Eczema Free Forever™ Eczema Free Forever™

Day 434 – Day 456 End of Month 15… Ending a Flare Cycle…New Derm…Starting CETAPHIL Restoraderm

Day 434


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Neck still crap… so I wear a scarf.  Bleh.
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Day 435

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Day 436

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Day 437

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Day 439

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Day 440

Right after a shower.  Skin is usually its reddest.  It’s a good way to see just where the damaged skin is.

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Day 443

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Day 444

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The most normal I’ve felt this whole time.  I look mostly normal.  My face held up the whole night.  Not even a ton of flakes at the end.  
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End of the night.  YES.


Day 446

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Day 447 

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Day 448

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With makeup I looked normal for my daughter’s Elsa IceSkating party
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Day 449

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This wrist has started to become SUCH a nascence.  
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Day 450

On a dry, flakey day….


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BEFORE SHOWER.
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AFTER SHOWER.
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HOURS AFTER SHOWER.


Day 451

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Day 452
Flaaaaaaare…

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Day 453

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I used Aquaphor on my face.  The mineral oil has started to irritate again, so I stopped using it after this day.
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After one use of Eucerine Restoraderm…I honestly thought it had steroids.
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Before and after 1 day of use….


Day 455

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Day 456

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I started using it on my face…





Peace Out Eczema

Day 457 – Day 486: Month 16 Topical Steroid Withdrawal Redskin Syndrome

Well, month 16 was interesting.  I started using Eucerine Restoraderm on a regular basis, showers became quite enjoyable, and I visited Portland and loved it.  I still have crap skin on a regular cycle, but the crap is becoming less severe and the good is becoming more predictable and regular.  I feel like the restoraderm is helping heal the skin barrier.

SLEEP:  Sleep is better.  I slept brilliantly in Portland because I was on an air mattress and it was 50’s at night.  I didn’t sweat.  Now, at home in hot Texas on my pillow mattress I sweat and wake up itching.   On the whole, sleep is MUCH more consistent and regular.  I don’t feel as exhausted all the time.

HIVES:  Hives are popping up as of the end of this month.  They are uniform bumps and are itchy initially and then just take a while to go away.  They are only on the still damaged skin.  The skin that’s really red after the shower.  The skin that goes to hell when I flare.  I’m assuming this is a good sign…?

BURING/STINGING:  So, showers were moderately painful at the beginning of this month.  The water initially was fine and then once my pores opened up, it stung unless I used VERY warm water.  Then, once I got out, it stung for a good solid 15 minutes straight.   Once I started using the restoraderm, it got better.  The restoraderm STUNG when I used it for most of this month with decreasing intensity as the month went on.  It would sting when I rubbed it on and then as soon as I used the water it stopped.  Then using the lotion after caused the after sting time to shorten.  By the end of the month, the wash didn’t burn and the after sting was minimal.  So, definite improvement.

SWEATING:  Dude.  COME ON.  Sweating still stings and burns and itches like hell.  The surface area is definitely smaller!  It’s now only my neck, face, and a little on the shoulders… whereas before it was my whole body that was under a fire ant attack.  Living in the texas heat is hard.

CLOTHES:  I’ve started wearing…wait for it… SHORT SLEEVES AND TANK TOPS!  gasp.

Anyway… on with the pics.


Day 457

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Day 458


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TSHIRT!!!!



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First time in a tank top in a LONG time.  Went to the mall with my big girl!



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Day 462

I ate cookies at the mall.  Gluten and dairy free… but a lot of them.  Paid for it.  

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Day 463

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Day 465


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At the end of the day sometimes I have these flakes.  Super hot.



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No makeup… mild skin… Lips are meh.



Day 468

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Legs have been painful.  Hurts to shave.




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AFTER SHOWER




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Few hours later.



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Day 469
Ate gluten free pretzels on the plane and paid for it…
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Day 470

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Day 472



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These kind of hives all the time.



Day 473

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I ate an apple while shopping and the juice on my hand gave me hives.  And irritated my lips.



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Day 475

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Day 476

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Dryness subsided a bit but the hot redness comes and goes.



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Spent the whole day outside and in a tank top!  JOY!!



Day 482

My skin reacted crazy coming back home to the texas humidity, heat, and pollen…

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Peace Out Eczema

Month 20 Topical Steroid Withdrawal

Hey guys,

Of course everything has gone downhill again. As it always seemingly does with me.

OK, so as of last Friday (23rd Jan) I could feel the itchiness around my nose/ mouth returning. This of course then reared its ugly head and manifested itself as the infection of the previous 2 months. I have no idea why it always starts around my nose/mouth area. We’ve done countless swabs and there just isn’t any rhyme or reason for it to occur. One of those many mysteries. So yes, back on the god damn antibiotics.

However, I also feel there may be a connection between these infections and the Ciclosporin intake. When I took Ciclo in the past, in the very first stages of my withdrawal, I kept getting countless infections, including MRSA, which was never an issue prior to this. For that reason I decided to stop it once again in August 2013 to give my body a break. Yet even still, the infections never manifested the same way each time as they do now. Although when I moved to Leeds everything flared up again and so if you have been reading my blog for a while you’ll know I’ve been backwards and forwards with all this and had to go back onto it again for the billionth time.

Most recently I’ve noticed with these infections is that it seems to be a week in to taking the full dose of Ciclo that my skin will clear up nicely but days later these infections develop. I think it may be finally time to call it a day after this round, providing my skin is tolerable enough after this bout of infection to carry on without involvement, unlike these previous months where I have been left in a worsened state.

I have no decent photos to show you of my most recent episode but I can assure you it has been just like the others, weeping yellow crusts, pain, soreness, extreme itching and all that jazz.

I do however have this picture I took today where you can see I have some more hair growth. This always makes me happy. One day I may even restore my hair to its thickness I had when I was 12, but I would be equally pleased with having my hair circa 2009.

You can see that the antibiotics are doing their job and beating the infection. I am now left with areas of redness mimicking that of a rash, but this is the healing skin before the peeling stage. I love that stage even if it is messy and means I have to watch what I wear and the trail I leave behind me.

In other news, I received a phone call from my derm nurse whilst I was initially typing out this post to see how I was getting on. I decided to enquire about my blood test results that I had taken nearly a fortnight ago. My iron levels were low but still in normal range – I had a reading of 10 and the normal ranges are 5-300 so it could probably do with some boosting. She couldn’t however find the Vitamin D test so I might have to have that done again.

Now, with my IgE testing this is where it gets somewhat interesting. She said my results fell into the bracket of “weak positive” but couldn’t tell me much more than that. Last time I had my levels tested I was well above the 5000 range but I have no idea how that even equates and what the unit of measurement for that is?

I did however find a site that stated a grading system for allergen ige levels:
0 being negative at a reading of <0.35KUA/L
1 being weak positive at a reading of 0.35-0.7KUA/L
all the way up to the highest at grade 6.

This kind of makes sense to me because when I was very first tested in 2009 I was giving ratings – 5/6 dust mites and 4/6 for cat dander which  seems to reflect the graded system. I want to know how my new reading equates to the “thousandth” measurement and what it would be now if I’m now a ‘weak positive’.

I can only evaluate from this set of results that my IgE levels have diminished since going into steroid withdrawal and for that I am ecstatic!

Sorry it’s a long winded one today and I must say, I thank each and every one of you for your kind advice and words. Maybe one day I will see the light but for now I plod on and get through this how I can.

Happy healing!

P.S. my blog is 2 years old now!
I Have Eczema

Day 518- Day 548: Month 18 Topical Steroid Withdrawal

(August 2015)

Lots of food flares this month.  I experimented with different foods that are on my list.  Some of them didn’t give me hell until eating them for 2-3 days.  The last day was a reaction to a beef stew I made.  It did me IN.  A lot of the pictures where I am REALLY red are just after a shower.  I take VERY hot showers because it burns the itch away.  Feels amazing and doesn’t scratch the skin.  I’ve heard it’s “not good for your skin” but I don’t care haha

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So itchy and painful… But NOTHING compared to early months.

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The later part of flares are always really really flakey.

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Right after shower

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Skin feels super thick and inflamed



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More of the hot bumpy rash



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MY EAR… Been having trouble with this one…. Falls the eff apart when I flare.

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No matter the flare, I can typicall get cleaned up pretty well…

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The stew DID ME IN.  SOOOOO itchy.  SO annoying.

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Right after shower, but the inflammation from the stew is quite bad.

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Peace Out Eczema

May 26, Ragweed Pollen Could Increase Hayfever In Europe

Scientists are saying that climate change and seed disposal are the main reasons for the increase. Ragweed is found in North America, but it is quickly coming to Europe. The main areas that will be affected are Northern Europe, UK and Northern France. The results of a study show that in the next 35 years the instances of hayfever will increase by up to 4 times in these areas. This is not good news for hayfever sufferers, and will mean that even more people will become sufferers. If you are, or a family member suffers from eczema then this is something to keep an eye on, as you could be in the high risk group likely to develop hayfever due to ragweed in the future.
Eczema Blog

BLUE-EMU Partners with Hornish and Richard Petty Motorsports!

No. 9 BLUE-EMU Ford Side ViewBLUE-EMU Partners with Hornish and Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) in its hometown

It’s known as the most electrifying night in NASCAR and now Sam Hornish Jr. and the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) team will make it even more exciting for one local partner. BLUE-EMU, based in Bristol, Tenn., announced today it will serve as the primary sponsor of the RPM team during the night race at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

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Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota Editor’s Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Eczema / Psoriasis;??Respiratory / Asthma;??Pediatrics / Children’s Health
Article Date: 15 Jan 2013 – 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids
4 and a half stars5 stars
Kids who eat fast food three or more times a week are likely to have more severe allergic asthma, rhinitis (hay fever), and eczema.

The finding came from new international research and was published in the journal Thorax.


Similarly, a previous study demonstrated that the benefits of breastfeeding in preventing asthma are cancelled out by eating fast food once or twice a week.


The results of the new study motivated the investigators to believe that a fast food diet may be playing a part in the increase in these conditions. If a causal relationship is found, it could have major importance to public health, considering how popular these fast food places are.


Over 319,000 thirteen to fourteen year olds from 51 countries and over 181,000 six to seven year olds from 31 countries were involved in the study. All of the subjects were enrolled in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), the largest of its kind involving over 100 countries and almost 2 million kids.


The teenagers and the parents of the kids were asked questions regarding symptoms of asthma (wheeze), eczema, rhinoconjunctivitis (runny or blocked nose along with itchy, watery eyes), and their diet on a weekly basis.


The severity of the symptoms that occurred over the past year were assessed through the questions, including how frequent they were and whether or not they interfered with daily routines or sleep patterns.http://www.eczemablog.net/


Fast food (282678968)
Regular fast food consumption raises the risk of asthma and eczema in children


They were also asked about their consumption of particular foods that were already associated with protective or damaging influences on health, including: fish meat veggies fruit bread pasta butter margarine rice pulses nuts milk eggs fast food/burgers Eating each of those foods was classified as never, occasionally, once or twice a week, or three or more times a week.

The experts controlled for variables that may have affected the results and found that the only type of food to have the same links across both age groups was fast food.


On analyzing their findings, the researchers proposed that “such consistency adds some weight to the possible causality of the relationship.”


Among all teens, consuming fast food was linked to current and severe symptoms of all 3 conditions, regardless of their gender, levels of affluence, or which country they were from.


Although the pattern among children was less convincing, there was still a link found between a fast food diet and symptoms except for current eczema, and poorer nations, except for present and severe asthma.


According to the authors, this dissimilarity may be due to the fact that kids have fewer choices when it comes to making food choices.


Three or more servings of fast food per week were associated with a 39% elevated risk of severe asthma among teens and a 27% increased chance among younger children, as well as to the severity of rhinitis and eczema, overall.


The experts discovered that fruit was protective in both age groups across all countries for all 3 conditions (current and severe) among kids, and among teens, for current and severe wheeze and rhinitis.


Consuming fruit 3 or more times per week was associated with a reduction in the severity of symptoms of 11% among teens and 14% among kids.


There are reasonable explanations for the results, the team pointed out. For example, high levels of saturated and trans fatty acids are found in fast food which can have an impact on immunity, while beneficial compounds and antioxidants are found in fruit.


The scientists stressed that this study did not demonstrate a cause and effect relationship, however, they said that more research is necessary.


The authors concluded:


“If the associations between fast foods and the symptom prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema is causal, then the findings have major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally.”

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our nutrition / diet section for the latest news on this subject. Do fast foods cause asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema? Global findings from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Three
Philippa Ellwood, M Innes Asher, Luis Garcia-Marcos, Hywel Williams, Ulrich Keil, Colin Robertson, Gabriele Nagel, the ISAAC Phase III Study Group
THORAX 14 January 2013 doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2012-202285 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Glynn, Sarah. “Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 15 Jan. 2013. Web.
7 Apr. 2013. APA

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‘Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids’

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