Is it Eczema on the Eyelid or Something Else?

I live with eczema and I also live with inflammatory bowel disease. I was diagnosed with IBD as a teen and I have been through a lot with my condition. I don't hate it, but I certainly do hate what it's done to me. I have a pretty different outlook on my eczema.

Baby eczema

When I was first diagnosed with eczema I had to be a baby. I didn't have a long, drawn-out process of trying to understand it. I didn't worry about it at all. Generally, babies don't. I mean, they may scratch or get annoyed, but generally, they don't have a great understanding of what life is enough to know something is actually wrong with their tiny, frail bodies.

Dry skin around my eyes

Recently, I started having issues with my eyes. I couldn't pinpoint what exactly was wrong. I didn't know if something was wrong with my eyeballs that caused the skin around my eyes to also be affected OR if the skin was the sole root of the problem. My skin was super dry. It was aggravated and turned red easily. As odd as this sounds to happen to someone's eye, this actually is how my skin reacts with eczema.

Eczema on my eyelids

So at first, I wasn't worried...

Don't get me wrong. My eyes mean a lot to me. I didn't want this to mess up my vision. I didn't know what to think. For days I would go back and forth into the bathroom to stare and my eyes, but for a while, nothing would change.

I was convinced it was eczema. Why else would it look so similar? I thought nothing of it. After all, I know my skin gets bad, but it always gets better and it usually happens on its own.

Blood red eyes and swollen eyebrow

As time passed and my eye didn't improve, that's when I began to get worried. I asked my doctor and he knew nothing. In fact, I spoke with a few doctors. Nothing. My symptoms just didn't make any sense. how could eczema do so much damage in a short amount of time? By this I mean my eyes were now blood red and underneath my eyebrow is now swollen. Sure, my eczema left my arms looking a little puffy at times but swollen? That was a stretch.

Finding answers

Finally, I saw a specialist. The specialist seemed to be pretty interested in the bigger picture, not just the fact that I had eczema. After a few tests, I got a few answers. To my (slight) surprise, it wasn't eczema. Not even close. My eyes actually had something going on internally which caused them to look different, externally. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but at least I had answers.

It's not always eczema

I learned a lesson that day. I am always so quick to jump to conclusions. Thinking I know everything about my body, but truthfully, I don't. The body is a complicated thing. Sometimes atopic dermatitis or eczema is the problem, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's fixable.