lemma health

Hey folks, I'm a scientist, although this isn't my field. A family member has a diagnosed cobalt allergy and bad hand eczema, potentially associated with it. I wondered if anybody had any info on Vitamin B12 deficiency/overabundance and persistent eczema (hands). This link suggests oral B12 ingestion can cause this. Therefore could a reduction of dietary B12, potentially, reduce the eczema?(https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/allergy-to-cobalt/). Conversely, B12 deficiencies have been associated with legions and such, therefore might the cause be that the sufferer is actually not having enough B12 (they have low intakes of dairy and meat).

I have had eczema since I was 6, and never grown out of it. I have tried every topical cream, which none seem to help besides hydrocortisone only helping very little. Prednisone tapers, which only helped for the days I was on it. I have been to an allergist and dermatologist with no luck. I am now and have been on Dupixent for 2 years, I have seen no improvement. I have tried skin care targeted for eczema like eczema honey, cereve eczema line, and everything under the sun. I slug my face with vaseline every night and pop 100 mg of hydroxyzine for the itching, though still wake up in the middle of the night to re apply because my skin is flaking and so dry. Im super insecure of it, and just tired of trying to get rid of it I have it on my neck, inner arms, hands, back of my knees, around my ears ( so bad to the point where my earlobes are cut), between my eyebrows, and on top of my lips. I have no allergies and Im stuck at a point where I have no idea what to do. Some days it's just dry, but other days its red, flaking and weeping. I use vitamins like collagen, b12, vitamin D but none have improved my eczema. I have a lot of stomach problems (GERD, Peptic Duodenitis) and wonder if there is any link? Has anyone noticed if their diet is a link to it? Any tips would be appreciated it. It feels like my skin is in a constant flare up, there is not one day I go without dealing with my eczema. I'm so tired of it.

I'm 24 and I have been suffering with intense facial eczema for 6 months now. I have asthma and allergies so I guess it was only a matter of time until I developed the complete triad. I had a blood test that indicated high levels of reaction to dust mites. So I have a dehumidifier since they can't survive in low humidity and I have a HEPA filter. I also have a mattress cover and pillow covers and I have sprayed my whole bedroom with be bug spray which also kill dust mites. I have a cat and a ferret and I live on the West Coast of Canada so it's pretty humid. I also supplement vitamin D, B12, probiotics, and I take fish oil. I have ordered L-glutamine and quercetin complex as I've seen people and studies claiming those can help lessen flare-ups. I also ordered "Lorna Vanderhaeghe Celadrin Super Rich Skin Therapy Cream" because it had good reviews so I'm hoping it might at least soothe things. I've also tried colloidal oatmeal creams and manuka honey. I mainly get it on my face which really fuels my depression as I always used to have a perfect complexion, maybe this is my karma for avoiding teenage acne! The worst areas are my eyelids (which also swell up), around my mouth and philtrum (this area tends to get the scaliest and weeps), my neck, forehead, and ears. I try to only use steroid cream when my eyelids swell up a lot or the border of my lips starts weeping, otherwise, I prefer protopic even though it's pricey. Before this hit me I had a pretty complete skincare routine with active ingredients, a chemical exfoliator once a week, SPF every day and now it feels like I worked so hard to have nice skin just for all of it to be snatched away from me suddenly. I'm having a really hard time psychologically coming to terms with the fact that this is just another way I will have to fight my own immune system, my body already forces me to fight to breathe but I guess that wasn't bad enough. My flare-ups were really bad on the coast and being stuck inside for quarantine was not working for me no matter how much I cleaned and scrubbed my apartment, which is an older building, so my mom made me come back to the dry prairie and stay with her... it only took a week now and I'm having flare-ups again. They arent as violent here but I'm still itchy and depressed and angry. Being as proactive as I can and researching the condition makes me feel at least slightly in control but I just don't know what to do with all of this anger! I act and now I'm scared that I will end up shying away from auditioning and performing because I'm suddenly all patchy and scaly and red and nasty looking. Tl;Dr- Does anyone have any advice for a new sufferer, products, supplements, mental exercises to come to terms with the diagnosis?

Hi there, I saw an old conversion about eczema and vitamin B12 and wanted to ask if anyone had the same experience as me. Unfortunately this conversion was already closed so I couldn't comment, so I'm just starting a new one. Here we go. I had the 'typical' type of eczema when I was younger. Like in my arm bends, dry red patches that were a bit itchy and uncomfortable. But I managed to get that completely under control with a healthier diet. And didn't really had problems with eczema for a few years. Then I had Vitamin B12 injections in 2015 because I supposedly had a deficiency and an enzyme missing to absorb it from food or pills. Which turned out to be a wrong diagnose. Anyhow, just after the first injection of B12 I started to get some eczema on my hands and after I had the third injection I developed a super itchy rush all over my body. With lots of steroid cream it calmed down a bit. But since then, specially in summer, I have really bad eczema on my hands and feet. After some research I found out it's dyshidrotic eczema. I never had anything like that before and it's really limiting my life. Sometimes it's so bad, I can't touch a thing. I had a patch test done a couple of years ago and that showed that I'm allergic to cobalt. As cobalt is part of vitamin B12, I'm now wondering if the syntacticly produced Vitamine B12 that I got injected had caused all of this. Please let me know if anyone of you has experienced something similar. I've read an article from 2008 that some doctors were making a study to find out if a low cobalt diet would help with this type of eczema. And in the article they say 'There are multiple reports detailing reactions to injections of the synthetically derived preparation of B12 ...' Here the link: [http://aaifnc.org/Documents/symposium\_2018/addendum/LowCobaltDiet.pdf](http://aaifnc.org/Documents/symposium_2018/addendum/LowCobaltDiet.pdf) So it seems like it has happened before. Thank you guys for reading! Sara

Hi I will give you the background story first .Any information you can help me with I’d appreciate! It started small on one finger. This was in summer time 5 years ago. At the time I ate a load of dairy cheese products and quite a lot of wheat. Every time I’d eat wheat i’d have terrible stomach pains and aches so after I while I realised I was allergic to wheat but found the transition to gluten free hard at the time. After a couple of months of bad flair ups , I noticed a pattern.every time a ate cheese my fingers would flair up,like a bad allergy . One evening I had a battered (wheat) fish and hullomi cheese sticks for dinner.the next morning I had blisters all up one of my fingers and it slowly affected my nail abit . From that moment I said I would stop eating dairy products to see if it would go away . At the time it did , it disappeared completely for a while and didn’t cause me the same agonising pain . During this period I transitioned to a plant based diet as well. Then… I would say that sometimes in summer I would get a little bit of eczema but only a little bit not like before and then would go . And I gave up wheat completely But in December last year I got an orthodontic treatment where they put for metal pieces on my teeth . I felt my eczema slowly creep back . Than after a month in June consumming a product that I didn’t know had soja in it (which I am abit allergic to )i got sore eczema on four fingers identical to each other.I stopped eating the soja product which seemed to calm it down for a while.but the flare up or just soreness has continued and I have bumpy nails like it has affected them on only the four fingers. So then I did more reach and apparently it can be due to heavy metals in the body like nickel ,colbat ,etc So I got the metal taken out of my mouth which contained a few heavy metals like nickel. I have thought of doing a metal detox but haven’t done yet . I’m not really sure what to do as I don’t really get flair ups as such but I have very sore fingers with skin that has cracked and weird nails . Creams and lotions hurt badly the skin . I take b12 supplement and vitamin d supplement Maybe I need a b vitamin ? Any advice would help Many thanks

Hi, I will leave you the points that I consider that affect my health/skin. ​ History: \- Ectomorph body (I was really skinny when I was young), (now slim?) \- Usually tired - low energy levels (now improved since I was taking Vitamin D from the Sun, B12 occasionally, Magnesium Glycinate). But I’d say Magnesium did the most part. \- Never had Acne or severe acne when I was a teenager. \- Took lot of antibiotics because I was always sick of Sore throat. \- Was not diagnosed but at risk of having fatty liver when I was 19. \- Developed Dandruff when I was 21. \- Combination skin (face) when I was 22 and had Redness and Dry spots on my face, specially on winters. \- Started with creams because of reason above, until I developed Malassezia Folliculitis. \- Since then, I still have Malassezia Folliculitis on my face, back, shoulders, and chest sometimes (not much really, but not cleared 100%, Id say I cleared 98%). \*\* 5 years doing full research and now under control \*\* “fix”(under control) by improving diet AND using Selsun Blue shampoo (selenium sulfide) as facial mask. \*\* Quit shampoo (I only use it maybe once in 2-3 months when I have a “fungal acne flare up” \*\* I feel Carbs (vegetables, parboiled rice, sourdough or buckwheat bread/pasta) work better for me than Fat foods (I think it might be due to my Nervous System - Ectomorph body type). \*\* Used [Ritual.com](https://Ritual.com) brand Multivitamin for 6 months and worked very very well: energy improved, almost no flare-ups \*\* Quit multivitamin since it had low magnesium, don’t want to supplement on vitamin D every day. \- Had dyshidrotic eczema 3 times 3 years ago \- Had a big stye in one of my eyes and the day before scheduled surgery I went away (was taking vitamin A (retinol) pills to avoid that and worked?) \- Red face \- Never got into prick tested to check up on allergies/intolerances. \- Used Probiotics for 3 months to restore my gut flora after many years of antibiotics usage. \- Never had constipation or similar problems. So I think my skin problems come from the Liver rather than my Gut? ​ Current: \- Redness rashes: usually on my face (once a week) \- Fungal acne flareups (1 in 2-3 months) \- Foruncle (usually once a year): now armpit but I had it in the back of my head, butt, behind ear. ​ Things to add: \- I don’t move my body as much as I should do. I use to do some push ups (once a week), stretching, and walking outside \- I am not extreme with my diet and sometimes eat shtty foods AND drink alcohol once a week (more on vacation). \- I try not to eat high PUFA content foods like nuts. \- I am a Flight Attendant. I think that raises my cortisol levels, stress, dehydration, cosmic ionizing radiation. \- Not concerned on Zinc, DHA, Selenium since I eat a lot of seafood and salmon. 1-3 times a week. ​ Thinking of: \- Eating more seaweed foods (high in iodine content) and other trace minerals \- Ditching fluoride-water and anything linked to fluoride. Drinking Spring Water only. \- Quit any Vitamin D supplements unless deficient and trying to get most of it from the Sun to get beneficial UV light to optimize my hormone synthesis and antioxidant melatonin levels, and help reset my circadian rhythms. \- Getting veggies, meat, A2 dairy, etc. from local small farms to ensure micronutrient density. \- Eating kelp or seaweed regularly, it gives you an amazing spectrum of trace minerals and Iodine \- Quitting Coffee and drink Green Tea or Matcha only. Not only there are several studies that indicate it improves eczema and malassezia folliculitis, but wears off free radicals produced by ionizing radiation (and I fly very often…). However, I am concerned about Tea because it contains DAO Blockers and it inhibits the release of histamine in your body (bad for eczema - and seborrheic dermatitis is a kind of eczema). \- Taking Diseccated Grass-Fed Beef Liver supplements since I don’t like eating this particular food and I need a strong vitamin A food source. \- Taking Vitamin E, full-spectrum (mixed tocopherols) pills or buy Red Palm Oil from Nutiva brand. ​ What would you suggest me to do? Any response will be highly appreciated. ​ Thanks,

**TL;DR:** Vita.D and Vita.B has improved lifelong eczema, although I’m still monitoring long term results — this may not be the case for everyone, but getting a blood test may be a good starting point Just to start, I was born with eczema my whole life, and for the past 2 years, my flare ups have gotten a lot more worse. I did go overseas within those 2 years once and noticed my eczema improved a lot. I thought it was just because of the air condition since it was near the ocean (I was in China, Hainan), but recalling it now, I think it was because I had to go outside much more frequently - I usually stay at home back in Australia. Recently, I got a blood test thinking my eczema might've been related to diabetes. As it turns out, I was not a diabetic, however, I had extremely low levels of vitamin D, my doctor claimed for it to be 15 (I'm not too sure on the measurements), and also informed me that my vitamin B levels were low. He also joked that I mustn't have gone out to get sunlight due to university exams. He was right, I did prefer to take all my classes online so I rarely left the apartment. I was prescribed 7000IU vitamin D tablets which I was required to take daily for about a month, and hydroxocobalamin (b12) injections once a week for three weeks. I did not notice too much change after taking vitamin D tablets personally - I may have to give it a bit more time, however, I took my first injection yesterday, and today I noticed a lot of my pinkish patches on my arms are gone, and my hand eczema has improved significantly, it's much less red, and it's mainly peeling now. I will say though, I haven't formally diagnosed what type of eczema I've had with a dermatologist recently (I was diagnosed with the skin condition as a child) mainly due to expenses, and a lot of the ones recommended to me don't have good ratings after I research them at home. I will probably have to see one later on as my eczema has resulted in some thicker skin patches which look like wrinkles and it's all over my hand joints and wrists (it really affects my self image, so I feel for anyone who has a similar problem). Before this, I thought the only path I had was to take dupixent because this condition was affecting my work and student life so much - I could barely focus and was distracted - this might've just been a symptom of vitamin B deficiency looking at it now, and I'm glad it's improving for now. I can't be sure that this is the key to healing my eczema, but I have hope now, and hopefully this gives everyone else a little bit of hope too and motivation to get blood tested if you haven't already! (edited in tldr)

TL;DR: I've had bad eczema all the time with no relief for many years. Started taking 2000IU of vitamin D3 and it is making a huge difference, more than any medication I've used for years (topical and systemic). I want to know if anyone out there had a similar experience and if it was a long-lasting change for them. \--------- I've had pretty bad eczema for basically my whole adult life, in the past four years or so it's become so bad that I basically feel like I'm constantly in or on the verge of a flare that covers most of my body. I'm currently waiting on a consultation to discuss options like Methotrexate. However, I read about a study the other day which found that recipients of 1600iu of Vitamin D3 and 600iu of vitamin E had a reduction in the severity of eczema symptoms of around 60%. ([https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653487/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653487/)) So I thought I'd try replicating it. I had D3 supplements because I was already taking 1000iu a day along with magnesium, zinc and B12. I bought some vitamin E online and while I waited for it to arrive I doubled my dose of D3. I had been having the start of a flare, the redness and itchiness were getting bad all over my chest, back, legs etc. I was thinking oh here we go it'll probably be another shit month while this get's really bad as usual and eventually settles down to my baseline level of inflammation (which is still actually pretty bad). So anyway the next day after doubling my D3 dose to 2000iu, I woke up and immediately felt completely different. Way less itching. Looked at myself in the mirror, so so much of the redness that I had the previous day had just disappeared completely. Now I've had about 3 days of this dosage and I've been taking the E for 2, and all these cuts and wounds I've had for like a year are healing up and more inflammation is going away. Feel better than I have in forever! Has anyone else had this experience with vitamin D? Was it a long-lasting effect for you? I'm concerned that this effect might last a short time then I'll go back to normal :( And I don't want to get my hopes up too much but this feels like a miracle for me.

Patch testing tells me I Have an allergy to Cobalt. I'm trying to raise my ferritin and B12 levels thanks to anemia diagnoses and have recently come across Blood Builders which seems to be a Holy Grail for most. But I see it has a very large dose of vitamin B12. Has anyone who has a known Cobalt allergy ever tried Blood Builders or B12 supplements and if so what was your experience? Anyone with Dyshidrotic eczema on hands and/ or feet ever tried it? Any help would greatly be appreciated.