I suffered from dishydrotic eczema on my left hand for over a year, where nothing I applied on my skin could break the cycle of itching, scratching and bleeding. This is the earliest photo I have of my left hand which began developing over a year ago. It started just at the tip of my pointer, but with every round of itching, scratching, bleeding and healing, the area of the vesicles spread.
At its worst in July this year (2015), the top left corner of my hand was covered in horrible itchy blisters that were constantly in danger of bursting and bleeding, making it impossible to do normal daily tasks like washing dishes, or even having a shower, without bracing myself for pain:
However, the affected skin on my hand miraculously transformed in just 15 days to becoming practically normal after I began taking fish oil supplements–at triple the recommended dosage. I started this regimen 15 days back, and here is what my hand looks like today:
My skin is supple again, albeit thickened with the constant regrowing it was subject to. No more vesicles (blisters) can be seen, and I haven’t felt the urge to scratch in 5 days straight!
So I must concede that all my efforts at researching and experimenting with essential oils, blends and salves to help fix the problem were ineffective, compared to how well supplements worked. It has reinforced my conviction that it is well worth the effort to try and address chronic skin issues by looking at nutrition first, before turning one’s attention to topical applications.
Here is what I have been taking:
The recommended dosage is 1 x 1000mg capsule after every meal, 3 times a day. My thinking was that if my skin was already on the dry side in general, I was already lacking in essential fatty acids that are needed to maintain a healthy mantle. So first I doubled the dosage, which did result in some improvements in my eczema, but it was only when I tripled it (so I was taking 9 capsules a day) that my skin really improved by leaps and bounds.
Another consideration was a possibility that I was lacking in certain minerals, so I have also been taking some multivitamins and zinc supplements to go with the fish oils. This is the multivitamin which I am OK with:
And here’s the B Complex and zinc supplement I take:
From what I can tell, it is only when I forget to take the fish oil over 2-3 meals that my skin starts looking (and feeling) irritated and inflamed again. If I don’t take the multivites or zinc, I’m still good.
I don’t have all the scientific explanations as to why this worked for me–but I really, really hope that it can help you or someone you know who may be suffering the same condition as I was.
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7 comments
I found this post after getting bad to severe dishydrotic eczema every spring. I live in Canada and part of the late May early June change in seasons is a flare up of dishydrotic eczema on my hands (bad) and feet (worse). I’ve had eczema my entire life and only DE the last decade or so. I started the Omega-3 program described here with great results. My skin is less dry in general and I have less flare ups. For the seasonal DE blisters I believe it does help with prevention and minimizing it, as well as healing it (about 4-weeks from flare up to recovery). I take it daily not just in the spring as I feel my eczema through the year has much less tendency to flare up. Wish I knew about Omega 3 supplements years ago.
I am going to try this. I am desperate. My hand is so bad, sore, red, bleeding. Thank you for sharing!
Thank You.. have the same issues in the same left hand for over 2 years ! Need some relief as the creams are not working.. will try.. bless your heart for sharing!
Please be careful too much fish oil can raise blood sugar and put you at risk for a heat attack as well. Please consult your doctor Dosage is on the bottle for a reason
Starting this regiment as of 27th of January 2024. Will comment again in 15 days or so