hello all

my left elbow's skin has peeled to the point where there is raw red skin exposed; i get a small amount of psoriasis. my right elbow gets like this too. some other areas now and then, but the elbows more than anywhere else.

is there anything OTC that works well? i'm using eucerin, but is there anything better? should i being using steroid creme?

i do need to make an appointment with the dermatologist, so i could ask him at that appointment, but thought i'd ask here.

Steroid cream is what all doctors will give you. But, the stuff thins the skin. I use sudacrme and also aloe-vera cream and Hirondel cream. Sudacreme is not available in the US (English product - brilliant. And also great for treating 'scratches' on horses).

I'd vote against steroid cream too - for that thinning reason. I'd probably go for something quite thick and gunky and oily (to really get into that dry flaky stuff), but if there are raw patches you might need to watch what you put on.

not sure what sudacreme is, but it might be largely cetamacrogol - thats a really basic cream that my GP recommended years ago - its what they use a a "base" for other things, but its actually quite simple and good on its own. You might need to ask at a compounding pharmacy, because it isn't high tech enough to be a branded item.

Here, I'd go and talk to a pharmacist about that kind of thing and see what they recommended. Is that something you could do in the US?

Just found a tube: Sudocrem - ingredients (largest quantity first): water, liquid paraffin, zinc oxide, paraffin, lanolin, cera microcristallina, sorbitan sesquioleate, benzyl benzoate, cera alba, benzyl alcohol, linalyl acetate, propylene glycol, benzyl cinnamate, lavender oil, citric acid, BHA

- so mostly just a paraffin and lanolin thing.

I got prescribed steroid cream for my Psoriasis, and specifically for the inverse type I have in my groin. (lol, sorry about that but I think its pretty funny to tell people thats where it is )

And yeah, it thins the skin, but man did it work wonders! -From sore and inflamed to dry and painfree in 2 days flat.

I get that on my knees and it's the strangest thing. It looks as if I fell and skid on my knees! There is something that I eat that causes it, and I haven't figured out what it is yet. At one point I was eating cocoa butter and when I stopped it went away, but I had it again in June but I wasn't eating cocoa butter then. I'm on my short list of food right now, so maybe if I feel brave I will start adding stuff back in and see if I can figure it out.

This time of year is always the hardest for me as far as being able to eat food. By November food starts to bother me less, December is great, and January it starts to go downhill again. Strange.

my first thought was Aloe.. but not the cheap stuff. go to healt food store and get a good aloe gel or use the plant straight If you can get one.
I shoudl google how to not kill and how to successfully propogate one.. I have a gangly horrible thing that sent out 2 shoots.. i transplanted them but they dont look like they will make it... wonder if there is a thread for aloe vera care??

yes, i have the good cold processed aloe. >99% pure. i use it a lot. its one of the things i've been putting on my elbows.

I know, right! that's exactly what it looks like.



hope you figure out what it is

well, at least you've got the steroid cream!

the other thing that works, oral steroids. last week while on the methylpred, my skin was never lovelier!

thanks for the info on the steroid cream, had forgotten that.

thick and gunky: eucerin may be as good as it gets. its a thick emollient.

Water, Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

if something is very raw, eucerin is one of the few things that doesn't cause pain. even aloe can be painful on something raw.

yes, good idea; will ask my compounding pharmacist as well. he's the one that recommended the KIP gel to me. he's very knowledgeable.

thanks molly, think you were the one to warn about the thinning skin from steroid cremes in the past.

been using aloe and eucerin. from this thread, sounds like i'm probably doing the best i can with it. though wondering if vitamin E capsules wold help?

I can't vouch for the product, but sudocrem is available in the US: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...sl_776zwfxcoo_e

thanks stormy

That led to a great site: BritsSuperstore - international delivery. All kinds of goodies, including my fave Sudocrem (have a very nasty invert psoriasis, Sudocrem helps. Terrif.)

cemc gave you the ingredients in the Sudocrem, so, IF looks OK, then can give it a try. Can never say what one is going to react to, and each is so different from the other...

Hope you can sort Sue.

Sue, I've heard of folks breaking open vit E capsules and putting the oily stuff straight on skin. No sure what the result was though.

thanks molly,

i think what i've taken away from this is that there's really nothing magical except maybe the steroid creme but it has the side effects, but that a bunch of the ointments are good, and that my eucerin may be as good as others. i do know when i get the touch of psoriasis around my eyelids, eyebrows or on my hips or such, that eucerin works quit well, but that stuff is scabby whereas this elbow went right down to raw skin which had never really happened too often, just when the skin over my SI freaked out one winter. but if the eucerin doesn't cut it, i'll try your suggested stuff.

I know people that use it quite successfully on babies' diaper rash, so that's why i was thinking about it. i do have capsules at home to try.

but the constant application of eucerin seems to be doing the trick.

i think i get it on my elbows but not knees cause i use lotion on my legs after i shower every day, but really didn't lotion my arms much; now i am and that's helping.

Sue here is an odd suggestion but it seems to work. THe ever lovely Diane had some issues with her skin, nothing major. A friend of ours is a vitamin D advocate and has this very cool toy.

It is a near infrared light machine. (Not its technical name, but I don't remember everything so well) Anyway in 3-4 treatments her skin was good as new in the affected area.

I have read ads about folks who offer the treatment and some sound like quackery (they read like the light fixes everything from pain to flat tires) BUT my friend offered the use of his machine not pushing the possible outcome. His machine is about $20,000.00 but he runs tanning salons. He kept it for himself because his dad had ciruclation issues that the machine helped.

If you can find the machine at a DOc or place by you it is a chnace that might give great results. I will talk to John and get the exact name of the machine and therapy when his is back from vacation.

Steve - Not quackery. Light is used for psoriasis. Supposed to be very efficacious. Used by many dermatologists for a variety of dermy probs. Haven't tried it myself- yet. But mine is so light anyways.

Hirsh Dermatology: Ultraviolet Light Therapy
www.hirshdermatology.com/uvlight.htm
Ultraviolet light is a safe and successful treatment option for many skin conditions including psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and many others. We are pleased to offer ...
Photodynamic Therapy for the Dermatologist
emedicine.medscape.com/article/1121517-overview - Similarto Photodynamic Therapy for the Dermatologist
1 Jun 2012 ... Overview; Mechanisms of Actions; Photosensitizers; Light Sources; Uses of Photodynamic Therapy in Dermatology; Adverse Effects and ... http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1121517-overview

Molly I didn't mean to infer in any way its quackery. Its is working wonders for Diane along with some sort of ultraviolet light. Its just that like any tool given to mankind. Some folks turn something beneficial into a scam by advertising it as a panacea. I have seen ads with machines that clearly are insufficient claiming to fix all.

THe right machine with the right person using it and advising you can be very effective as Diane has found out.

molly and steve,

i think i can clear up the "quackery thing" a bit.

the real thing is not quackery and as you said, does work for a number of medical conditions; have considered it myself for things, the enthesitis i think.

however, i've also seen these things advertised for next to nothing. but upon closer inspection, its not the real deal, and thus these impostors are "quackery".

my chiro and i have talked about this; he gave me the details on what exactly to look for to make sure its the real thing.

maybe what i'm thinking of is not exactly the same light, but still the distinction between the real thing and a cheap imitation may apply.

never thought about the light for the skin stuff; thanks for the suggestion.

started using udder cream (utterly smooth brand) last night. things seemed to take a dramatic turn for the better today.

coincidence?

i googled udder cream and psoriasis and found a psoriasis forum where they were discussing udder cream favorably.

someone also mentioned eucerin.

so, i guess there's no big secret weapon out there. rather a number of things that work to some extent.


udder creams main ingredient is allantoin then dimethicone then lanolin oil.

Good heavens, yes. Remember a chum talking about udder cream, years ago. Can't remember what she used it for. (Wonder IF they have it in France...? Probably not!) Will see if I can still get from UK. Good one Sue. Though Sudocrem is very good indeed. But nowt like having a good arsenal of creams to fight the ole dermy problems!

Just read this thread. I swear by my Gold Bond 'Healing w/Aloe, w/vit A,C, &E.' I like the pump dispenser, too. Finally found a smaller tube version that fits in my lab coat pocket at work. When you wash hands 10-20 times in 8 hrs, dry skin is a problem.

I have P on the elbows. If I can keep the elbows moisturized, maybe the P won't return as quickly. If it comes back, I slather on the triamcinolone steroid cream to knock it back, then stop the steroid when the skin heals. Hope it doesn't thin out the skin if I only use it when the P is flaring. And maybe the Simponi will help the P along with the PsA. (almost time for 4th injection!)

i have a small tin of pure shea butter in my purse for every time i wash my hands. i have no idea how others wash their hands without needing moisturizer every single time. i could never.......

in the lab, the stockroom carries or at least carried (they're always removing something from the inventory) a very nice cream from VWR, softguard. doesn't say what's in it, but the way it forms a barrier, think it contains dimethicone like the udder cream; that's what it feels like.

as for the P on your elbows, think the simponi should help. my elbows were great while on the methylpred. now the left one is going through a bit of a rough patch; but it usually doesn't last too long. just gotta keep it lathered up.

Some inspectors from the hospital came through the lab a few months ago and objected to the pump bottles of lotion/cream that sat by the big sinks in chemistry, hematology, micro and immunology. Mostly they were 'donations' by various people who were tired of dry hands. We took turns bringing in bottles (that's how I learned of the Gold Bond lotion.) to use since the hospital never would put up a dispenser on the wall by the soap dispenser. There are some scattered through the hospital, just not on our floor or in the lab. So the inspectors made the lab director remove the bottles and we have to keep our lotion in our lockers or lab coat pockets now. <sigh> My next tube/bottle will be the udder cream.

And the lab will be moving out of the hospital in a few months. There will still be an inpatient lab, but most of the non-stat testing will be done at the new location. I haven't decided which part I'll be working in since there haven't been any specifics given as to what sort of hours the shifts will be in the new lab. I'd like to get on days where I'm home by 7 or 8pm. Hubby would be so much more happy. And maybe we could get lotion on the sink counter without ruffling mgmt's feathers.

I'm hoping the P stays gone with the Simponi. 4th shot next week--the day before my trip. Only 10 more days. Woohoo.