Hi, I can understand your concern & it isn't good to stay on oral cortisone/prednisolone for too long as there are long term affects like bone weakening, weight gain & bruising with thin skin.
What dose of tablets are you on & how often & is it the general Dr or a skin specialist who is monitoring it.
It sounds bad to have the blisters joining together.
I would try something like aloe vera gel (direct from the plant if you can) all over the affected area & if possible wrap it in cling wrap or bandages to stop rubbing etc.
Have a look through older posts about treatments, there are some other choices & unfortunately each person reacts differently & different things help.
Another good one that is used here is ungvita - it is basically fish oil (& smells strong) & used for nappy rash & very effective on excema/dermatitis.
Just some ideas. Keep researching through old posts, there are lots of ideas here.

i am the same way, the triamcinilone helps but the prednisone has helped more. my allergist and my dermitologist came up with the idea that they will try to put me on 5mg of predinsone every other day. that will total in a year about half of the maximum doseage that a person should have in a year. and it would be less than doing the 15 taper down every time i get a large flare up.

Thanks distancemj! That is exactly what I was thinking. Start off with a short burst, then as small of a maintenance dose as possible, if it works.

I did a one week step down at the same time as I started the triamcinolone. One day after stopping the prednisone I flared! I was SO excited thinking it was the cream. But it was not to be. Headed to the Dr tomorrow to see what can be done with the prednisone. I know that my flares are due to a spike in IgE, as are most allergies, asthma and eczema type rashes. There is a new treatment that is non steriodal. But it is an injectable and runs about $2000 a month! Definately not doable at the moment. :(

Went to see the GP again today, convinced her to RX me 5mg predniseon X 10 days. Being referred to a dermatologist, have an appointment next week with the internist to discuss referral options since I don't have any insurance at the moment. We shall see!

Headed in to see an actual dermatologist this morning! Maybe an actual skin specialist can find me some relief. The 5 mg per day prednisone isn't really cutting it, I am still flaring. More blisters and getting deep again. I have now lost 3 fingernails due to the nailbeds dying off the rash is so bad on my fingers. I'm starting to look like The Fly here losing body parts. LOL Have to keep my sense of humor or this will kill me!

Sorry you are flaring so bad. How did the visit with the specialist go? It might be a matter of alternating doses & also other medicatations.

Make sure while you are on the cortisone you drink lots of water a day, you have to flush it through the system & also make sure that it does flush through so you don'e have too much fluid retention.

Eh, the dematologist sent me for blood work in preparation for starting methotrexate. Neither he nor the GP would refill the prednisone Rx, which I guess is a good thing since I am finding litlte spots of infection in the mornings and I was being kind of a biotch. I hear that is a side effect of the prednisone. LOL Right now I am in total misery, flaring BAD! The steroid cream isn't doing anything anymore. Waiting for test results to come back in a few days to see if my liver works well enough to take the methotrexate.

Steriods should not be taken in the long term. Try taking vitamins like Vitamin E instead. I have had chronic eczema all my life, and just recently started taking Vitamin E. I could not belive it, but my skin actually started to clear up. Vitamin E is great for the skin, an anti-inflamatory and anti-oxidant.

Hey BelladonnasMom! It's great that you got a prescription from your GP. I was going to tell you that but as I read through your comments, seems like you've gone right ahead to get that prescription :) Since you're going to use prednisone for your eczema, I have to warn you against susceptibility to infections. Steroids weaken the immune system so you might want to avoid going out in public during the course of your treatment.

I hope you don't take the prednisone beyond your prescription though. Long-term use of prednisone will just put your health in a much worse condition that you'd pray you never used it in the first place.

You are absolutely right Tim! I was finding little spots of infection all over my eczema patches. And the mood swings... YIKES! It wasn't doing much good at the 5 mg dosage anyway, and after 10 days te GP took me off of it. I am taking the methotrexate now. Still avoiding crowds, but have a whopping case of tonsillitis 3 days after the first dose. It's just the price you pay for using suck powerful medication. Antibiotics will probably just be a part of my life while I am on it. It is what it is...

Prednisone is bad! Makes everything worse especially when you come off of it...I was in that situation a year ago, where triamcinolone was not doing anything anymore and I reverted to higher steroids. Bad decision! When you start using potent steroids it messes your body up like crazy! It wasn't till my dermatologist said, no you can't take prednisone nor fluocinolone acetonide anymore. Fluocinolone is very bad stuff too, works like a miracle the first time you apply it but stops working later and ends up messing you up! I went through like a month of suffering without applying any steroids...just a shit load of lotion. Curel itch defense lotion and Aquaphor. Somehow the eczema just disappeared after a month. This was after a bunch of praying a suffering. I didn't use any meds for like 3 months until like a couple weeks ago I got a bad flare. I then applied some Triam ointment and it cleared it up with in a day! I try to use the Triam ointment as sparingly as possible, you don't want to over use that stuff or it will stop working.

Quite honestly Tookie, I'm starting to think ALL the meds are that way. They work at first, then it's like your body says "F YOU! Drugs or no drugs I'm gonna flare!" I am so tired of it!

I'm off the Prednisone indefinately. Just waiting to see if the Methotrexate works before it kills me...

Oh, and not to be mean or anything... but I can see that you now know the meditation and prayer don't cure you since you are using the triam again, even sparingly. I'm not saying it can't help you, but it certainly isn't a good idea to completely disregard moderm medicine when it is there to help you.

Yeah, I tried not using any meds during the flare last week and did lots of meditation and prayer but it was just too out of control! Really a mystery to what causes a flare? The triam was a big relief thats for sure. I think the best thing to do is apply triam for 1-2 days to clear any flare you might have then don't apply any for at least a week or two. Even if your body starts to break out a little. You need to give your body a break, let it breathe and try and cure its self for a little while. Use steroids only as a last resort!

HI, it has been recently found out that I have eczema. When I was still a kid at first it was still on my scalp so we thought it was just a very unmanageable dandruff. But December last year I went back to using a rather strong soap, a sulfur soap. At first, it turned out okay but I slowly experienced itching at the back of my thighs. I thought it was due to insect bites, we live in the tropics so there are a lot of mosquitoes. I slowly develop red patches on the back of my thighs and just recently on my feet. A month ago I stopped using sulfur soap because it was sometimes unavailable but when I used it again I felt so itchy especially on my back. Went to a derma and it was found out I have eczema and some bath soaps being triggers. I started using Betamethasone and Clobetasol creams but I asked my derma if I can have oral medications because some areas with eczemas are hard to apply to (back and buttocks). I was prescribed with prednisone and I am on my first day now, I hope this will work for me.