Grrrrrrrrrrr!

savingsara_2

My poor OH has been suffering with his skin for over a year now and has been backwards and forwards to his GP who has prescribed various pills and potions, none of which has worked. Eventually he was referred to the local hospital's dermatology clinic and finally had his appointment last week. The specialist diagnosed eczema and prescribed a new type of anti-histamines amongst other things which really seem to help, an added bonus is they really knock him out so we both get a decent night's sleep (which we haven't for a long time) as he itches and scratches so badly, especially at night.
Anyway we duly went straight from the hospital to the nearest pharmacy after the appointment where we collected his prescriptions all but 19 of the aforementioned anti-histamines. When he went back today to collect the rest he was told they are no longer available................!!!!!
My own enquiries this afternoon have revealed there isn't a generic version and therefore a substitute will have to be found.
Back to square one :eek:

changkra

Every now and then i get eczema that flares up quite bad. I lost my temper one night after it was driving me nuts and kept me awake, anyway i grabbed the nail brush out of the bathroom and and scrubbed it until it stopped itching and was bleeding quite bad. Anyway i then added the cream i get which is and antibiotic as well and it cleared up. I did mention it to my doctor who sat and thought about it for a couple of mins and he actually said yes it would work and clear it up so just to watch out in case it turned nasty. I wouldn't advocate anyone else do this but it certainly worked for me and i haven't needed to use any cream for quite a while now.

savingsara_2

changkra wrote: »

Every now and then i get eczema that flares up quite bad. I lost my temper one night after it was driving me nuts and kept me awake, anyway i grabbed the nail brush out of the bathroom and and scrubbed it until it stopped itching and was bleeding quite bad. Anyway i then added the cream i get which is and antibiotic as well and it cleared up. I did mention it to my doctor who sat and thought about it for a couple of mins and he actually said yes it would work and clear it up so just to watch out in case it turned nasty. I wouldn't advocate anyone else do this but it certainly worked for me and i haven't needed to use any cream for quite a while now.

Ouch!
I wouldn't be surprised if he's been tempted to do this - I think if he can just get out of the itch-scratch-itch cycle it might just clear up. He's rattling with anti-biotics, steroid creams of various potencies and special micro-somethingorother body lotions that double up as shower wash.....
Good job he has a pre-pay certificate, it would be costing him a fortune otherwise!!!

3plus1

Where on his body is his eczema, and how severe is it?

Has your OH's GP/dermatologist pinpointed a trigger for his eczema yet?

grannybroon

My grandson1 has ecxema and has to go back to doctor as medication stops working.

Your OH has to contact who he saw at hospital to say presciption stuff not now available. Having gone through the process of being referred by doctor to hospital he should get meds that work for him. This really doesn't sound very good.

Hope this helps.

GB

savingsara_2

3plus1 wrote: »

Where on his body is his eczema, and how severe is it?

Has your OH's GP/dermatologist pinpointed a trigger for his eczema yet?

One of the GP's he saw said he was suffering with discoid eczema which affects chiefly his lower legs/feet, torso and arms, but he's also suffering from areas of dermatitis (mainly on arms and upper back).

Other than stress no, though apparently it's common to suffer with eczema if you're asthmatic and have hay fever, which he does!
His skin was always a little sensitive to things such as anti perspirant, but
on the whole he's always had what he calls "a good skin".

Lots of blood tests were ordered so perhaps something will show up there...

savingsara_2

grannybroon wrote: »

My grandson1 has ecxema and has to go back to doctor as medication stops working.

Your OH has to contact who he saw at hospital to say presciption stuff not now available. Having gone through the process of being referred by doctor to hospital he should get meds that work for him. This really doesn't sound very good.

Hope this helps.

GB

That's not an avenue I've tried yet, but I shall!
I have rung his GP's surgery and the receptionist was going to leave a message for him.
Hopefully the GP will contact the specialist, but we will have to wait until tomorrow sometime to find out.
Meanwhile he's only got 3 of the wonderdrug pills left and he should be taking 2 tonight :eek: (these pills are anti-histmines but have the added advantage of sometimes being used to treat anxiety which helps the stress which causes his eczema)
I shall be looking for the phone number for the dermatology clinic/constultant tonight though.....

heather38

what anti-histamine was he given?

savingsara_2

heather38 wrote: »

what anti-histamine was he given?

Hydroxyzine

heather38

sara have pm'd you

3plus1

savingsara wrote: »

One of the GP's he saw said he was suffering with discoid eczema which affects chiefly his lower legs/feet, torso and arms, but he's also suffering from areas of dermatitis (mainly on arms and upper back).

Other than stress no, though apparently it's common to suffer with eczema if you're asthmatic and have hay fever, which he does!
His skin was always a little sensitive to things such as anti perspirant, but
on the whole he's always had what he calls "a good skin".

Lots of blood tests were ordered so perhaps something will show up there...

Asthma, hayfever, eczema and allergies all belong to the same group of nasties. If you have one, or if a parent has one, you're prone to getting at least one other. Not fair, is it?

Discoid eczema is one of the nastier varieties of eczema and older men tend to get it more than anyone else.

Sound as if his eczema is occuring in places which tend to be 'hidden' in day to day life, which is some ways is a blessing, in others a curse. It's good because he won't feel as self-conscious, but it's bad because the temptation is always there to cover up as much as possible, which doesn't let the skin breathe.

Make sure his clothes are cotton if possible - 100% cotton shirts are more expensive than the part polyester kind, but they might help. If he has eczema on his feet, when he comes home, encourage him to take off his socks and shoes and wear flip flops in the house (so his feet are 'aired' but don't touch the floor directly). Depending on the state of his skin on his feet, he might get some relief from soaking his feet in a bowl of warm water (optionally with prescribed medication such as epaderm or something like oilatum which can be bought over the counter).

Antihistamines will help with the itching - whenever your OH sees his GP/dermatologist, he has to stress how important these are to him, and to ask for the strongest kind available to him. If he doesn't ask, chances are, he'll get fobbed off. If the brand he's prescribed doesn't seem to do anything for him, he should go back rather than suffer in silence with a drug that doesn't help him.

If his legs and arms are horribly itchy a lot of the time, might be worth asking his GP/dermatologist if he can try some 'wet wraps'. More likely to get sympathy and help from a dermatologist in that case though.

As your OH has seen a dermatologist once now, he now has contact details and he's in the system. He shouldn't go back to his GP, he should make appointments with the dermatology clinic as GPs tend to be a bit rubbish with the more interesting kinds of eczema. They are only generalist doctors, remember.

The blood tests should have come back by now - any news?