My History

My history with eczema goes quite a long way back.

When I was in Primary school, it was eyelid dermatitis. Angry, red and flaking. Fortunately I was still blissfully oblivious and didn't think much of it, although my folks did take me around to various GPs and TCM physicians who never did manage to heal it.

In Secondary school, things took a turn for the worst. The dermatitis had spread and was now covering my eyelids, underneath my eyes, parts of my cheeks and my earlobes. Slightly more vain this time, I started growing acutely aware of how awful it looked. This time, skin specialists were involved, and steroids were slowly introduced. This flare-up didn't last long - all it took was a week of application before everything went away. I remember triumphantly returning to class with crystal clear skin - so clear that my teacher told me off for having foundation on.

In my 20's, eczema reared its ugly head once again in the form of pompholyx. I don't quite remember the exact timeline but I was now applying steroids fervently, even while the pompholyx never truly cleared. It was always there, sometimes a bigger patch, sometimes a smaller one. All throughout my 20's, I never knew what it was like to firmly grip something in my hands without cringing in pain, or tearing up my skin. Everything I did was done haphazardly, because pain was always involved.

My late 20's was when things got really bad. At one point, the pompholyx covered my entire palm. Oozing, bleeding, infected, swollen. Somehow, I gritted my teeth and endured everything, all the while believing that steroids was my only way out. I just needed to jump in with my trusty steroids every couple of hours. Even when my hands were getting worse by the day. I now believe that the TSA was already kicking in back then.

After I turned 31, the pompholyx finally cleared for a good 2.5 years. It was like I was suddenly given a new lease on life. With my newfound hands, I finally learned how to ride a bicycle. I moved into our new house with my husband, and with my newfound hands, and I started organising and cleaning with a passion. Everyone used to call me lazy. In actuality, I wasn't lazy. I was just in too much pain all the time to be able to do much.

A couple weeks ago, I discovered a little dry dot on my palm. I ignored it but it grew larger and larger.

And here I am now, once again battling this brutal condition.

However, many things have changed since my last eczema battle, 2.5 years ago.

This time, things are different. I am not the passive young girl that I used to be. I am no longer willing to take a backseat and let eczema run the show. I have started researching the crapola out of eczema and learnt about TSW, which I now firmly believe is happening.

And so this blog has come about, to bear witness to the war that I am about to wage on this cruel ailment. Let's begin!