I have had a slew of skin problems ranging all the way from eczema to perioral dermatitis. I’ve had fungal acne, I’ve had unexplained rashes—truly, I’ve had just about everything. If you guys want more content on the different skin conditions I’ve had and how I helped fix them, please let me know in the comments.
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Alright, let’s travel back in time. We’re in Indianapolis with a six-year-old Rudy, and she has horrible, horrible redness on the crooks of her elbows. My mom is a nurse, and she pretty much knew right away something was off. We went to the doctor and was diagnosed with eczema as a child. My struggle with eczema has come and gone many, many times since then, but pretty much every winter, it comes back in some capacity and on a different area of my body.
The main places that I have struggled with eczema have been, obviously, the crooks of my elbows, behind my knees, on my lower back, and on the crooks of my neck. For many years leading up to college, I just used my steroid cream, which was prescribed by my dermatologist growing up, and it helped get rid of the problem momentarily. Then it would always come back. If you don’t know a lot about steroids and prescription steroids, steroids help get rid of irritation by attacking it. It helps in the short term, but it’s not a long-term solution for any skin condition.
But I, as a 19-year-old, didn’t know that and continued to use my steroids way more than I was supposed to. That’s another thing that needs to be talked about in the dermatology world—the fact that we are prescribed a lot of things but not really told how to use them or how not to use them. So, I just used it every time I noticed something was getting red or itchy, and I started using it almost every single day. You’re really not supposed to use a steroid cream more than every day for two weeks at a time, and then you need to give yourself a break because your skin can get conditioned. It thins your skin out, it can make you susceptible to sunburns easily—there are just a lot of reasons why you don’t want to continue to apply steroids for a long time.
Again, as I said, I didn’t know this, and by the time I moved to Nashville and was in my early 20s, I was applying my steroid cream constantly. I was applying it to my elbows, the back of my knees, and my neck. It was just a little out of control.
So here’s what happened that changed everything for me: I started noticing small little red dots around my mouth. This was in maybe 2016. Having no knowledge of skincare at the time, I was like, “Oh, I’ll just put my steroid creams on it.” If you are a big skincare fanatic or you have eczema, you know how dangerous it is to apply steroid cream to your face. It is not recommended. Dermatologists tell you never to use it on your face, and there are a lot of reasons why.
I didn’t know that. I didn’t even really know that my cream was a steroid. I just knew that it was something that was supposed to help with my eczema. So, I started applying my cream—my steroid cream—around my mouth to the small spots that I was getting. It would help for a few days, and then it would get worse, and then it would help for a few days, and then it would get worse.
I finally went into the dermatologist and was like, “What is this? What’s going on?” Honestly, together we really couldn’t figure it out. So, I started doing my own research. After being prescribed antifungal treatments that made it worse and tretinoin that made it worse, I think we both understood that this was not acne and it was something very different. Me being the person that I am, I started researching like a crazy woman. I pretty much found very quickly that I was dealing with steroid-induced perioral dermatitis.
This essentially means that when I was applying my steroid cream to my neck or wherever and I wasn’t washing my hands and then putting on my makeup, I had been applying little bits of steroids to my face for months. Then, when I started applying it directly to my face, it caused a dermatitis reaction that you get from wearing steroids on your face. Obviously, the number one thing to do when this happens if you’re having steroid-induced perioral dermatitis is to stop using the steroids. So, I stopped using steroids cold turkey. It was a huge shift in my eczema and in my life. My perioral dermatitis flared like crazy because my skin was literally in drug withdrawals, and then it cleared completely. No bumps, no redness—a lot of the acne on my face went away because my skin was so irritated from using steroids.
But because of that, my eczema flared more than ever. It became embarrassing. I noticed these huge welts on the back of my legs to the point where I was scratching my legs so hard that I was scarring, bruising, and bleeding inside my sheets at night because I could not stop scratching. At that point, I had sworn off steroids forever. I was like, “I don’t need steroids to handle this. I can figure this out.” I went through so many different things to try and fix it, but really none of them worked. Applying coconut oil, body butter, and this and that—none of it really worked.
Honestly, I didn’t get it under control until I started watching Dr. Dray’s videos. I started researching eczema just like I was researching my perioral dermatitis because I wanted a way to fix it without using steroids. I have a different relationship with steroids now, and we’ll get into that. But I pretty much found a routine in my life and my body care that has almost eradicated eczema from my life. I want to share those tips with you and these very, very inexpensive products that have helped me along the way.
The first thing I did was go back to the dermatologist to talk about what was happening with my body because I knew that what I was trying to do at home was not working. The back of my knees were starting to scar, sweat, and hurt constantly, and I was just in pain. So, I went back in, and of course, they prescribed a steroid. This is how much they gave me. This is my steroid cream, and this is a tub. I mean, for someone who was scarred from using steroids, scarred because I was so nervous about perioral dermatitis, they prescribed me a tub this big. It’s about as big as my head, and I was like, “Okay, well, I guess it’s pretty bad.” I will never go through this. I can’t imagine anyone ever going through this much steroid cream. This is insane.
Back to the point—she prescribes me the steroid cream, and I was like, “I really don’t want to use that. I’ve had such a bad experience with perioral dermatitis. What do I do?” She was like, “You need to use this for the recommended time, the way you’re supposed to use it, and then we’ll talk about body care and how to help it from coming back.” So, I did it. I used the steroid cream, and within two weeks, the eczema was gone because that’s what steroids do. As I mentioned, the problem with steroids is that the cream does not keep it from coming back. After you have eradicated it because of your giant tub of steroids, it’s your job now to take care of your skin and hydrate your skin so that it can actually stay calm.
If you’re watching this video, I assume you already know what eczema is. But if you’re just curious and wondering, eczema is basically when your skin is so insanely dry it cannot hold on to any moisture. It causes redness, drying rashes—it’s just a really uncomfortable, very itchy, and dry experience. So, because our sensitive and dry body skin cannot hold on to water, we have to fill it with water and clamp it, suck that water in, and really put something on top to make sure that it does not evaporate, which is the biggest problem that people with eczema have.
I dove into all of this research, watching Dr. Dray’s videos, learning about how to keep moisture in the skin. This is my perfect routine that I have started doing. This may not work for you, but if you are at a loss of what to do and how to help your body eczema, these are the tips and the products that I want to recommend you try out. If it doesn’t work for you, I totally understand, but give it a shot and let me know if it makes a difference.
First off, we have to eradicate the eczema originally, which is through a steroid treatment. If you’re anti-steroid, I understand. You
I also wanted to touch on a few lifestyle changes that have really helped me manage my eczema. It’s not just about what you put on your skin, but also about how you take care of your body from the inside out.
1. Diet and Hydration: Staying hydrated is key. I make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep my skin hydrated from the inside. I’ve also noticed that certain foods can trigger my eczema, so I try to avoid dairy and highly processed foods. Adding omega-3 supplements or foods rich in omega-3s like salmon and flaxseeds has also been beneficial.
2. Stress Management: Stress can be a huge trigger for eczema flare-ups. I practice mindfulness and meditation to help manage my stress levels. Even just taking a few deep breaths when I’m feeling overwhelmed can make a big difference.
3. Gentle Clothing: Wearing soft, breathable fabrics like cotton helps reduce irritation. I avoid wool and synthetic materials that can aggravate my skin.
4. Humidifiers: During the winter months, the air can be very dry, which can exacerbate eczema. I use a humidifier in my bedroom to keep the air moist and help prevent my skin from drying out.
Before I wrap up, I want to emphasize the importance of being patient and kind to yourself throughout this journey. Managing eczema can be frustrating and sometimes it feels like nothing is working. But remember, healing takes time and it’s okay to have setbacks. Celebrate the small victories and keep pushing forward.
