Help Nicky Overcome Eczema

My beautiful mom, Nicky Dexter (49yo), has lived with eczema since the age of 5. It’s had brief periods of relative dormancy, but mostly extended times where she is unable to work or take care of herself because of the rawness and pain from the cracks and infections in her hands and wrists. She spent her whole childhood in a constant acute state, being taken to every type of therapy available (homeopathy, different special diets, European herbs, naturopaths, countless topical and internal medicines etc etc etc), none of which were effective. She found little help in the regular medical world of dermatologists that only offered her steroids (to which she is now allergic) to relieve symptoms. She eventually found amazingly effective treatment through Traditional Chinese Medicine ~20yrs ago. She has used it to successfully resolve flares a total of ~5 times over the past 2 decades. She has been told that she probably should be on a continuous maintenance level of Chinese medicine in order to stay flare-free.

After a minor flare ~1 year ago, we have been financially unable to continue treatment and she has been getting progressively sicker since August 2016. A month ago, we were able, to scrape together enough money to get a couple consecutive batches of prescription Chinese medicine tea (~3wks worth), but it hardly relieved the eczema since she had got so bad from not having medicine for almost a year. And we can’t afford to get more.

Her eczema has now escalated to a point none of us have seen before - we were recently told by a doctor that it could become life threatening if not treated immediately, before it spreads across her whole body.  The eczema normally flared just on her hands and wrists, with bad times going up her forearms - it has now spread up past her elbows, is on her back and legs, covers her whole neck, scalp, and ears, and has spread severely onto her face and eyes. She has problems opening her eyelids, is shedding whole layers of skin every day, and can hardly move from the pain of the leftover unbearably itchy, raw, and on-fire searing stinging skin. Moreover, she is reacting to everything, to the extent that she can hardly eat (lost 15Lbs in the last 2mos), can’t put anything (no lotions or oils) on her skin for relief, and can’t wear clothing that touches the eczematous areas. She has progressed to the point of being chilled all the time, even though her skin is burning, but we can’t ‘heat’ her up (showers, heating, blankets) or the eczema will flare even more. She cannot work, needs help with care, and has hardly left the house in 5 months. She mostly sits still all day long, and then goes to bed at night. She says this is not a life, this is hell.




Along with getting her on a good long stretch of Chinese medicine tea, we believe that there is need for psychotherapy, for the stress and mental health damage her physical state has put her in, but mostly for processing past traumas that could be triggering and/or perpetuating the severity of her current condition. After researching the topic, we now believe that there is a link between the eczema and the traumas that Nicky has experienced in her life, that she is processing them inappropriately through her body instead of through her mind and emotions. This is something that we never considered before and now need to address with the appropriate therapies. 

The treatment plan we are looking to execute is far beyond our financial capability. We wish to do the following for at least 6 solid months, optimally for 1year: Chinese medicine tea (~$450/mo), psychotherapy ($180-200/session), EMDR therapy ($180/session), Clinical Hypnotherapy (~$150/session). EMDR is a form of psychotherapy endorsed by the WHO for treating PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Hypnotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that deals with stuff in the subconscious mind, to alter how things are perceived, which then changes thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (and symptoms!). We plan to find the best combination of the above therapies for my mom.

With our current income, including my (a student and part-time worker) contribution to it, and substantial debt built up, there is no way we can get my mom these remedies on our own. 

My mom has been fighting this her whole life, she has been so strong, and she doesn’t deserve it. I’ve never seen her this incapacitated. She cannot see an end to it with our current financial state and has lost hope and will to live, as she just gets worse and worse. She is in severe anguish. But we all believe she can completely conquer the eczema with this intensive attack. She is aching to do this work, and is now tentatively hopeful that it will be possible to start if we can raise these funds.


For those of you who know Nicky, you know how much she has struggled with this, and for so long. (Imagine that x10, and becoming a VERY serious situation.) We need your help. Please. Donations of any amount will make a big difference, and we are so, so thankful. 

For those of you who do not know my mom, she is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. We want her to get her life back. She is such a joyous, playful, and thankful person when eczema-free, and an utterly devoted and loving mom to me and my brother. She has so many plans for her future with her new partner, a new career, a new life; and it is being utterly stalled with her being in this state. I don’t know what can be done without the medicine and therapy, and she is getting worse every day. It's terrifying to watch, being so helpless. She is loved by so many people and we don’t want to lose her. Anything helps. 

We also would really love it if you could share this page with everyone you know, whether you choose to donate or not!

Thank you all for your support. We will update as her situation progresses/improves!

Nova Dexter