Just a quick message to say Happy New Year to you and your family. Thank you for following the Eczema Blog, and I hope to hear from you in 2014. Teri 
Eczema Blog
Tag Archives: Year
51 months TSW and a Belated Happy New Year!
During the horrific early months and years of TSW, the nights were so dark, long, and lonely, and the days–though welcomed because of the light–were just as draining and frustrating, with no end in sight. Now here we are, four years later, and I’m amazed how fast the time has flown by! Brian started TSW as a 10 year-old fifth grader, and he’s now a 14-year-old 9th grader.
September 2013 just before TSW^ ^September 2017 51 months TSW
How’s he doing? Well, the cold, dry winter atmosphere has resulted in the usual dry skin; the added experience of being a freshman has contributed to increased stress scratching; and cat dander still results in itching, red patches, and allergy symptoms (benadryl to the rescue!). However, the last few TSW signs/symptoms I’ve been monitoring–red sleeves, oozing, elephant skin, profuse skin shedding–have not recurred this time. Now, of course he gets the skin flakes from the dry skin, but it doesn’t result in tablespoons of skin on the sheets in the morning. In fact, my arms are getting flabby because I’m no longer changing and shaking out sheets every day. I’ll exchange flab for TSW any day!
I posted the most recent progress photos in Pictures. Certainly, the skin is NOT perfect, nor will it probably ever be because dysfunctional skin is in his genes, thanks to me and my hubby. He also probably still has atopic dermatitis–which he chooses to manage without steroids and by not worrying about it. However, he is healthy and active and living life. What more can we ask for our child? 
If you are just starting on this TSW journey, you are not alone. It’s a long, painful, difficult rollercoaster process, but for the health and welfare of your child and/or yourself, withdrawing ineffective topical steroids is essential for the body to heal. In addition, appropriate skin/wound care, nutritional, medical, and psychosocial support are needed to address the signs, symptoms, and sequelae of TSW. Find a knowledgeable or at least open-minded doctor who can support you during this process and communicate with others who understand what you’re going through.
You DO have hope for healing!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
New Year, new you? You’re better off eating cake than pretending you don’t for a fortnight.
New year, new you? It’s one of the biggest myths perpetrated by, well, just about everyone and everything. The simple function of chronology doesn’t allow one to entirely reinvent oneself because the hand of a clock sweeps past an arbitrary time. The pressure to be better, try new things, be different, be a new improved, shinier version of yourself is self evidently ridiculous, but still we buy into it with our ‘resolutions’. I won’t drink, I’ll try and get to the gym more, I’m going to cycle to work and so on and so on. We as sensible, functioning adults in the world buy wholesale into this nonsense, even if we deny it we’re probably thinking at least one or two virtuous thoughts regarding the week ahead, so how on earth can we expect our children to do anything different?
Yes, much is spoken about the snowflake generation of post-millennials and much of the criticism is not without basis, but they are of course the first generation to have grown up with the internet as a ubiquitous tool and all the attendant social media pressure that accompanies and scrutinizes their every movement. When we were at school you may have had bullying, nastiness and so on but if someone wanted to insult and denigrate you they would have to call the house phone and explain to your parents what they wanted prior to getting in a few jabs.
Learning to love yourself is one of the truly great gifts you can give yourself and your child.
This time of year, one of the most crucial times in academic terms for many students – for Year 13 it is the last chance to decide whether to throw their hat in the ring with a university application before the closing date of 15th January, which is a huge and enormously difficult decision. [On my own blog (https://edducan.com) I’ve long spoken out about the relentless push for uni at schools, that being said if any one of your children are on the fence about whether to pursue uni or an apprenticeship then it may be worth getting an application in just so you have a marker there, better to make decisions from a position of strength rather than choosing the best of a bad bunch.] Psychologically this time of year feels like a tide change in terms of expectations. If the Autumn term is a giddy and unwelcome place holder after the long summer holidays and before the shorter Christmas one, then after the break, it is in the same year as the end of year exams and time to knuckle down, A Levels, GCSEs, Finals, SATs, whatever it is your child is facing, this is when it starts to get more real, only six months left to gain the ground lost in the previous four.
With all the extra pressure, real or imagined, that students are facing this time of year, the last thing they need to be submitting to is the clamouring of new year’s short lived aspirations. Real change, self betterment, aspiration are not dirty words and a sustained and lifelong desire to improve oneself and one’s circumstance is to be applauded and encouraged but sticking plaster solutions and pie crust ambition as a knee jerk reaction to hanging the new calendar is perhaps less healthy – indeed so many of these ambitions are linked to weight and the aesthetic it’s hard to not to think the goals, like the intent, are superficial and destined to quickly implode, and what message does that send? So, with that in mind, lean in to the old you, embrace cake and Prosecco and being okay with being who you are, your children will thank you even if your waistline doesn’t.
Happy New Year Red Skin Friends!
Wow. It has been an entire month since I last updated this blog.
Let’s start by saying Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year will be good to all of us going through topical steroid withdrawal, and to those who haven’t started the journey yet, I hope this is the year you see sense and potentially save yourself from long term pain of steroid addiction.
I figured I would reflect on and talk a little about what 2014 had in store for me so that I can look back and see how far I have come.
The start of 2014 was great. I was in a good place, my skin was pretty decent. I was able to wear black clothing, go out with my friends more, work more full time hours and not have to worry about my skin.
This soon changed. The start of the year my other half was in a bad place mentally and we needed to get out of Lincoln and find him a new job where he could relax and feel appreciated for all his efforts. I was also yearning for change as Lincoln had become a bit stale and I felt ready to move on and go forward with life. He found a fantastic job in Leeds, and off we moved at the end of April. However even though I did not feel at all stressed as I was excited for the change, my body had other ideas and off again started the pain and misery of my second full body flare. I was gutted. I wanted good change, to finally get on with my life.
I believe it has to do with the change of environment but there is little you can do until your body naturally adjusts. So pain was endured and I had to begrudgingly take time off work. After a trip to the doctors where I was given an antibiotic that I had used numerous times in the past I woke up the next day having had an allergic reaction. I was shipped to hospital only to be told it was ‘just my eczema’ giving me grief. Even though it was obviously an allergic reaction given my face and eyes had completely swelled up, just as it does when I am faced with allergens. Funnily the swelling went away after I had ceased the usage.
I was then sent to the dermatologist to continue with treatment that I had received at Lincoln hospital which turned out to be a nightmare having to start from scratch as they didn’t seem to be able to locate any of my previous notes. There was a big family wedding coming up in August and I needed something to control my skin, so after a lot of arguing that I wasn’t going to use steroidal treatment we agreed to put me back on Ciclosporin even though I was apprehensive because it had failed to work the last time and I ended up with MRSA in 2013.
The Ciclosporin worked its magic, but only for a short period. By the end of October my skin gradually became worse and worse and I dealt with more and more infections. I’m still in this place now where I don’t know when my next infection is going to occur but I feel it could just be around the corner. I have a follow up appointment next week with the dermatologist which I am not looking forward to but I will see if it is possible to carry out blood work for deficiencies.
There has been one excellent thing though. I actually went home to my family for Christmas this year and it was great. My brother also has a cat and I didn’t appear to react for the entire duration of the day. I did however start to get sneezy at my mum’s house but all in all I was ecstatic that I could stand to be there at all.
I really hope this is the year things start to look up for me. I would ideally like to be doing a different job that doesn’t involve me dealing with members of the public on a daily basis, as this is contributing to my endless infections, despite my precautions to use hand sanitisers and the like. I feel an office based job would be better suited for my recovery and much less stressful overall. Yet without the relevant experience and my awful absence record I’m still going to be stuck for a long while yet. Ho hum. My absence will only get better if I have a better suited job so it is a bit of a vicious circle right now. I feel stuck in a rut and want to broaden my skill set and be able to lead the happy life I had intended.
I hope everyone else is well and I endeavour to update more frequently again.
I Have Eczema
A new year and new demands in dermatology
In this slideshow, we highlight some industry developments from 2017 and offer a snapshot of what the New Year may hold, such as an increased demand for tele-dermatology, topical scar treatments, silicon-based scar treatments and hair transplantation services.
Dermatology Times – Dermatology
What are you thankful for this year?
Type 2 diabetes costing NHS £8.8bn each year
It is estimated that 600,000 people in the UK have Type 2 diabetes but have yet to be diagnosed. Including the undiagnosed, that’s around 4 million people in the UK alone. And since 1996, the number of people with diabetes has doubled making this one of the fastest growing diseases. And yet for many it is completely preventable.
Lack of awareness and screening have been partly to blame. And that’s not just lack of awareness amongst the general public. GPs need to be more attentive to the risk factors amongst their patient population including signs of high blood pressure, patients who are overweight or obese, as well as being more aware of susceptible groups such as men, young people and those of minority race or ethnicity. It is clear that the likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes is increased by being overweight. And the problem is being felt across the NHS with costs associated with diabetes care reaching a staggering £8.8bn every single year. This isn’t sustainable long-term.
1 in 4 people are totally unaware they have diabetes; there needs to be more education around the condition and the association of co-morbidity; complications such as foot amputation, kidney disease, stroke and heart attack are just a few.
NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK have launched the Healthier You: Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) designed to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in higher risk groups by offering dietary and exercise advise. UK coverage, however isn’t likely for another 3 years, so clearly there is still a long way to go.
Diabetes is a serious condition and if it’s not diagnosed or poorly managed it can lead to significant health problems and ultimately death. Someone with diabetes is likely to have a reduced life expectancy too.
There are some symptoms to look out for, and anyone experiencing any of these should consult their GP:
- feeling very thirsty
- going to the toilet for a wee frequently especially at night
- feeling very tired
- loss of weight or muscle bulk
- itching around the penis or vagina – frequent episodes of thrush
- wounds, cuts and grazes healing slowly
- blurred vision
For more information about all types of diabetes, take a look at the talkhealth Patient Journeys:
Diabetes Research
talkhealth will be launching a diabetes research survey to find out more from members and visitors about their experience of diabetes and knowledge around the condition. If you’d like to take part in this research, please comment below (we will post a link to the survey once it’s open) or email info@talkhealthpartnership.com
Sources:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/38-million-people-in-england-now-have-diabetes
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/assessing-gaps-in-diabetes-care
4 Ways to Make Sure Your Child Has a Successful School Year!
4 Ways to Make Sure Your Child Has a Successful School Year!
Now that school is in session, here are four ways to make sure the excitement lasts:
50% more people have hay fever this year
I think you’ll all agree, this year has been an incredible summer so far. I love England in the sun, it’s like being on holiday and the feeling of the sun warming the skin is one of my favourite things. But if that warm, dry weather brings with it clouds of pollen, spring and summer can be miserable for those who have hay fever.
I’ve noticed that just in my circle of friends and allergy community many of us have seen a worsening in symptoms, terrible hay fever and also loads of people getting it for either the first time or the first time in years.
A recent study revealed that there has indeed been quite a staggering rise.
Read ‘Spike in summer hay fever cases’,
The article begins by stating that, “Hay fever cases in England have reached their highest level so far this year, and are just under 50% higher compared to this time in 2016, the latest weekly figures from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Research and Surveillance Centre show.”
That’s a 230% increase… but what’s the reason?
- Warmer drier weather for the seasons means more pollen
- Hay fever seasons seem to be extending, trees pollinate more for longer
- Very little rain to soak up the pollen – so it’s dry and stays on the surface to blow around
- More city landscaping, trapping pollen on hard surfaces
- Trends toward more decking and hard floors in gardens – pollen is absorbed into soil
- Council planting strategies favour high pollen trees over fruiting (less mess to clear up)
- Five year trends do see spikes in symptom cycles like this
- And I could go on…
I plan to produce a blog about why this is happening shortly, the article above, whilst intetesting, doesn’t offer any insight into why this phenomon is occuring. If you’re like me, you want answers, you want to understand why, so you can at least reassure yourself you’re not to blame. Your super immune system is just over reacting again in a quite spectacular way. It’s being quite clever really so do be proud of your body. It’s trying to help you out, it’s just failing rather miserably to do so…
I learnt loads about this last year when I was on Country File Diaries in a hay fever special. You can read the top 20 things I learnt here in 20 things you can do to reduce your hay fever...
So there could be many factors, leaving us still with no real cure or treatment. Anti histamines and sprays and eye drops do help but they only take the edge off the symptoms.
For more help, tips and ideas to help you reduce your symptoms, please read my other hay fever blogs here.
For those who crave an active outdoor lifestyle it’s time to man up and get out there. Go prepared and take whatever precautions you can because this super pollen is nasty and it’s out to get you!
Please also listen to me on 5 Live talking to Sam Walker and Chris Warburton on Sunday Breakfast about this very phenomenon.
Has your hay fever been worse? or have you or your child just got it for the first time this year?
Day 352 – Day 364: THE END OF MY FIRST YEAR OF TOPICAL STEROID WITHDRAWAL (TSW)
ONE YEAR!? HOLY MOLY. I am believing that the worst is over. This year has been hell. Utter hell. And I’m ready to move on. The end of my first year was spent with the same old same old. Dry but doable with makeup. It loves moisturizer. I ended the year with a flare. From moving and maybe just from my 1 year flare….
Day 352
Day 353
Day 355
Day 358
Day 359
Day 360
Day 361 .. THE MOVE!?
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| Skin was so calm.. I felt great. |
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| All day… felt amazing… |
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| Til I laid down to sleep… Then Hell broke loose. |
Day 362
Day 364
Month 13 –>