neck, shoulders and arms. I’m not sure whether it’s just a really nasty flare up or TSW but it was really bad for around 2 years. I couldn’t sleep and everything else. Basically, I was completely miserable and it really took a toll on me both, physically and psychologically. It had, however, calmed down a bit just before I set off but I took a year out from university as medical leave because I was struggling so much.

So, I went to Japan August 2025, it was absolutely boiling (feels like 42°C on most days) and Japan is very humid. I was struggling a bit at first but I noticed that gradually my skin got better. It got so much better to the point where I had almost forgotten what it’s like to have bad eczema and I started being able to return to using all sorts of products that I’d been avoiding for about 2 years prior. I was basically living life happily and enjoying myself, and finally started to feel good about what I looked like again.

Now, at the end of June 2026 and I’m getting ready to go home back to the UK, my skin is flaring slightly because of the stress I assume. I cut my return really close to uni exams and deadlines and things. Also, I was privately renting an apartment so there was a lot to sort with that, and not a lot of time. As soon as I got back, my skin has basically gone back to what it was before I had even left. I’m in pain, I look and feel horrible. I’ve started cancelling plans with friends and family again because I either can’t take part in the activities because i’m scared it will make me worse or I can’t bring myself to go out with how my skin looks. The hardest part is that it did get a lot lot better so I know it’s possible but I just don’t know how. I can’t go back to Japan for a while and I don’t think I could live there. So, now I just don’t know what to do.

Hey all! I'm working on a research project focused on eczema care, with the goal of building a better solution for people who deal with it day-to-day. I'm not selling anything — just trying to gather real experiences so this can actually be useful for the eczema community.

If you have a few minutes, I'd really appreciate you filling out this short, anonymous survey:
https://forms.gle/CHnqZsEpXBik2XeA6

It asks about your routine, what's worked (or hasn't), and how eczema affects daily life. Takes about 5 minutes. There's also an optional spot at the end if you're open to a short follow-up interview, but that's entirely up to you.

Thank you for helping out — your responses genuinely matter and can help shape something that's actually useful for people managing this. Happy to answer questions in the comments!

• Dermatologists?
• Reddit?
• TikTok?
• Friends?
• Pharmacists?
• Brand websites?
• Nobody?

Good morning, everyone. This post will be in Italian because it concerns the Italian health insurance system and is based only on my personal experience.

Partiamo con un bel disclaimer, questa è la mia esperienza e non sono un medico, quindi non prendeteli come consigli medici. Probabilmente è simile a quella di altre persone ma non trovando nulla online ho scelto di fare questo post per poter aiutare più persone possibili, sarebbe bello che fosse uno di quei post che possa aiutare qualcuno anche tra 5 / 10 anni.

Tra il 2023 e il 2025 ho fatto solo due visite dermatologiche in cui si attestava la presenza di dermatite atopica diffusa, dermatite seborroica e disidrosi alle mani. Sono state fatte solo queste due visite in due anni perchè sostanzialmente si riusciva a mantenere sotto controllo con le varie creme cortisoniche o meno e per la dermatite seborroica usando Sebiprox.

Nel 2026 le cose sono precipitate, quindi, la prima cosa da fare e scrivere al medico curante (medico di base) per chiedere consiglio e come procedere. Nel mio caso mi ha prescritto esami del sangue base + una visita dermatologica.

In questa visita dermatologica hanno sostanzialmente comprovato la situazione e prescritto esami del sangue approfonditi per vedere se ero un candidato idoneo alle terapie sistemiche (ciclosporina).

Esami del sangue fatti (questi sono molto dettagliati, da aspettarsi circa otto bocciette) ritorno per la visita del controllo dermatologico, nella quale, sostanzialmente mi prescrivono la ciclosporina (bene ma non benissimo).

Una volta iniziata la terapia (dopo circa 12 giorni) ci sono le prime analisi del sangue per vedere se la ciclosporina sta danneggiando i reni o meno. Dopo un pò di giorni ci sono anche le seconde analisi del sangue pre visita di controllo.

Nel mio caso la ciclosporina mi faceva dormire male (o non dormire) con anche mal di testa e tutto sommato la dermatite era rimasta, quindi hanno cambiato terapia optando per i farmaci "biologici" precisamente il Lebrikizumab.

Da quando ho iniziato ad assumerlo (all'inizio era dura perchè si doveva "attivare") ma dopo un mese circa la situazione è miglorata di netto.

Ricapitolando i passaggi che ho fatto:
- Due visite "generiche" sulla dermatite 2023-2025
- Chiedere una visita per approfondire al medico curante + esami sangue base
- Visita per stabilire se fossi idoneo alla ciclosporina
- Esami del sangue approfonditi
- Visita per inizio terapia con ciclosporina
- Due esami del sangue prima del primo controllo della terapia con ciclospoirna
- Visita per stabilire se sono ancora idoneo al trattamento con ciclosporina
- Cambio trattamento con farmaci biologici Lebrikizumab

Tips e cose in più:
Anche se si è agofobici ci si riesce a fare tutti questi controlli e visite (ps sono svenuto un pò di volte ma heyy sei già li in ospedale con personale pronto ad aiutarti ahahaha).
Mi hanno prescritto il flubason e bruciava, tanto, quindi non abbiate timore di dirlo se qualche crema o qualcosa vi fa effetti collaterali.
Per la detersione mi trovo benissimo con: corpo (base lavante 311 ceramol), testa (sebiprox).
Per la secchezza in viso con detriti di pelle che si vedono personalmente li toglievo usando le salviette struccanti umide, non ricomparivano per circa 10 ore.
Usare SEMPRE crema solare, preferibilmente 50+ ma l'importante è che sia contro uva e uvb, le marche cambiano davvero poco come efficacia, è più una preferenza di texture.
Come crema idratante personalmente uso la cetaphil (quella in barattolo).

Ovviamente tutto quello che ho scritto sono mie considerazioni personali e, non essendo un medico, non hanno alcun valore medico. Quindi non prendeteli come consigli medici per piacere.
Tutta via, spero che comunque possa essere di conforto per chi, come me, non vedeva la luce in fondo al tunnel appena un anno fa anche perchè non c'era nessuno che ne parlava di come affrontare la situazione in italia.

Detto questo, scrivete pure nei commenti se avete dubbi o domande e grazie per aver letto fino a qui (:

What do you eat?
What do you not eat?

What fabrics or brands do you wear?
What do you not wear?

What soaps, shampoos, or conditioners do you use?
What detergents or hand soaps do you use?

How do you do your hair?
Do you wear any hats?

How does your daytime and nighttime skincare routine look like?

Yes, I’ve been to several dermatologists. The dosage of my pills or topical steroids keep increasing. My skin is getting even more irritated and sensitive the days I take a break from all these medications.

My dermatologists have not recommend any detailed routine besides prescriptions. If I ask about what to eat, they just say to eat clean. If I ask what to wear, they just say loose clothes.

I’ve told them repeatedly I’m allergic to ingredients in colloidal oatmeal, Eucerin, Vanicream, and Aquaphor. And the texture to Vaseline makes me feel oily and itchy. And they just keep recommending the same “Eczema-safe” products. When I ask about what cleansers, toners, soaps, shampoos, or conditioners to use, I am met with “search for sensitive skin or eczema-safe products.”

My dermatologists cannot relate to me, and I am irritated following the standard treatment plan from professionals who cannot understand me at all.

I want to hear what has personally worked for you. I understand we all have different triggers, but I just want to know that there’s hope for finding a solution for me.

I’ve had weeping eczema on my right hand ardound the knucles as well as on my palm and on my left arm behind my elbow and on my right foot for around a year now but I just don’t know what to do. I got prescribed a steroid cream which I used for a week. It made it better but then after 2 weeks everything started coming back. Ive tried many creams and lotion but they just seem to make it more red and it doesn’t change anything. I read that it is linked to the gut so I cut all sugar for 3 weeks now and started to eat more probiotics as wells as taking vitamin d.

Recently, since I figured creams didn’t change anything I tried no putting anything and just letting ot dry out. Apparently its good for weeping eczema but im not sure. Im looking for any insights. Thanks

my one eye which has the eczema flare on the lid is persistently watering. It’s gotten to where my under eye looks and feels raw from the constant wiping of the tears. The eczema isn’t even bothering me at this point, it’s the wateryness. How can I stop it before I lose my mind 😣

hi guys i've only recently started having eczema on my face (red patches, itchy, dry). how should i control it? i saw somewhere to put vaseline on it but i don't want to go around with a shiny face & my skin generally doesn't react well to anything with an oily film.

& on my neck i've been having this eczema patch right at the centre at the fold where the jaw and neck connect, it's so annoying, it won't go away, and it's so itchy 😭 thanks :D

*itch relief is more important for me rn bcos my face is so itchy & theres legit small dry patches i can peel off 🫥

So for context, last June 15, my partner's dog went missing. It was really stressful and worrying because I'm also attached to her and love her so much. So we went searching for almost a month. A week after her going missing, I have severe itching phase around my legs and thought it was just my usual eczema flare up — until it wasn't. It then flared up on my other arm, then both legs, knees, armpits, abdomen, nipples and around my neck. Couple that up with intense heat and sudden rain (I live in Philippines), it was hell. My face was also in the danger of having eczema flare up.

After a month of searching for her, my partner announced that they found her (yayy!!). So when I visited them, my body's reaction to recovery was fast lol. It took at least 2-4 days couple with a lot of moisturizer and cortisone creams and ointment for visible result.

I know stress is one of the factors of my eczema flare up but it never occurred to me that it was this bad. I think I bottled up my stress and worry because I don't want to see my partner become so sad and almost lifeless when her dog went missing, and I tried to be positive for him. So please try and release your stress and don't bottle it up because it will definitely manifest on you physically.

hello community, i’m here not looking for advice or a treatment plan, just to pour my heart out to some people that might understand me.

I had mild eczema growing up, nothing that severely impacted my life. In highschool my “flares” would be just the typical inner elbows and knees in the summer and some patches on my hands in the winter.

For a year after I graduated I didn’t have any noteworthy breakouts. Then, starting back in April, I had a full body flare up that had completely stunted my life. I was in college and working full time, but I had to drop out and quit my job it was so bad.

Basically anywhere that wasn’t my face was rashed up, oozing, painful, itchy, and red as hell. Skin barrier completely shattered so I was scared to put anything on my skin. The only thing that didn’t burn was Vasaline. I was scared to shower, water touching my skin burned. I was lucky to get an hour of sleep at night. I lost all my confidence, self esteem and sex drive. I lost motivation to get up in the morning and feed myself, take care of myself, get dressed, much less leave the house.

For 3 straight months I endured this because my doctor wouldn’t diagnose me with eczema even though I told them I had a history with it. It wasn’t until they sent me to the dermatologist 3 antibiotic treatments and months later that I got my official eczema diagnosis. I got put on a steroid cream and things were looking really good and I was feeling better.

3 weeks later I’ve run out of cream. Pharmacy says insurance won’t cover it and I don’t have the money out of pocket to pay for it. So I’m currently shit out of luck for a few days.

It’s been 2 days without the cream and I’m already seeing everything come back. I’m devastated and scared I’ll end up back at square one. All my memories from 3 weeks ago are flooding back to me and when I laid down to sleep tonight, the dreaded itch started. The intense itching I haven’t felt in a couple weeks was back and I could help but break down.

Like I said I grew up with mild eczema but this big recent flare is the absolute worst I’ve dealt with and I’m sitting here wondering if I’ll have to think about and worry about my skin for the rest of my life.I already think about it all day and all night, from the time I wake til the time I drift off to sleep at night all I think about is my skin. This is such a soul crushing weight on my shoulders that no one in my life can relate to. It’s so isolating and lonely.

A week ago I was celebrating being able to take a warm shower without pain, and now I fear I may lose that again. 2 weeks ago I was celebrating getting a full nights rest, now I’m afraid I’ll lose that as well. I just can’t take another loss after everything I’ve been through. I can’t deal with another setback. I can’t go back to where I was 3 months ago.

Please tell me it gets better, I’m only at the start of my journey and I’m having a hard time seeing where it goes from here.

So i have had atopic dermatitis for 3 months now before i never had it, (i may have had it for a bit but it was only my thighs so may have not been atopic dermatitis) I have read that it goes away in phases like so: It goes away for some months or even a year depending on the severity and then comes back. But my question is how long for it to actually go away lol, i am currently only using la roche posay ap+m and will start taking some sort of vaccines tomorrow.

I (F25) am currently pregnant with my first baby and am so terrified of breastfeeding due to my horrific nipple eczema. Ive always had eczema on my hands but since pregnancy, it spread to my face around my mouth, my neck, and worst of all, my nipples. For the past 7 months, they have been cracked, ripped, and weeping yellow fluid all over my bras and shirts. I stopped using perfumes a long time ago and dont use detergent with any kind of fragrance. I dont use febreeze plugins anymore, since I felt it irritating my face, but my nipple eczema will absolutely not got away. I really want to be able to breastfeed and Im so scared that this issue will persist and ruin me and the babys bonding experience. I feel like I have tried everything. One of my friends said she experienced something similar and it ended up being a yeast infection, so I started using an anti fungal .. nothing. I used coconut oil to help with the dryness… they got too soft and ripped so easily. I use hydrocortisone cream for the itching… I wake up in the middle of the night, scratching the living hell out of them and ripping them. I wear nursing pads to help with the weeping… they weep so bad that my skin literally fuses to the nursing pad and the wounds reopen when I remove it.
I’m open to any kind of advice at this point I have one and a half months to go before my baby is here and I really need to get this in check. (PS I’ve gone to the doctor and the dermatologist and they really do not know how to help me either. They have prescribed me Aquaphor and hydrocortisone cream, which have done nothing for me. No matter how consistently I use them.)

Hey everyone. Long-time lurker, first post.

I'm 21, from Hungary, and I've had atopic dermatitis since childhood — chest, upper arms, legs. Over the past year my dermatologist has documented SCORAD scores in the 35–60 range across three consecutive visits, so we're now moving toward requesting a referral to a university biologics clinic (Semmelweis University Dermatology, biologics ambulance).

Some background in case it's relevant:

Food allergy panels (IgE) have come back negative multiple times — so diet isn't the driver in my case.

Earlier this year a routine bloodwork flagged an elevated ASO (563 IU/mL, ref <200), which made us worry about an active strep-related infectious focus. ENT workup came back clinically negative for a focus (just an incidental minor fibroma, unrelated, non-urgent). So that's been ruled out as a blocker.

Current treatment has been topical steroids (Elocom) plus supportive scalp/skin care — helping somewhat but not controlling things long-term, hence looking at systemic/biologic options.

For people who've been through the process of getting approved for a biologic (Dupilumab, Tralokinumab, etc.) via a university/specialist center rather than just a local dermatologist:

What was the actual clinic visit like — do they redo SCORAD from scratch, or do they accept documented scores from your regular dermatologist?

Did they ask you to taper off topical steroids before the assessment so they could see the "true" severity? How long before the appointment did you stop?

Roughly how long from referral to first biologic dose, in your experience?

Anything you wish you'd asked or prepared before that first specialist appointment?

Appreciate any insight — trying to go in prepared rather than blindsided.

My partner has eczema and we are doing a pottery throwing class together!!

It’s only one class of throwing, but I’m nervous about his skin… I was thinking of bringing some nitrile gloves and glaxal base so afterwards he can moisture up.

Does anyone here do pottery while having eczema ? Are there any specific recommendations?

Thank you in advance!

Hello r/eczema,

Has anyone ever had a problem with the Clinique 100h Moisture Surge product? I tried a sample a week ago in Ulta, and between other products I sampled, I thought THIS one for sure would be eczema safe. While I can't fully confirm, I only put it on my forehead, and it's the only product that I only put on my forehead.

Guess where I have a horrible eczema breakout now?

(There's a lot of variables, I know. It could easily have been something contaminating the sample pot. I'm just asking for any personal experience or anecdotes.)