Mum-of-two Annie, 35, is an administrator from Hertfordshire who's hand eczema left her with swollen red and cracked hands after repeated steroid use.
Annie says;
“As a mum to two young kids, I have to use my hands a lot to wash everything and my hand eczema, which I first got when I was a teen during exam stress, went from being infrequent and manageable to regularly splitting open and infected. After years of using steroid creams to control my hand eczema, my skin had thinned so much it would just crack open.
In moments of desperation I've tried just about everything on my hands to try and get rid of my hand eczema
Unbelievably, I once applied Vicks Vapour rub to my hand eczema which cooled it but was actually doing it more harm than good!
I also once doused my hands in Mentholated Spirit which is a folk remedy from Mauritius, which smelt so strong that my boss at the time had to pull me to the side and ask if I was drinking at work.
I was prescribed Betnovate steroid cream for years for my hand eczema but it thinned my skin so badly, that about four months ago, I had a flare up on my palms and my palms literally split open and got infected. I had to take antibiotics to clear up the infection for my cracked palms and cracked fingertips, which had both become red, swollen and infected.
During my hand eczema infection, I felt so down in the dumps I just wanted to cry. Having a shower or washing my hands became such a painful task and having two young kids, I had to constantly wash my hands after changing nappies, food preparation etc. It was complete agony. I didn’t want to see anyone or even leave the house because my hands looks so awful and I was in so much pain.
After the infection cleared up I really didn’t want to go back to using steroid creams on my hand eczema so when I read an article about a salve made from donkey milk and a special turmeric butter called Hydrosil Turmeric Butter & Hypoallergenic Milk Salve which had helped another mum like me with really bad hand eczema, I decided to do a bit of research on it.
It’s true what they said on the website that donkey milk has been used since the Egyptian times as a treatment for eczema and even now they give it to children with eczema and allergies to drink and turmeric is a well-researched anti-inflammatory which I knew, I just didn't know that putting it in a butter made it even more effectuve for use on the skin. The historic and current evidence of the ingredients along with the rave reviews I found convinced me to give the hand eczema salve a try. I also liked the fact that it was so natural. Eczema creams often say they are natural and hypoallergenic but in fact contain all sorts of chemicals.
I know it sounds so cliche, but this hand eczema salve worked straight away. It gave instant relief from the itching and soothed the soreness really quickly. In the last month, it has completely healed the palm of my hand and the redness on my right hand has calmed right down so I dont feel so self-conscious about it when I go out. The burning and itching on my hands has hugely improved and it no longer stings when I shower or wash my hands. Its honestly such a relief and is one of the best creams for hand eczema I have ever tried and has made a huge difference to the daily quality of my life.
Other than discovering this salve, the most helpful advice I have been given by anyone medical, was by a nurse at my GP surgery who told me to wear white cotton gloves in bed after I applied whatever hand eczema cream I was using. It realy helps makes the cream stay on and penetrate deeper into the skin. It's not a very sexy look but it has helped a lot. I now also never wash my hands with anything chemical and only ever use E45 handwash plus the Hydrosil Salve."
