Coat dry, cracked skin with zinc oxide ointment. This stuff is lovely and gives your dry skin a beautiful white coat that will get into every crack and WILL NOT COME OFF, no matter how much you wash your hands. I'M KIDDING. This stuff is awful.
Friday 23 June 2017
Day 69
Woke up this morning with badly itching hands. I had to take half a day off from work to tend to them, going through multiple cycles of creaming, intense itching, washing under running water. Had a mini meltdown as i sat at my home desk crying and scratching uncontrollably, surrounded by piles of tissue paper and dead skin that i had either peeled from hands or flakes that fell out whilst itching.
It took several hours before my hands settled. For me, my hands are at their worst in the mornings. I suspect this is due to the super-drying a/c. Am seriously considering getting a standing fan to use in my room (we only have an a/c, but no fan in there). Also, the redness / eczema is spreading.
I am terribly afraid of mornings now :(
In other better news, towards evening, my hands began looking much less dry and scaly. The swelling is ever-present but the skin that peeled off yesterday did not grow back, so this contributed to the 'normal' look.
I also tried out Egoderm ointment for the first time. It is made up of 15% zinc oxide, which gives it a shockingly paste white look. On the plus side, I didn't itch as badly as i normally would with my regular Egoderm cream!
It took several hours before my hands settled. For me, my hands are at their worst in the mornings. I suspect this is due to the super-drying a/c. Am seriously considering getting a standing fan to use in my room (we only have an a/c, but no fan in there). Also, the redness / eczema is spreading.
I am terribly afraid of mornings now :(
In other better news, towards evening, my hands began looking much less dry and scaly. The swelling is ever-present but the skin that peeled off yesterday did not grow back, so this contributed to the 'normal' look.
I also tried out Egoderm ointment for the first time. It is made up of 15% zinc oxide, which gives it a shockingly paste white look. On the plus side, I didn't itch as badly as i normally would with my regular Egoderm cream!
Thursday 22 June 2017
Day 68 - Work Woes
Ever since the onset of my eczema, numerous colleagues had been expressing their concern over the state of my hands - not pleasant at all when the last thing i want to do is draw attention to them. The cringing and horrified expressions only made it that much worse. For my own sanity's sake, I had to tell them that their comments were making me feel bad and I hope not to talk about my hands anymore.
More than that, i really needed to know if this was forming a negative impression in the eyes of the management. Fortunately, my boss was quick to reassure me that nothing of that sort was happening. These talks have been good for me and much stress - workwise - has been lifted.
More than that, i really needed to know if this was forming a negative impression in the eyes of the management. Fortunately, my boss was quick to reassure me that nothing of that sort was happening. These talks have been good for me and much stress - workwise - has been lifted.
Today is also the 2nd day of my acupuncture treatment.
Having mixed reactions to the results. Skin is very quickly peeling off, which is normally a good thing. However underneath the peeling skin is raw, pink vesiculated skin - not a good thing! Will see how it goes subsequently. Physician has commented that it might be an adverse reaction to the food that I ate (tze char - yam ring and beehoon). Fingers are still badly swollen, can't fully open or close them.
Meanwhile, am still having difficulty handling things. i managed to work around these issues by eg. using a sling bag for lunch, only wearing loose fitting slip on dresses with zippers, and wrapping tissue paper around my computer stylus.
Having mixed reactions to the results. Skin is very quickly peeling off, which is normally a good thing. However underneath the peeling skin is raw, pink vesiculated skin - not a good thing! Will see how it goes subsequently. Physician has commented that it might be an adverse reaction to the food that I ate (tze char - yam ring and beehoon). Fingers are still badly swollen, can't fully open or close them.
Meanwhile, am still having difficulty handling things. i managed to work around these issues by eg. using a sling bag for lunch, only wearing loose fitting slip on dresses with zippers, and wrapping tissue paper around my computer stylus.
Sunday 18 June 2017
Day 65 - A Glimmer of Hope
Day 2 after visit to the TCM doctor.
I have since consumed 3 cups (after lunch and after dinner) of the herbal concoction drink that doc has prescribed to me.
A tiny miracle seems to be happening. I can now peel the thickened, dead skin off my hands without any ooze or blistered skin underneath. A small but significant improvement from the past 2 week, when peeling skin would reveal gross, soggy red skin with little red dots, and lots of ooze. Should I chalk it down to the drink? I feel like there's a high possibility because my skin hasn't been this ooze free in almost 2 weeks now. I even had 'junk' food over the weekends - Nasi Lemak, Mookata and honey chicken wings. Reminder to self to return to eating cleanly come tomorrow.
I'm not sure if peeling off the dead skin is a good idea, however, since the super soft and pink skin underneath itches like a bitch. And because it's so soft and unblemished, the temptation to scratch is increased. I have yet to be able to test out the theory that scratching induces more scratching, since I haven't been able to not scratch. I did find that running my hands under cold tap water stops the itch. That has been my itch-stopping strategy so far. Sometimes I make multiple trips to the bathroom because I start scratching all over again. Other than that, it works. Also, keeping my mind distracted helps a great deal. Once my mind gets into the 'scratch-zone', it is near impossible to get it out of there!
A tiny miracle seems to be happening. I can now peel the thickened, dead skin off my hands without any ooze or blistered skin underneath. A small but significant improvement from the past 2 week, when peeling skin would reveal gross, soggy red skin with little red dots, and lots of ooze. Should I chalk it down to the drink? I feel like there's a high possibility because my skin hasn't been this ooze free in almost 2 weeks now. I even had 'junk' food over the weekends - Nasi Lemak, Mookata and honey chicken wings. Reminder to self to return to eating cleanly come tomorrow.
I'm not sure if peeling off the dead skin is a good idea, however, since the super soft and pink skin underneath itches like a bitch. And because it's so soft and unblemished, the temptation to scratch is increased. I have yet to be able to test out the theory that scratching induces more scratching, since I haven't been able to not scratch. I did find that running my hands under cold tap water stops the itch. That has been my itch-stopping strategy so far. Sometimes I make multiple trips to the bathroom because I start scratching all over again. Other than that, it works. Also, keeping my mind distracted helps a great deal. Once my mind gets into the 'scratch-zone', it is near impossible to get it out of there!
Anyway, I am feeling a glimmer of hope right now. Doc has said, with no small amount of confidence, that his acupuncture treatment will prove effective enough to treat the flare up for the next 4-5 days, relieving the symptom so that the skin will heal itself.
Tuesday 13 June 2017
Day 59 - Seeking Treatment
i thought i could handle this on my own, with candida and eczema diets and supplements, but i'm wrong. i wanted to return with triumph to the derm who had gave me a life sentence of steroid treatment, but i can't. at least not for now. that doesn't mean i won't do that in future, it just means now is not the time.
In the few weeks that followed after my return from Bangkok, I had a brief break of 3-4 days. After which a very bad flare came on which quickly spread across my palms and back of my hands (i have NEVER had eczema there before).
This has terrified me so much that i have decided to seek treatment. a colleague had talked to me about how tcm cured her of her psoriasis and i want to give tcm another shot. obviously not with shitty dr ong. this time round, i have found another physician who deals with TSW - yes at this point, i'm starting to suspect that is what i'm experiencing.
withholding his name for the time being, while i experiment with this new treatment
pic below is what freaked me out so badly that i was cowed into seeking outside assistance at last. however i have much hope that this will all turn out right. you can see how the redness has spread and is now glaring and unmistakably RSS, albeit localised on my hands.
In the few weeks that followed after my return from Bangkok, I had a brief break of 3-4 days. After which a very bad flare came on which quickly spread across my palms and back of my hands (i have NEVER had eczema there before).
This has terrified me so much that i have decided to seek treatment. a colleague had talked to me about how tcm cured her of her psoriasis and i want to give tcm another shot. obviously not with shitty dr ong. this time round, i have found another physician who deals with TSW - yes at this point, i'm starting to suspect that is what i'm experiencing.
withholding his name for the time being, while i experiment with this new treatment
pic below is what freaked me out so badly that i was cowed into seeking outside assistance at last. however i have much hope that this will all turn out right. you can see how the redness has spread and is now glaring and unmistakably RSS, albeit localised on my hands.
Thursday 25 May 2017
Day 40
Several days after the staph infection had subsided, i was due for a trip to bangkok that i had already booked months ago. so gamely, i set off together with hubby.
my condition had calmed down considerably the few days before our trip. but i think the stress of traveling, the air, the water, the intense heat and the food, all culminated and i started flaring again. this time, no infection, but my palm was torn up and split open.
when we got back to singapore, i went back to my mum's place to hide out for a few days. i also wanted to find out if it was the cats that was triggering my eczema.
anyway, here are some pics that i took when i got back.
A different sort of disgusting, particularly second finger - my second finger was itching badly the last few days and now i finally knew why. notice the old, smooth skin still miserably clinging on, as new and rotting skin appeared under the surface.
my condition had calmed down considerably the few days before our trip. but i think the stress of traveling, the air, the water, the intense heat and the food, all culminated and i started flaring again. this time, no infection, but my palm was torn up and split open.
when we got back to singapore, i went back to my mum's place to hide out for a few days. i also wanted to find out if it was the cats that was triggering my eczema.
anyway, here are some pics that i took when i got back.
Wednesday 17 May 2017
Day 21 - 32 - A Staph Infection
Here are some highlights from the start of my journey, all the way till the second month before I officially began blogging.
Day 21
Day 23
Day 28
Day 30
Day 31
Day 32
Terrifying, but in fact I was running the final leg of that dreadful infection. All the infected skin had dried up, hardened, and was waiting to come off. Bottom section of middle finger already cleared up with clean new skin. however, that was to be the start of a new nightmare.
Day 21
A little eczema patch that had grown on my right hand, taken just before a visit to a TCM physician, Dr Ong (she sucks and i'm never going back). The next day after leaving on herbal cream given by her. it felt like it was getting better. but no.
Day 23
Herbal medication was making things worse so i stopped. instead tried coconut oil and then physiogel. daftest thing i have ever done. this was when shit started getting real. my fingers were turning sore, and many fucking painful little blisters came bubbling to the surface.
I started developing what seemed to be an infection. every morning when i woke up, the yellow stuff got yellower and the pain got worse. i showed my hands to hubby and he asked what medication i was using that was turning my fingers yellow. i wasn't using any. it was this infection in all its golden crusted glory. at this point, i freaked out and called in sick at work. the pain was unbearable - even gently brushing the skin made me cringe in pain.
saturday night, we went out for Mother's Day dinner at Dempsey Jumbo, the parent in laws spent the entire evening discussing my condition, planning out my next course of action. I have the awesomest in-laws in the world :) i was in pain, but still felt so loved and protected, all thanks to them! oh i should mention at this point, i was already feeling zingers. i thought my blood circulation was getting cut off and i was going to get gangrene!
The next day, I went to work and proceeded to freak the fuck out of the entire office. lots of screams of horror ensued. anyway, on the bright side, I didn't realise it yet but the yellow skin was turning thick and chunky and started to peel off.
Decided to pay a visit to my 'dear friend' the derm to make sure i'm not at risk of losing my fingers. Derm very 'helpfully' informed me that i will be on steroids for the rest of my life. fuck you very much dear sir.
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