My Story

Find your triggers.  Modify your diet/allergens/stress.  Beat DE like I did.
Click here for the first Bubbles and Blisters post -- or why I started this blog.


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Attack of the Zombie Feet

When I was in my early teens, I would sometimes get what I called water blisters on the sides of my feet.  

"That doesn't look like any athlete's foot I've ever seen," my mom said the first time I showed her.  It was Christmas break, and I kept removing my shoes and socks to scratch what had become an almost intolerable, and ever-present itch. "I remember getting something like that whenever I'd drink beer," my mother continued.

At 13 I had most definitely NOT been drinking beer.
What are those little blisters?!

"Maybe it's scrubpox," my dad said.  "Wrestlers get it.  It's some kind of herpes."

HERPES!?

"You know," my dad said.  "Wrestlers get their cold sores on each other's feet on the wrestling mat."

I had not had anyone's cold sores anywhere near me, nor had I ever even seen a wrestling mat. 

Needless to say, a trip to the family doctor was scheduled.

"It's definitely not herpes," our well-loved general practitioner said.  "It looks like some kind of contact dermatitis to me.  Have you been walking in weeds?"

While I often went barefoot in my Texas hometown, I wasn't exactly traipsing through weeds in the middle of a cold and rainy December.  

"Maybe you're allergic to the laundry detergent."

The flaky, peeling stage
He gave me a prescription for hydrocortisone cream, and told me to come back if it wasn't gone in a couple of weeks.  While my mother switched to a hypoallergenic detergent, I dutifully applied the cream twice a day.  After a few weeks the blisters had broken open into a watery mess, and then dried up with flaking skin like a sunburn over where the blisters had been.  The final stage was pink and kind of wrinkly new skin.  It looked waterlogged, like the way fingers and toes look after a long swim or bath.  This too would eventually dissipate until the cycle started up again with a new crop of "water blisters."

The cycle never seemed to have any understandable correlation.  Sometimes it would happen during a bad menstrual cycle.  Sometimes after a particularly stressful event.  A few times they cropped up after I'd been sick with a cold virus.   Occasionally they'd show up when things were going great, I was getting plenty of sleep and my periods were normal.  The little blisters were no longer keeping themselves safely hidden in shoes.  They were cropping up on my palms and in between my fingers, too.

Enter the Dermatologists

My mom took me to three different dermatologists in high school who each gave me a different opinion.  One said it was probably fungal.  So I used the antifungal cream he prescribed and (just like before) the blisters eventually broke open, dried up, formed patches of flaky skin,, developed new slightly wrinkly skin and finally healed with no sign anything amiss had happened.

Here we go again... blisters popping up
Another dermatologist said it was probably some kind of atopic eczema or contact dermatitis -- a reaction to an allergen.  Since I had a lot of hay fever symptoms -- I blame the particularly cruel variety of central Texas cedar trees --  he advised using both hydrocortisone cream and an antihistamine if the itching was particularly bad.  I followed these instructions, and the water blisters took the same three weeks to do their thing: break open with watery liquid, dry up, flake, make new skin, be normal.  

I finally received an accurate diagnosis from the third dermatologist my mother took me to see.  He took one look and said, "Oh! Dyshidrotic eczema!  I get the same thing when I am overworked!"  I was elated to have an actual name for this weirdo zombie skin creep!  Maybe now I would have a solution to a problem that was turning into a regular event.

"What's the cure?"  I hopefully asked.

Final wrinkly stage:
Like having pruny post-bath fingers.
"There's no cure,"  the doctor said, thereby breaking my 16 year old heart and convincing me I would have to live with zombie feet and hands for the rest of my life.  "In fact," the doctor solemnly continued, "it will probably get worse."

He sent me home with stronger steroid cream, several sessions under the UV lamp at his office and a suggestion to put my feet in the bright sunlight every time I noticed a new outbreak.  

"Is this related to diet?"  My mother asked.

"Could be, but we don't have any definite studies to back up that hypothesis."

"Is it related to hormones?"  I asked -- because at 16 what isn't related to hormones? 

"Could be," the doctor said, "but again, there are no definitive studies."

Great.  Nothing definitive.  No real solution.  I would just have to live with zombie feet and hands.

Cyclical Blisters...A Rash that Comes Back

As I got older, I noticed that my flares became fewer and farther apart.  Like my mother, I would definitely get a massive patch of it when I drank beer.  College parties, therefore, came with a big price.  

In my 20s I noticed that I would get flares whenever I worked in an office setting.  Was it toner from printers?  Was I allergic to a regular job?

The stages by this point were totally predictable:  my skin would slightly burn, then within a day the water blister patches would form -- sometimes on one hand or foot only but mostly on both hands or feet (and sometimes both hands and both feet.)  Sometimes the itch would be crazy bad.  Other times not so much.  Always the blisters would open, and a watery liquid would come out, or if they didn't open and were deep in my palm, they'd turn into reddish brown dots before flaking.  Then my skin would peel like a sunburn.  Then it would be pink and kind of wrinkly.  Then, normal.  The whole cycle always lasted about 3-4 weeks from blister patches to normal.

Living with Weird Skin...and Other Symptoms

Another flare. 
This is getting really irritating.
In my 30s, I began to really watch what I ate.  I cut out beer -- which made a big difference in the regularity of my dyshidrotic eczema flares, but didn't completely get rid of them.  I went on a low carb diet and noticed a huge improvement, but the flares would still come back.

After the birth of my daughter, I started having even more health issues.  I was short of breath with asthma.  My allergies were chronic.  I had many other rashes besides the occasional dyshidrotic eczema flare: psoriasis, regular garden-variety atopic eczema, lichen simplex, contact dermatitis from many cosmetics and lotions, numular eczema after any virus, pityriasis rosea (you don't even want to know) and even a strange autoimmune cystic inflammation of the sweat glands called hydradenitis supportiva.

Throughout all of this, I went to doctor after doctor, more dermatologists, a nutritionist and an allergist.  Nobody suggested food allergies or intolerances as the root of my skin issues.  I was told that I was allergic to dogs (I didn't have one) and cedar trees (those trees!!!) but not to worry, those allergies probably had nothing to do with my rash.  I was told to eat plenty of whole grains, to stay away from fat, and to use my various prescription creams to control symptoms.  The problem with the creams, however, was that several of them caused me to break out in a rash.

Yes.  I managed to GET a rash when applying a cream to STOP a rash.

It was exhausting.

Gluten?  Really?!

Then one day, I was reading an article about gluten intolerance and it was as if a lightbulb turned on over my head.  I had so many of the symptoms.  Could my chronic "IBS" be wheat related?  Could my shortness of breath?  Could my skin problems?

After talking it over with my doctor, I decided to try a gluten-free diet.

Within three days I had no asthma symptoms.  Within a week all of my skin rashes started to fade.

It was like a new world opened up for me.  Gone was pizza and bread, but also gone was itchy skin and stomach problems.  I stopped getting rashes and I felt better than I had felt in years.  When a year passed with no flare of dyshidrotic eczema (or any rash, for that matter,) I thought I'd found the answer!  I was cured!

Middle Age: Here Comes the Zombie Feet and Hands Again

Those were halcyon days!  I thought my episodes of bubbles and blisters were distant memories.  For almost a decade I lived dyshidrotic eczema-free, proselytizing to all who would listen about the miracle of a gluten-free diet.   Further modifying my diet to a variant of lacto-paleo/Primal eliminated my other creeping autoimmune issues. (No more fibromyalgia pain!)  I then discovered the autoimmune protocol and eliminated nightshade plants (which trigger inflammatory conditions in some people, myself included) and the result was almost miraculous.  I was thriving!  Glowing with health! But best of all... I had clear, smooth hands and feet and didn't even think about my former blistery days.

Until...

I hit perimenopause a few years ago, with all its accompanying health horrors.  For those who aren't familiar with Puberty 2.0 in women, it's like getting hit by a sledgehammer.  Suddenly, I had perpetual PMS.  My face was broken out.  I was jittery and anxious.  Then I was exhausted and depressed. A blood test showed normal values, except my B12 was a little low.  So, I added a substantial sublingual B12 supplement.  I was already eating well, but I added juicing to my daily routine to load up on micronutrients and try to combat the now ever-present fatigue.  I signed up for a farm box delivery of organic veggies, and began juicing beets and greens for daily morning smoothies.  It was a particularly rainy winter, so my mold allergy was in full force, but I didn't take anything and assumed good food and maybe some extra vitamin C would be all I needed. 

Let's Recap:

  • Perimenopause hormones
  • High stress
  • B12 (methylcolbamine) supplementation 
  • High doses of cobalt in daily juiced beets
  • High mold count in the environment

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Apparently, those things all added up to a monster of a DE outbreak.

I'd honestly forgotten the burning hands feeling that preceded a flare.  One day I was sitting at my desk feeling like my hands had superpowers to literally melt steel.  I wondered if it was some bizarre new kind of hot flash that nobody had warned me about.  That night, I saw the familiar blisters forming on both palms.  What?! Why???  By the next day I had probably the worst case of DE I'd ever seen.  Both palms and underside of all ten fingers were completely covered in my hideous "water blisters."  The itch was almost unbearable.  It hurt to type or use my hands or hold the steering wheel of my car.  By that night both feet were covered, too.  The doctor called in a prescription cream (which irritated rather than soothed my super-sensitive skin)  and I was feeling desperate.

Help Me, Internet Research, You're My Only Hope!  

I got busy researching medical journal articles online to try and figure out WHAT HAPPENED to cause this!?  Based on the studies, and examining my diet and environmental situation, I deduced that my likely culprits were the things I listed above.  Medical research enumerated potential causes of dyshidrotic eczema flares: excess cobalt (in this case from my B12 supplementation) and large amounts of beets as well as the hormonal rollercoaster of perimenopause, the added allergen load of environmental mold and high levels of stress.  I immediately started taking Benadryl every 6 hours to combat my mold allergy.   Before, whenever I'd taken antihistamine, my dosage was sporatic.  For  this giant outbreak I set a timer on my phone to remind me, and I made sure to dose every six hours.  I was basically walking in my sleep and needed to practically mainline coffee to stay awake, but the medication eliminated the itch and reduced the redness and inflammation.  It managed to keep most of the blisters from breaking open.  To be honest, being so sleepy also helped with the stress.

I also researched what topically soothes eczema-damaged skin.  Historically, people were told to dip themselves in the sea when they had this affliction.  So, I plunged my hands and feet into sea salt soaks morning and night.  (I tried Dead Sea salts too, but ended up going with plain old sea salt because it was so easy to obtain and I used so much of it.)  I also researched the best ingredients for healing and moisturizing.  Seaweed is a traditional ingredient in natural skin care.  It has been clinically proven to repair, restore and correct.  Neem, Burdock, Bearberry and Vitamins A and E have been proven to soften and soothe dry, irritated, scaling skin.  With all of this in mind, I landed on this combination of natural products to heal my skin and calm the irritation.  I'd read numerous medical articles linking DE with the breakdown of the skin barrier.  These products helped to protect and rebuild that barrier, without any added chemicals to irritate super-sensitive me.

Here it Comes Again!!!

Old blisters peeling...new blisters forming.
The initial outbreak healed in the usual 3-4 weeks, but I immediately began a a crazy new cycle of getting more.  With every high mold day,  with every bite of beets, with every week of PMS ... I'd feel the burn, then see the blisters, then reach for the Benadryl and my creams.  I even discovered a NEW cause: fungal infections elsewhere on the body can cause dyshidrotic eczema to appear on hands or feet, even if the fungal infection isn't anywhere near the hands or feet.  That innocuous little red itchy patch on my toes after walking around barefoot at the pool where my daughter took swimming lessons turned out to be a mild tinea infection, I made a note to pick up some Lotrimin at the drug store but before I had a chance to go, I had a massive DE outbreak.

What was this madness!?

My dermatologist said that yes, "occult fungus elsewhere" was often implicated in DE on the hands and feet.  It's an atopic reaction to the body fighting the fungus.  Not only did this blow my mind, but I made a note that Occult Fungus would be an awesome name for a band, should I ever choose to form one.  (Our first album will be titled Elsewhere.)


Finally Free!

It took me almost a year to calm down the flares with a strict combination of diet, stress management, regular antihistamine use when needed, a focus on clean living and natural hormone balance and an almost obsession for natural skin care.

I can happily report that as of today, I'm dyshidrotic eczema-free.  I'm still in my wonder years of perimenopausal hormone shifts, and I still live in a high mold count city, but I've managed to get my flares under control.   I occasionally feel my hands start to burn and I immediately take Benadryl, slather the natural skin care creams and check for my usual culprits:
Look Ma!  Clear Hands!

  • Am I in a crazy-hormonal surge or wane?  
  • Is the mold count high?  
  • Have I gotten an excess of nickel or cobalt food?  
  • Do I have an occult fungal infection -- mild athlete's foot or a yeast infection?  
  • Is my digestion out of balance?  
All of these things contribute to flares for me.  If I get Benadryl, a ton of sleep, antifungal treatment if needed and plenty of seaweed extract, vitamin E lotion and Bearberry extract cream on my hands and feet I can stop it at the burn and keep the blisters from coming to the surface.  I never need to use prescription creams, and I don't even use over-the-counter hydrocortisone.  I've even heeded my old doctor's advice from decades ago by putting my hands and feet in the sunlight whenever I feel a flare coming on, and I "take to the sea salt waters" with long bath soaks.  Thankfully, the full-blown flares aren't happening anymore.

You CAN Find Solutions to Your Dyshidrotic Eczema!

No matter how bleak you feel or how awful your hands or feet look right now,  you WILL figure out your individual case by looking at the many possible triggers in your life -- many more than I've listed here -- as well as contributing factors that your doctors may be unfamiliar with.   My dermatologist, for example,  had never heard of the supplemental vitamin B12 connection until I showed her the medical articles connecting them with cobalt sensitivity.  She did, however, let me know about the fungal infection connection.

One Bit of Advice...

Be skeptical of online miracle fixes.  I've seen claims that cutting sugar from your diet is all you need to "cure" it.  Maybe cutting sugar fixed that person's problem -- and by all means, cutting sugar is easier than going totally lacto-paleo nightshade free like I have to do -- so feel free to try it.  Maybe sugar was the tipping point for that person's body to react with DE.  But if your DE trigger is occult fungal infection, cutting sugar won't do much more than bum you out when you can't order the New York Original at Cheesecake Factory.

My point is: don't get discouraged if one person's miracle of coconut oil and apple cider vinegar does nothing for you.  My regimen (gluten-free, low cobalt, treating mold allergies with antihistamine and looking for mild fungal infections as a cofactor)  might not work for you, either.  Every case of DE is unique to the person who gets it.

Your best bet is starting with the known triggers and seeing if any of them apply to you.

The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

I found that once I started getting DE flares again, I was forced to confront a lifestyle that while healthier than most with my dietary choices, was rife with stress, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalance and a genuine lack of self-care.  For me, the flares became my body's release valve for whatever else was wrong with it.  Dyshidrotic eczema was an undeniable message for me to make changes in my life.  When it reappeared midlife, it was a wake-up call to further modify my lifestyle.

Can you fix your DE with medication, diet adjustment or trigger elimination alone?  Maybe!  There are many different paths to being DE-free.  But you might find that this disorder offers you a chance to really dig deep and find what you need for a healthier, happier life.  In fixing your DE from the inside out, you might find you fix other health issues that seem unrelated.  If your chronic stress is literally giving you zombie hands, then de-stressing seems like a good idea -- plus it might just make you happier.

Dyshidrotic eczema might be just the thing you need to transform yourself from a zombie into, I don't know, a butterly?  (Note to Self:  Zombie into Butterfly will be the second album released by Occult Fungus.)

Get back to being YOU!!!

Find YOUR Solutions!

First, get a proper diagnosis!  See your doctor -- preferably your dermatologist.  If you don't have access to a doctor or dermatologist, check out these affordable telemedicine solutions.  It is very, very important that you don't try to diagnose yourself, and let me reiterate:

All information on this website is intended for informational purposes only and not intended to substitute for the consultation, diagnosis and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.

If you are officially diagnosed with dyshidrotic eczema, then use this website to find possible strategies to manage this tricky, recurring problem.  Start with the links in my Resources section as a jumping-off place. (At the bottom of the page are links to the search pages of PubMed and Medline.  These offer links to medical journals, and are far more in-depth than regular websites, even trusted medical ones.) 

Watch the video stories in my Video section to see the variety of causes (and solutions) from other DE sufferers.  Explore my library of helpful books in my Wellness section for great reference material not only for skin health but general health, transformation and wellbeing.  Most of all, know that you are not alone with this wretched problem.  Feel free to reach out and tell your story so that others might benefit from the things that have helped you manage this condition.

I solved my DE problem.  You can too.