Managing Eczema in the Winter with Eczema Honey

Ever since I was a baby I’ve struggled with eczema.

Side note before we begin - if you are interested in buying any of the products I am going to mention in the rest of this blog, click this link to receive 10% off Eczema Honey! Okay, let’s dive right in.

Eczema is a skin condition that “causes the skin to become itchy, irritated, inflamed, or have a rash-like appearance,” and that’s if you’re lucky. When I was a baby, that was the standard for my eczema, but as I got older, my eczema only got worse. In elementary school, my eczema took a turn for the worse and went from only being on my cheek, to be all over my body. The biggest spot of eczema I had was on my left calf. I remember one instance where it got so bad, that during the middle of my basketball game, I was resting on the bench and fiercely scratching my itchy, 4-inch in diameter patch of eczema to the point of bleeding. I was so embarrassed!

Along with this big patch of eczema on my leg, I also had multiple smaller patches on both my arms and on my hands. I was itching all the time, my eczema started to scab over, and I felt like I looked so hideous for having these rashes all over my body. I was so ashamed of the eczema on my arms that I would never wear a tank top or wear shirts with sleeves that weren’t long enough to cover my eczema spots.

I tried the various home remedies, but eventually, it got to the point that I was prescribed ointment to help soothe my eczema. The doctor’s prescription worked for a bit, but it was only a quick fix to a lifelong problem. If I stopped using the cream for a day or two, my eczema would come back in full force. To this day, I still have a tube of doctor’s prescribed ointment on my nightstand to use when my eczema gets real bad, like it has been this Fall and Winter.

Luckily, as I got older, the eczema on my legs and arms cleared up and I am so thankful that I only have light scarring on my arms and no scarring on my legs! Unfortunately, my huge problem area is with my hands. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had really bad eczema on my hands. It covers my fingers, the backs of my hands, and worst of all, in the cracks between my fingers. Sometimes I have breakouts so bad that my skin literally cracks and I get a burning sensation that a million times worse than average itchiness. I’ve been managing alright for most of my life by using the cream from my doctor constantly, but this year, I needed to find a solution for two main reasons.

The first reason is that I finally learned how bad these eczema ointments are! I learned that they’re made with the ointment is actually a topical steroid that essentially starts stripping your skin with long-term use (and I’ve been using them for like, 15 years), and can even cause spider veins! As if this wasn’t reason enough to stop using my topical steroid and search for a safer alternative, my excessive use of hand sanitizer sealed the deal. All of my hand washing has been drying out my hands, causing my eczema to get worse, and then when my eczema gets worse, my skin starts to get more itchy, I start scratching, my skin cracks, and once my skin cracks it’s game over. Have you ever used hand sanitizer while having a paper cut on your finger? Do you know that pain? Well, take that pain and multiply it by 10 because that is the major pain and burning I feel every single time I sanitize my hands during this pandemic (which could be 10-20 times a day when I am working at my office).

After months of dealing with the burn, I couldn’t take it anymore! I had to do something, so I started researching clean, organic, eczema products and stumbled upon a few brands. The one that stuck out to me most was Eczema Honey because they made a scent-free hand sanitizer, specifically geared for people dealing with eczema.

Not gonna lie, when I bought the hand sanitizer, I had my doubts. Could it really be effective and not burn me? Fortunately, all of my doubts were proved wrong! I tried out the hand sanitizer on my hands, cracked skin, and all and it barely burned at all! There was a slight burn that lasted about a second or two, but it was completely bearable compared to the 30 second burning of Purell or any other sanitizer. On top of that goodness, Eczema Honey’s hand sanitizer doesn’t even reek of alcohol! There’s nothing worse than opening up your hand sanitizer and having your entire car or office reek of cheap vodka for the rest of the day! BOOOOO!

It’s pretty clear that I loved this product, so it should come as no surprise that I went back to Eczema Honey and bought more of their products. I got a couple of bottles of hand soap, their hand and foot soak, the lotion stick, anti-itch aloe spray, and lip balm! After a month of using Eczema Honey products, I’ve already seen a noticeable difference in the appearance of my eczema on my hands and my skin is starting to heal. The best part about this is that these are just alternative, gentle products that I can use daily and can help me put my topical steroid cream to rest!

I just started my eczema healing journey, so I will keep you updated as I progress, regress, and even try out new brands. So, I hope this blog gave you a little insight on eczema and could even help you start to heal your own eczema. I’d love to hear your stories of dealing with eczema and please feel free to share any tips or tricks you may have in the comments below! Remember click this link to receive 10% off Eczema Honey!