How I got rid of annoyingly stubborn eczema

I have had this type of eczema on my ring finger midway down, and in between the middle and pinky fingers consistently for a few years. It comes and goes as it pleases but it usually lasts no longer than 2 months. Well, not this year! It started in January and it just went away this August. Eight long freaking months! It was really some annoyingly stubborn eczema. It would be either extremely dry or super “alive.” It got to the point that I could not wet that hand because it seemed that if it was going away, it came back. I just realized it was not going away, it was just getting dry; so it was like a never-ending cycle. Sometimes I wished I could scrape it with a knife and pour something so it would go away forever! Other times I thought if burning those parts of my hand would make it go away… Some nights, I would feel this eczema coming “alive” and the following morning I could see the tiny clear spots under my skin. It is so weird how you could feel something like that, it is kind of hard to explain. Sometimes it was itchy but most times it was not, it was just a weird feeling.

I was desperate.

I read in so many articles that you could put certain ointments that could make it go away, but I also read that it could be diet related or a vitamin deficiency. Well, believe me, no ointment got rid of it or eased it to the point of me feeling it was going away. Diet? I tried to omit some well-known allergens and it stayed the same. I took vitamins every day so I do not know what deficiency I could have had. I meditated over it, accepted it was there but not as a part of me. I sent love to it and hoped it would go away. But no! It decided to stay, maybe because I “hoped” instead of having the firm belief that it was going to go away soon. I did not go to the dermatologist because he would probably just prescribe some steroid cream and I did not want that. My husband suggested that I should stop doing dishes and wetting that hand unnecessarily. It was hard for me because I do not like dishes piling up and my teen daughter was not readily available all the time. My last resort was to try celery juice…

Celery Juice is not something I enjoy as a snack so when I heard about the celery juice and the many benefits it may have, I immediately frowned skeptically. I do not dislike it. I eat it in salads, soups, and other dishes, but raw with peanut butter or cream cheese? Hard pass! I was so desperate that I was willing to try the juice. It was literally my last resort for this stubborn eczema. I bought a juicer because if you blend it then it blends the fiber too and from what I had read, the juice is better because our body benefits right away and does not activate our digestive system (as it would do with blending the celery with all the fiber it has). I was so excited to try it. June 19th was the first day I drank the juice on an empty stomach, 12 oz. I started with 12 oz because the article said I could start slow since I did not know how my body was going to react. I kind of knew I had a strong stomach so I did 12 instead of 8 ounces. However, I do not have a gallbladder so I really had no clue what was going to happen. From what I had read, some side effects include loose bowel movements or cramps. I got mild cramps but not the first. The following days I continued with the recommended 16 ounces of celery juice. Also important, I had to withhold eating anything for 30 minutes after I drank the juice. I follow everything to the t. Also, against my will, I stopped doing dishes and let them pile up, a big shout out to my teen for doing them all the time! The only time I would wet that hand for a long period (and I felt it got worse every time) was when I showered. Even the soap would make it uncomfortable, so I would have to hurry up and rinse the soap from that hand…

It gets worse before getting better?

Three weeks went by and it seemed that this stubborn eczema got worse! But now it was not where it was at the beginning, it was surrounding it and I got some on my other hand too! I got so frustrated but decided to keep going with it as I thought it could be me detoxing or some stuff like that. I was grasping for hope. What I did notice though was that my chin started to clear up from some cystic acne I had and it would not go away or it would come back on the same spots. At the same time, after 2 weeks passed, I came across a milk thistle bottle of pills I had so I decided to take those too everyday. The only cream that I used was one that said it was for eczema and was thick and creamy. It was the only thing the dryness of my fingers found comforting. In July, since I still had it, although I felt it was really going away this time, I researched some more and found that it could be some metal toxicity. I was not wearing my wedding ring since I got this eczema in January, so I could not think what other metal I was coming into contact with on an everyday basis. Suddenly, I remembered that the only constant thing I was still doing was drinking water from a stainless steel Built brand water bottle. I decided to stop using it. Could that be leaching some toxic metal? I do not know but I still have to find a new water bottle to drink from.

And then it got better!

Finally, almost to the end of August, that annoyingly stubborn eczema was not so stubborn and went away. I am so happy! It is September now and I am starting to do some dishes but I do not want to go full-on just yet. I want to be cautious so that it will not return, at least not anytime soon. My ring is still on my ring holder because I want to clean it thoroughly. I am still taking my vitamins and the milk thistle. Also, the celery juice is a habit now; however, I drink 8-12 oz daily and sometimes I skip a day for a total of 1-2 skipped days a week.

This is not medical advice, it is just what worked for me:

Stopped unnecessary wetting of the affected area and dry it immediately

Celery juice 16 oz everyday on empty stomach

Milk thistle 2 pills of 160milligrams each everyday

Rich/creamy eczema cream after drying hands and as needed

Getting rid of any metals that I could be wearing or drinking from (just in case I stopped drinking from my stainless steel water bottle)

I wish I could pinpoint what exactly worked for me but I know that if I ever get it again I’ll repeat this or start with one and see if it works on its own. Have you had such stubborn eczema? What have you done to get rid of it? I would love to read any comments on whether you have had persistent or “regular” eczema.