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 20th birthday on the same night as my little sisters 18th :-)
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.
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| 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 |
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| My skin the day before the appointment... |
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| 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.
