I'm sure this has been brought up before but I really think there should be a forum for skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis, seborrhea and just general dry skin problems. There's one for oily skin but not dry skin, unless I'm missing something. There's also one for rosacea and I see a lot of dermatitis/eczema posts in the rosacea forums and although a few of the symptoms are the same, they are not the same thing. Maybe just make a general "Dermatitis" forum where all of these are included? They are all common skin problems, especially for people who have used tons of products and damaged their skin in which the ending result is usually some form of dermatitis. I think a lot of people here have experienced that and I think its own forum would help gather a lot of the knowledge and personal experiences people have had. I would certainly like to hear what worked/didn't work for people for these skin conditions but it's not as easy if the posts are spread throughout 5 different forums. I also think people would be more likely to post about their experiences if it has its own forum.. These skin conditions are some of the hardest ones to deal with, they deserve some more attention.

i totally agree, my little brother suffers from both eczema and acne, and i myself have had dermatitis from using too many products.

i would like to "third" this.

I do not support this idea for the following reasons:

1. One of the biggest problems with this forum is that there are too many people who come on here with contact dermatitis and irritated skin but refuse to acknowledge that fact. They would rather accept a diagnosis of a rare skin disease or rosacea before accepting advice that tells them to moisturize and use sunscreen.

2. There are too many people on this forum who misdiagnose themselves with rosacea. Adding eczema and dermatitis to mix will just leave a lot more unanswered posts and more work for the moderators to move posts to the appropriate forum.

3. This is a a forum for acne. Acne is a disease that deals with oil glands - not dry skin. Adding eczema etc. is going outside the purview of this message board. Rosacea is a disease that is related to acne, eczema is not. There are messge boards that deal with other skin disorders, if you think you have eczema or atopic dermatitis - google them.

4. There is a ton of good information and advice on this forum that deals with proper moisturizing and the irritation that topicals can leave. I think the topic is addressed sufficiently.

I think most people who have come to these forums and who have eczema have tried to use moisturizer and sunscreen. That's kind of rude of you to say it's that easy, I think that's the first thing most people try. People who really do have these conditions usually need more relief than that and how are they "rare" exactly? Look at the number of people who suffer from eczema and the many forms of dermatitis. I've run into countless people here with the above listed skin conditions and they've tried everything out there. It's helpful to hear other people's experiences and what worked and didn't work.



People will always misdiagnose themselves. Ever been to the Nutrition/holistic forums? The rosacea forum is already filled with eczema/dermatitis posts, it's about as confusing as it'll get. Making it its own forum would make it easier. Also, many people have had dermatologists tell them they have eczema/dermatitis/seborrhea(including myself), it's not just a self diagnosis. I've tried their topicals and they did nothing. Many people have the same dilemma. I still search for information from other people who have successfully fixed their eczema/dermatitis. Things I've read about other people try have helped me more than things like corticosteroids, for example.



I agree that rosacea is more closely linked to acne than eczema/dermatitis but I don't think it would be wrong to have a forum for them. Tons of people have used acne treatments, only to end up with a form of dermatitis. Shouldn't those people be able to talk in their own forum?

Another thing is that dry skin and acne are actually closely linked. Go do some reading on it. Dry skin can lead to combination skin which can lead to acne and sometimes defeating that initial dry skin stage can help the acne. At the very least I believe there should be a dry skin forum.

Also, I don't THINK I have eczema/dermatitis, I know have them. Various dermatologists have told me so. Don't tell me to go look on google. They are fairly common here and the very basic symptom of dry and irritated skin is very common here. Again, there is an oily skin forum, there should be a dry skin forum as well, at the very least. Other message boards that deal with skin problems are much less involved than this forum and aren't active or helpful at all really.



I would feel a little better if eczema/dermatitis had it's own forum to be able to relate to people with the same thing and talk about what worked/didn't work. I don't see why, at the very least, a dry skin forum shouldn't be made as a subforum but I still feel like Eczema/Dermatitis forums would be helpful for many.

Basically, I don't really see how it would negatively effect you or anyone else to have a forum dealing with these conditions here. I've had tons of PM's and have seen lots of threads over the years about these conditions, it's not just me...

I agree with Gearhead, there should be a forum for it. I have eczema. I also have dry skin. I also have acne but its the eczema that is the most difficult to handle. So many things screw with it and make it worse. I got mine from a high end makeup that wreaked havoc on my face for nearly a yr until the Dr. gave me a very,very low dose of cortisone that I only use a couple of times a month and very sparingly at that. I would take fighting acne over eczema any day. It hurts, its red, irritated, flakey and make me look 5 yrs older when it flares up. Elf

I also agree that there should be a forum for eczema/seborrhea/dry skin. Each of these conditions always exacerbate pre-existing acne conditions. i myself started a forum about sebbhoreic dermatitis here on this board because i HAD perfectly clear skin before being diagnosed (yes, i have seen my dermatologist about it) with seborrhea, and now i have cysts again, probably because my skin is no longer healthy because it isn't exfoliating itself. when i get my seborrhea under control, my acne gets under control. when it gets worse, the acne gets worse.

edit in addition, there is already an "oily skin issues" forum. while oily skin is much more common among acne sufferers than dry skin, dry skin can also cause acne.