Suffering from Eczema
I've been suffering from severe eczema for two weeks now. Actually, this skin problem started when I was 22 years old. During that time, my mother and I wasn't surprised at all when I first told her about the tiny fluid collecting in the skin of fingers. She has had it from time to time. Then I realized that eczema is hereditary, and now I am also inflicted with it.
The summer heat in the Philippines, where recent temperatures climbed around between 36-38 degree Celsius took its toil in my already dry skin. As a wearer of contact lenses, I didn't want to use lotion to my hands. It felt uncomfortable and dirty. And so my skin was left totally unprotected. Several days ago, vesicles started appearing in my skin. I'm used to this kind of scene when temperatures are extremes. The vesicles erupt, dry up and crack and usually heal by themselves after putting an emollient. But not this time. The vesicles gradually became worse. Soon, my fingers were already red, very itchy, painful, and worst of all, they were already oozing. It was an ugly sight to behold and the pain was almost unbearable. I cried when they were at their most painful. It is the right hand that was severely affected, and I cannot almost used it anymore. After putting different types of emollient and no obvious improvement occur, it became clear to me that they won't subside anymore and the threat of spreading to the other parts of my hands already upset me.
And so I decided to go to the dermatologist. I was already expecting that she will give me a corticosteroid to put down the inflammation, and I was right. The doctor prescribed me oral medications already, which only proves how serious the eczema has become. She gave me a one week course of Prednisone (for the inflammation) and Loratadine (for the severe itching). She also gave me a 5-day course of antibiotic (Cephalexin) to stop the oozing. I am on my second day today, and happily, there is a dramatic improvement already. The oozing stops and they were no longer red and painful, already a slight tingling sensation can still be felt (itching). As advised by two doctors (and my mom and boyfriend), I must keep my skin moisturize from now on, to avoid future problems. Even though I really hate the feeling of having lotion on my hands, I have to deal to this discomfort from now, otherwise, eczema can lay waste to my skin again and suffer its terrible effects. This episode in my life completely changed my life and my view of eczema. Because this is hereditary, there's no way to cure this. It's best to avoid it, and the precautions that I must undertake from now on changed my way of life forever.
The summer heat in the Philippines, where recent temperatures climbed around between 36-38 degree Celsius took its toil in my already dry skin. As a wearer of contact lenses, I didn't want to use lotion to my hands. It felt uncomfortable and dirty. And so my skin was left totally unprotected. Several days ago, vesicles started appearing in my skin. I'm used to this kind of scene when temperatures are extremes. The vesicles erupt, dry up and crack and usually heal by themselves after putting an emollient. But not this time. The vesicles gradually became worse. Soon, my fingers were already red, very itchy, painful, and worst of all, they were already oozing. It was an ugly sight to behold and the pain was almost unbearable. I cried when they were at their most painful. It is the right hand that was severely affected, and I cannot almost used it anymore. After putting different types of emollient and no obvious improvement occur, it became clear to me that they won't subside anymore and the threat of spreading to the other parts of my hands already upset me.
And so I decided to go to the dermatologist. I was already expecting that she will give me a corticosteroid to put down the inflammation, and I was right. The doctor prescribed me oral medications already, which only proves how serious the eczema has become. She gave me a one week course of Prednisone (for the inflammation) and Loratadine (for the severe itching). She also gave me a 5-day course of antibiotic (Cephalexin) to stop the oozing. I am on my second day today, and happily, there is a dramatic improvement already. The oozing stops and they were no longer red and painful, already a slight tingling sensation can still be felt (itching). As advised by two doctors (and my mom and boyfriend), I must keep my skin moisturize from now on, to avoid future problems. Even though I really hate the feeling of having lotion on my hands, I have to deal to this discomfort from now, otherwise, eczema can lay waste to my skin again and suffer its terrible effects. This episode in my life completely changed my life and my view of eczema. Because this is hereditary, there's no way to cure this. It's best to avoid it, and the precautions that I must undertake from now on changed my way of life forever.
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