I’ve had eczema for months and it’s driving me crazy – how can I treat it myself? Dr Jeff answers your health questions
DR JEFF FOSTER is The Sun on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
See h3health.co.uk and email at drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q) A MALE friend of mine is 68 and has issues with a hernia that started four years ago. He had surgery in February 2022, but the post-surgery swelling was huge and didn’t go down.
He had surgery again in April this year. The swelling has gone but he is still in a great deal of pain in his lower abdomen.
I feel he should go back to his GP but he doesn’t want to make a fuss.
Ruth Barnes, Aylesbury
A) While the NHS is pressured, one should never feel guilty for wanting to speak to a doctor or hospital specialists.
He needs to ring the hospital directly and he absolutely won’t be seen as a nuisance.
Patients who understand their treatment plans are much more likely to recover better than those who are unsure.
Only the consultant who did the operation can assess the pain and know if this is a complication of the surgery or something else.
Advise your friend to ring the hospital and arrange a discussion with the consultant so that his pain can be re-assessed and managed accordingly. He certainly is not wasting anyone’s time.
Q) I AM a woman in my sixties and have had eczema for months. I’ve numerous creams and steroid creams from dermatology at the hospital.
They were going to send me to a skin clinic but have cancelled my appointment.
The eczema is driving me crazy. It’s itchy, dry and bleeds.
Is there anything else you recommend I can try to treat it myself please?
Rita Bischoff, Bolton
A) Many people trivialise eczema as simply being dry or itchy skin, but in severe cases it can massively impact quality of life, increase our risk of infections and can be linked to other diseases.
In most cases it is a mild irritant, treated with topical moisturisers and occasional steroid creams.
In other cases, treatment can mean oral medication, and even immune-modulating drugs.
We know there is a link between eczema and “atopy”, the concept of our environment triggering certain medical conditions, specifically hayfever, and asthma. So those with an allergy history are more likely to have eczema.
Our lifestyles, particularly central heating, can affect our skin, as can certain diets and hormone problems.
Low testosterone in men and menopause in women can also affect skin health.
You need to see a dermatologist for a definitive treatment plan, but it is worth looking at things in your life that might irritate your skin and see if by altering those, you can improve your eczema.