Happy New Year!

So first of all, I want to say happy New Year to each and every one of you!  2014 was a fun and exciting year;

I passed my driving test first time round

I went to my first festival (Download) which I absolutely loved

I passed my first year of college with an A *proud moment*

Martin and I celebrated our first year anniversary in Edinburgh

And I got to celebrate my 20^th birthday on the same night as my little sisters 18^th :-)

I’m looking forward to another chilled out year full of fun, gigs, celebrations and laughter!  And who knows, maybe I’ll no longer be blogging about my eczema by the end of it..

On Wednesday I had my appointment with the skin specialist at my local GP.  As most of you will know I was super excited to be referred to her, because I believed that it would be the start of the end of this madness which is my skin condition!

She took a good look at my skin, it was hot and very red that day – so she wanted to see all of the affected areas, opposed to just my arms and neck.  She commented a lot about how angry it looked, and how she wanted to get it “under control” as quickly as possible. 

Her advice was to try out a new steroid ointment that I have not been prescribed before, she suggests that I apply it once a day for up to four weeks, then twice a week, then once, then only when required.  She informed me that it is important to stick to the regime, as when you suddenly stop using such a strong steroid, your skin doesn’t know what to do and goes into shock, which nine out of ten times is why the skin breaks out even worse the next time round!  So even why my skin looks as fresh as a daisy, I’ve still to apply just a little to the areas that flare up the most – in a bid to prevent it from happening later on.

My saviours for the next couple of weeks!  Aveeno cream is right up there with my favourites - the only shop bought cream that actually helps me!
Pictured: Cetraben Cream, Aveeno Oatmeal Cream, Organic Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, Elocon Ointment, Hydrocortisone Ointment and Atarax Antihistamines

My skin the day before the appointment...

My skin the day after, with just one day's use of the new ointment!

She also gave me plenty more antihistamines to help prevent me from hacking at my skin during the night, as well as giving me a weak steroid cream to use on my face to try and stop it looking so angry around my eyes.  I’m still been ditching the make-up, but I have since been advised that Holland and Barrett have a make-up range designed specifically for very sensitive skin – so I may be tempted to test it out in the next couple of weeks.  Watch this space…

All in all, I was a little disappointed with my visit. I’m not exactly sure why, but I had expected something other than just a new ointment.  I guess I had just hoped that I would have been asked more about what I had tried, what had worked for me in the past and what I would be willing to try in the future – rather than just being told for the hundredth time that eczema is not curable just manageable, and that stress will play a part in aggravating my skin from time to time, and that it’s something I’ll just have to deal with. 

I know it can be curable, I’ve read plenty about people who have overcome their struggles with it – be it by changing their lifestyle, their diets or their daily necessities – they did it!  So hopefully, with a little bit of patience, this year will be the year that I overcome it to J

I’m hoping that these ointments will do what the Doctor suggested and bring my skin back to a manageable condition, however I am keen to try other solutions to help control the situation.

I’ll keep you all posted on the success of my new prescriptions over the next couple of weeks, but until then, I hope you all enjoy the start of 2015!