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Anyone dealing with severe atopic dermatitis on hands?

Skin Health | Last Active: May 28, 2023 | Replies (10)

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@gardeningjunkie

Pmenor- Keep in mind, even if you have Atopic Dermatitis you may have one or other types also. I have or had 3 types of eczema, although in my case I don't have Atopic. As I age I collect more types, my first type was ACD.
Have you been tested for Allergic Contact Dermatitis, ACD, with the 5 Day Extended Patch Test? Google this expensive test which Medicare covers. I stopped getting hand eczema after getting my test results which identified my allergens over 10 years ago.
I had been using Dawn dish soap, after testing learned it contained Metholizothiazole, one of my many positive allergens, it's a perservative banned in many countries because it is a common allergen. Why does dish soap need a preservative anyway? Perviously derms told me to use protective gloves when using cleaning products. I learned I was allergic to the element Mercaptobenzothiazole, which comes from rubber and used in many protective gloves. Latex comes from rubber, but a latex free glove means nothing to me as I am not allergic to that. I did learn I can use vinyl or plastic gloves. I tested positive to a dozen contacts I now avoid. I wish I had learned about this test a decade earlier to avoid the suffereing I endured. Yes steroids would provide temporary relief, but they are a treatment, a treament with negative long term side effects. To be free from ACD you need to avoid what is causing it.

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Replies to "Pmenor- Keep in mind, even if you have Atopic Dermatitis you may have one or other..."

@gardeningjunkie, @pmenor, Good evening, I just wanted to comment on the 5-Day Patch Test. Not only is this test expensive, not all dermatologists are authorized to use it. It sure helped me get my type of dermatitis under the microscope. I think we washed clothes, sheets, comforters, towels, etc for a few weeks. I really learned a lot about the items that can be harmful to us. And one that had to go from our house was Dawn dish soap. Your dermatologist should also be able to give you a book of about 122 pages that presents all the products determined to be safe. It was a pretty expansive "bailout".

I also wanted to mention that I had weeks and weeks of light therapy. It was highly controlled with a graduated entry. My arms felt smoother and less irritated.

I thought it might be helpful to share a couple of photos with you. Hope to add some meaning to the words. The first two are just my arms. The third photo is of the patch test.

Don't hesitate to keep Connect on your "share" list. When you share your experiences, hundreds of folks benefit. Connect has lots of members who are observers but not contributors.
May you be safe, protected and free from inner and outer harms.
Chris