My Eczema Treatment ( Part 1 ): Symptoms and Basic Care

Yup...that's my lips!

If you are a avid reader of my blog, you may know that I was suffering from eczema around my lips area ( some may call it perioral dermatitis ) To those who may not know the full story, do read it HERE. In this post, I am going to sum up the symptoms and basic care ( based on my personal experience ), before moving on to my next post which deals with treatments.




Symptoms

1) Slight inflammation on lips area, coupled with redness and itchiness.

2) Little bumps or tiny rashes on affected area.

3) Peeling

4) Dry, scaly and course to touch.

5) Tightness

6) Blistering at corners of mouth, which leads to bleeding.

7) Highly sensitive to certain foods eg: spicy food.

Basic Care

1) Lubricate lips frequently, using natural based balms.

2) Avoid peeling or touching affected area.

3) Do not lick your lips.

4) Switch to mild or non-irritated skin care products.

5) Avoid spicy and salty food, alcohol and avoid contact with piping hot beverages or soups.

6) Seek medical attention.( Western )

Many eczema sufferers knows that it takes a very long period to see healing comes. My sister has been suffering from eczema for more than 10 years and still is! Hers started from her hands and now, it affects her entire body, from face to toes. In my case, I am thankful that it is only at my lips. Though the area is minimal, the effects are the same. It can spread further if you do not care for it in the beginning. ( And that happened to my sister )

I had it since late last year and flared up to the worst mid this year. Though I did everything from the list of basic care, unfortunately it did not heal completely. It only controls it. It was fine one day and a few days later, it will be back to square one! I was beginning to lose a bit of faith in complete healing and was frustrated. I just want it to end...completely! Cut off or kill off the roots completely.

And this is where I came to a decision to seek for an alternative treatment, which is in Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM ). I am not new to this because I also used this to treat my constipation problem before. So  in my next post, I am going to share with you my results from this treatment. ( More photos included too...)

Stay tuned!