Eczema on eyelid??

[Zen]

Did you do a search?

[OakLeaf]

I've never had it on my eyelid, but I do get dyshidrosis (a type of eczema), mostly on my hands, sometimes on my feet, sometimes on my forehead when I'm riding the motorcycle a lot, once on my ear. It's never completely symmetrical and sometimes I get it just on one side (including the once when it was on my ear). I get it when my skin stays too moist (gloves, shoes and helmet), but that's atypical - most people get it as a reaction to excessive dryness.

Stress is also a HUGE contributor (as with most autoimmune issues). DH gets it on his hands ONLY when he's stressed out - external conditions really don't affect it with him. I think everyone in the western world is enormously stressed for the last half of November and all of December... so maybe now that all the holiday stuff is over it'll resolve on its own?

Egyptian Magic looks really benign, but what brand of baby shampoo are you using to clean your face? I just looked up the ingredient list for J&J and there are several nasties in there. The only brands of cleansers I can use on my face are Better Botanicals and Dr. Hauschka's (Dr. Hauschka's is just too heavy for me, but in a dry climate it might work for you).

The shampoo you use on your hair might affect your face too. Some toothpastes will make my chin break out, only on one side, just from whatever small amount gets drooled out during brushing and the short time it stays there before I rinse. DH's dandruff (which I think is related to eczema? not sure) went away when we started using Kiss My Face Whenever Shampoo (no SLS's, which is not the case for their whole line).

I'd worry about cortisone around the eyes too, but I think if it's going to respond to cortisone it should start responding very quickly. I definitely wouldn't do cortisone OTC on my eyelid - let a doctor prescribe it if they're going to.

What's in the eye drops you're using now? I would've thought it would be a steroid.

Sunlight also makes it go away, eventually, for me. Direct sunlight to the area - not just anywhere on the body. Are you getting enough sunshine this time of year - even in LA, the days are shorter? Without sunglasses, so your eyelid can get some exposure?

[Fujichants]

Thanks for the advice everybody!

I use Aveeno baby shampoo. It's very gentle and smells good too. I'm not very good at checking the ingredients and if they are bad or not...

Could be the shampoo/conditioner i'm using too...I use Pureology. I've noticed though that it makes my scalp very dry and I get dandruff (eeeew!). So i'll try that Kiss My Face one.

I just want it to go away soon, because it looks gross, having a red patch right under my eyebrow.

[ny biker]

I have a co-worker whose 3-year-old daughter has excema problems. The doctor recommended Aquaphor. She greases the kid up and it helps.

Also I don't know what you used to use to wash your face before using baby shampoo, but I use Cetaphil cleanser which is pretty mild.

[tulip]

I used to get that and it was no fun. I don't know if it was actually excema, but your description sounds like what I had. I was under alot of stress at the time. It's gone away now, for a few years at least. I use Dr. Hauschka on my face, which is very pricey but very worth it for me.

[NbyNW]

It might be worth your while to go to a dermatologist. Cortisol isn't the only thing out there.

I started getting some dry/peeling around my eyebrows last year and then it started to get really raw and wasn't clearing up on its own . . . my dermatologist thought it might be the same thing that was causing a scalp problem for me in the past, but said that you definitely don't put the same stuff on your facial skin than other parts of the body because the skin is very thin.

She gave me a prescription for a cream called desonide, which seems to keep it under control. Which is not to say that you have the same problem/solution, but that dermatologists probably have more in their arsenal than we laypeople would know.

[OakLeaf]

fwiw, desonide is a corticosteroid.