September 23, 2009
Food Allergies.
A few months back I went to a new dermatologist recommended by a friend. With all due respect to the learned Dr. he too like all the doctors I have met thus far does not believe food allergies and eczema
In a huff I sought an allergy specialist. Luckily he accepted me without having to make an appointment.
Long story short, the Allergist confirmed the all the foods I knew I was allergic too and a few more. I now have 10 foods I cannot take. One of which is garlic! I looked at the doctor and said what on earth am I going to eat? It also means I cannot eat in restaurants, have dinner with friends or on a date with hubby.
Now my food has to come from home. I have to make my own food. I have to eat first before I make my way to a dinner meeting. It has been an adjustment.
However, because I have stuck to the diet, my skin is normal. It has come back to normal! I took a picture recently with a friend’s son. And my skin looked fantastic in the picture. It has been a while. HELLO!!
There are times when I fall off the band wagon and I have an itch attack. But the attack is not so bad and does not last for days. It dries up very fast and peels off very fast. It does not take weeks to mend. Depending on the severity of the attack.
Now I have to deal with the scars left by my eczema. Small price to pay. I see my scars as a story of my life. Just like people with tatoos and their ink represents their story.
Food Allergies.
A few months back I went to a new dermatologist recommended by a friend. With all due respect to the learned Dr. he too like all the doctors I have met thus far does not believe food allergies and eczema
In a huff I sought an allergy specialist. Luckily he accepted me without having to make an appointment.
Long story short, the Allergist confirmed the all the foods I knew I was allergic too and a few more. I now have 10 foods I cannot take. One of which is garlic! I looked at the doctor and said what on earth am I going to eat? It also means I cannot eat in restaurants, have dinner with friends or on a date with hubby.
Now my food has to come from home. I have to make my own food. I have to eat first before I make my way to a dinner meeting. It has been an adjustment.
However, because I have stuck to the diet, my skin is normal. It has come back to normal! I took a picture recently with a friend’s son. And my skin looked fantastic in the picture. It has been a while. HELLO!! There are times when I fall off the band wagon and I have an itch attack. But the attack is not so bad and does not last for days. It dries up very fast and peels off very fast. It does not take weeks to mend. Depending on the severity of the attack.
Now I have to deal with the scars left by my eczema. Small price to pay. I see my scars as a story of my life. Just like people with tatoos and their ink represents their story.
March 10, 2009
Allergy and eczema
For me they go together. Recently I was at a shoot for a local drama. Was on location the whole day. And I did not have time to prepare my food to bring along. My food. The ones that I know does not have anything I am allergic too.
Time can for the runner to buy dinner. He was nice enough to ask me what I can’t eat. So I have him the list. He was listening intently to what I had to say and wrote it all down. Dinner came around and everyone stopped to eat. I had noodles. It was black in colour. I had a feeling it had oyster sauce in it, but did not want to complain. I went on eating. I did not complain because there was no restaurants near there or fast food place that they could run too and reorder my dinner. Besides by the time everyone had finished it was time to continue the shoot. Then I really would not have time to eat. And I can’t work on an empty stomach.
As a result. My eczema on my face and neck and front portion of my shoulder and the front of my elbow and the back of my knees are bad and itchy. After the dinner incident I have had not slept much. Every time lay my head down my neck touches the bedding, as it naturally does, the itch starts. So in the end I sit up and felt unhappy. I’m sleepy yet itchy and cannot sleep because. There was one night I could not sleep till 8.30am. It was the shear sleepiness of the sleepless night that got me to bed.The next night I took a sleeping pill. I know that if I did not take the pill I would not be able to sleep again. Three nights in a row of not sleeping takes a toll.
I have to always be ready for camera. This gives me stress and stress does not help the issue. Its like a vicious circle.
Today its getting better. All dried up and flaky. The minute my neck hits the bed there it goes again, the dreaded itch. It flakes so much, and the flakes are minute, that I have to dust my bed everyday. And when the flakes fall off on their own it feels sand on my shoulder or it looks like dandruff on my clothes. Either way it not a nice after feeling.
I really feel upset this time because I share a bed with my husband. Though he does not complain I feel really guilty and shy at the same time.
I know the allergy will pass and I have been through this episode so many times is like a broken record. It not like a rerun of friends.
I hope to sleep tonight without the help of my sleeping pill. I don’t want to be addicted to sleeping pills. Which I am fearful off.
Sleepy and tired.
Itchy
June 6, 2008
I can’t live a “normal” life.
Eventhough I did say that my eczema is getting better, I have to constantly remind myself that I have allergies that can trigger my eczema. These allergies will not go away! Hubby bought a few packets of crisps. Its walkers crisps. I think its more for the nostalgia and where the tastes of it brings us in our childhood is the reason we bought it. š
I ate a couple of bags the other day and now my almost clear skin is itchy from the crisps and my eczema has turned up on my neck, the folds of my arms and patches around my mouth, cheek and forehead. I have to resort to putting on my steroid cream on those areas.
I know I have to still live like I have full blown eczema even though my skin is on the road to recovery. But its hard! When my skin almost feels normal I want to feel normal just like everyone else. I want to be able to go out with friends and not be hindered by my eczema. I want to eat without checking with the waiter if there are any ingredients that I can’t eat. I want to be able to put on nice clothes without getting to hot and itchy. I want to wear make-up without thinking will I have a reaction to it. I want to be able to got through the automatic passport lane at the airport where they check your thumb print before you leave the country instead of going though the manual lane. ( I don’t have any finger prints because of my eczema) I want to be able to go for extreme sports without thinking whether the water or the sun or the wind or the equipment might just cause my eczema to erupt and itch like crazy. I want to be able to do all the things that I love to do and eat but its all just a dream.
Sometimes I pretend that things will be ok only to get up the next morning and find my eczema there for me to nurture till its comfortable and that my plans for the day needs to be readjusted. When I readjust them I have to disappoint people. And when you disappoint people who don’t understand what you are going through you will start to lose friends. The walls start becoming coming in on you and your world starts to get emptier in a world full of people. This is when depression sets in. If you can identify its depression then you can do something about it. Its when your can’t that close friends and family patience’s are being tested. The good thing is you can filter friend from foe, and family… well…. that you can filter too. The ones that remain. Well…. you have to be patient with them because they have a certain amount of patients too.
You would think after 34 years I would have come to terms with it. But each time I try its just gets harder to do. I think its because i don’t get the support I need to see it through.
Time and time again I fall into the trap of thinking that I am normal and can live a normal life when my skin is better. I have not learnt my lesson. This is one time when optimism does not work. I have to change my mind set. I think that is the key. I have to still live like I have full blown eczema and face the never ending challenges. I have to make it part of life and stop thinking that I am normal because I’m not. I have a disability that no one in my life or in this country understands unless you are a sufferer yourself. I have to suffer in silence and smile at adversities.
How I have to change my mind set, I don’t know quite yet. I think it has to start with complete and utter acceptance coupled with taking the responsibility that comes with acceptance. That’s such a tall order. Trying to change my mind set is not key. Making the decision and sticking to it is. Coming to that end is the most frightening thing of all.
ItChy
June 2, 2008
coming out of a two year relapse
I started my relapse just after I got married. I figured it was the stress of a new life with someone and not making the same mistake with my last marriage that really wound me up something chronic. Its now been two years and five months and my marriage is strong, full of love and in a happy place. He’s been great throughout my relapse. You can see he really can’t empathize with the itch and the pain (emotionally and physically), but when I really need time out to take care of my skin or just sleep, he is ever ready and willing to accommodate. I recently found that if friends want to come around and I’m not well to receive guests, he will say no or make other arrangements with them. So my fear of my eczema getting in the way of my marriage is long gone now.
We also moved from a very small and stuffy two bedroom apartment that you can hardly move in, to a beautiful house. We’ve been decorating and slowly buying furniture here and there, unpacking boxes. Its been so much fun. When my skin gets agitated by the dust, besides doing the necessary to calm it down, I just think of the end result and smile. That helps too.
The other factor of my relapse is that I wanted a baby. Now we sorted that issue out things are calmer. We have found a solution for this problem and when I get preggers I figure this blog will be filled with information that I’ve researched on eczema and pregnancy. So I’m looking forward to that.
Another area of my life that added to my stress was work. I had decided when I got married that I would not work in the first year and sort out moving house, getting adjusted to married life and having a baby. I was so bored that it affected my skin. So after the year ended I decided to go back to work. That was harder than I thought. Well now, after a year things a picking up slowly, but during that year it was hell. Even though I have 5 years experience as a TV Presenter and I have a masters degree as a journalist, I just think they still want Pretty Young Things first and foremost. So I’ve had to re-adjust my career decisions and direction.
I know that not only food allergies and the environment affects the state of my eczema, but it is also my emotional well being. I have learnt to pin point what is the cause of my troubles. Its a long process with many a nights confused, soul searching and crying. But once i’ve identified it, (and sometime I do miss the mark) I talk to hubby on what best to do and let him know what my options are. That’s because what ever decisions I make will affect him too. If I do miss the mark I just have to readjust and take the next best option. All this is easy to write but definitely a process. Two years is a long time in my case.
My skin now is calmer with smaller relapse that don’t cause me to much trouble. It is very much under control. I can live very near normal now and I’m happy about it. So my plan is to live in the moment and take time to remember what its like to be this close to normal skin as possible. I’ll put it in my memory banks to when the next major relapse happens so that I can draw on the memory I’m making now so that I can look forward to being near normal again. š
Being very happy.
Not so ITCHY
March 21, 2008
Menghidap ekzema tidak halang Azah terus aktif Oleh NOOR FAZRINA KAMAL
TIADA halangan bagi wanita ini memenuhi segala cita-citanya walaupun di sebaliknya beliau menderita sejenis penyakit kulit yang dinamakan ekzema.
Penyakit yang dialami oleh dua dari setiap 10 orang ini masih belum begitu mendapat pendedahan di kalangan ibu bapa dan pesakit. Bagi yang belum tahu, ekzema adalah sejenis penyakit genetik yang diwarisi dari ibu atau bapa atau kedua-duanya sekali.
Penyakit ini menyebabkan pengidapnya mengalami kegatalan kulit terutama di bahagian pelipat seperti di tengkuk, belakang lutut dan ruang antara tangan dan lengan. Apabila penghidap ekzema terdedah kepada habuk, cuaca terlalu kering atau peluh yang keluar dari badan, dia akan merasa gatal dan tidak dapat mengawal diri dari menggaru bahagian tersebut.
Kesan garu dan kulit yang sensitif menyebabkan kulit pesakit ekzema tidak lembut, warna seakan kehitaman, kasar dan berparut.
Bagi sesetengah penghidap ekzema, kesan atau parut kulit yang digaru menyebabkan mereka mengalami perasaan rendah diri.
Bagaimanapun anda tidak harus bersikap negatif kerana sebenarnya anda tidak keseorangan dan ada cara mengawal penyakit anda itu.
Nama Azah Yazmin Yusoff, 34, memang cukup terkenal di kalangan penonton yang pernah melihat beliau menjadi pengacara musim pertama 3R, bersama Rafidah dan Yuen.
Perwatakannya yang ceria dan paras rupa yang menarik menyebabkan beliau terpilih untuk menjadi pengacara rancangan berbentuk keremajaan itu. Bukan itu sahaja, beliau juga merupakan pelakon iklan, drama, pengacara majlis dan juga model.
Azah membuktikan tiada halangan bagi seorang penghidap penyakit ekzema untuk tampil yakin di khalayak ramai asal tahu cara mengawal penyakit mereka.
Menceritakan salah satu pengalaman yang tidak akan beliau lupakan, Azah berkata, pernah satu ketika ketika dia tiba di pintu imigresen Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa KLIA, cap jarinya tidak jelas dan beliau terpaksa melalui pintu biasa untuk masuk ke negara ini. Garisan di ibu jarinya tidak jelas kerana kekeringan kulit yang melampau.
āSaya merupakan penghidap ekzema sejak dari kecil lagi, sejak dari itu sudah pelbagai jenis ubat saya cuba untuk mengurangkan penderitaan yang saya alami. Bukan setakat ubat-ubatan saintifik, malah tradisional, homeopati, rawatan tradisional Cina dan macam-macam lagi,ā ujarnya ketika ditemubual di studio Utusan Malaysia, baru-baru ini.
Azah mengakui, penyakit kulit yang dideritainya ini tidak akan berakhir, namun adalah amat penting bagi seseorang yang menghidap ekzema itu tahu cara untuk mengawal penyakit mereka. Mengetahui punca kegatalan menyerang adalah salah satu cara mengawal penyakit tersebut.
āMacam saya, pengambilan makanan laut akan membuatkan kulit saya mengalami gatal yang luar biasa. Selain itu, saya juga pastikan kulit saya tidak kering dengan menggunakan losen khas untuk kulit sensitif seperti saya,ā ujar Azah yang memiliki Ijazah Sarjana (master) Kewartawanan Televisyen dari Kolej Universiti Goldsmiths di London.
Bagi mengawal kegatalan akibat ekzema, Azah menggunakan barangan penjagaan kulit dari jenama Eucerin.
Sejak menggunakan cecair mandian dan losen PH5 Eucerin, Azah dapat mengurangkan kekeringan kulit dan seterusnya mengurangkan rasa gatal di kulitnya.
āBoleh dikatakan sudah beratus produk yang saya cuba untuk mengawal ekzema saya, saya dapati produk Eucerin betul-betul sesuai untuk saya dan ia amat membantu saya terutama apabila saya mempunyai urusan di luar seperti mengacara dan bekerja.
āKadang kala saya terlepas makan makanan laut, akibatnya kegatalan menjadi-jadi, nasib baik ada losen Eucerin yang mengurangkan kegatalan itu, jika tidak, tentu kulit saya menjadi semakin teruk dan parut timbul di mana-mana saja,ā jelasnya diiringi ketawa kecil.
Azah ingin mengajak sesiapa sahaja yang mengalami masalah kulit sepertinya untuk mengunjungi laman web http://www.eczema.webs.com atau http://www.atopiceczema.wordpress. com. Bagi yang ingin mengenali Azah dengan lebih lanjut boleh kunjungi blog Azah iaitu http://www.azahyazmin.webs.com.
(c) 2008 Utusan Malaysia
March 10, 2008
Its been a while…..
Hi its been a while. The last I properly wrote in this blog was last year. That’s because its been a trying time for me and the family. Firstly we moved to our new house. That did so much damage on my skin. The dust was getting to me and I had open lesions all over my body from scratching the itch and my scalp was weeping. Everyday bathing was painful.
It took me bit by bit everyday for two months to pack and finally we moved in mid December. You can imagine the dust I had to live in for that long. I was feeling so unwell. Everyday I packed I had to prepare my body. I wore long sleeved t-shirts, socks, bandana to cover my hair, long trousers and hypo-allergenic surgical gloves. So you can imagine my me perspiring under all that clothing under the Malaysian heat! And the sweat did not help with the itch either.
There were times where I could not pack the whole day. There was so much dust being kicked up that I reacted to it and I was sneezing and scratching. HUH! So packing was slow.
I used wet cleaning cloths to wipe down the dust, that helped with the dust being airborne but the sweat in the gloves just made work so difficult. It kept on slipping of my hand or a hole would develop from a paper cut and that would let in all the dust. It was just an up hill battle.
Still I continued to pack.
On the days I was not able to clean and pack I would just sit down rest. Feeling very defeated. You see my mind is able to go on but my body isn’t. Thats the frustration. Thats where the feeling of defeat comes from. I showered thoroughly twice a day and applied my lotions and potions after each shower. Even though I took all the precautions, there were times where I felt so frustrated and agitated from the itch. The only thing that made me go on was, I wanted the feeling of accomplishment that I can do this despite the challenges and I wanted to be in my new house.
Then I realized, it might not be the dust or maybe the dust may just be a part of it. Then I remembered reading a long time ago that emotions had something to do with eczema. If you feel stressed or unhappy or whatever it will agitate the eczema. So I said to myself that I was moving and moving is a stressful period. So not only was it the dust it was the stress as well. Ah! So everyday I’ll do my yoga breathing. It helped to calm me down a little. And while I was in transit I would take that time to breath and centre. That help me a lot. Even though the eczema did not disappear but was manageable.
At the same time my father in law was in hospital. After 2 and a bit months he has finally come home but only to periodically go back and stay for a few days or so. To date he is still in hospital but back in the normal wards. There were times we might have lost my father in law. I had to be a strong pillar for my hubby. As he is the only son in the family, he will inherit a lot of the family’s responsibilities. So you can imagine how I was emotionally. All my suffering with eczema at this time I kept mum about because I thought that there were more important issues to attend to than my skin.
The only person I spoke about it to was my mother. She gave me the number to a cleaning company that sends cleaner to the house as an when I need it. So that was a blessing. I schedule for four cleaners to clean my house when I moved in. My windows, floor, bathrooms etc were cleaned in one day. My boxes were sorted into a corner. What a blessing!
Since I moved last December, I had to take care of my already bad skin. It has taken me about three months to calm it down to a place where I’m not itching as much.
Here’s to Life Challenges. If it does not kill me it will make me stronger.
ItChY
December 27, 2007
I’ve moved!!
YAY I’ve finally moved!!
From a really small and congested apartment to a massive (in comparison) double storey semi-detached house. I LIKE!
Stress from moving and Eczema don’t go hand in hand. I pre-empt the event and stocked up on my creams lotions and potions and put it in a blue opaque plastic box. Every night I would do my ‘skin analysis’ so that I can keep my eczema at bay.
It worked! I did not flare up that badly. Unfortunately the eczema on scalp did and it was so bad. It was weeping and stinging everytime I had my shower at the end of a days packing. My lymph nodes on my neck were swollen. It was bad to the extent that I felt that I was having the flu without the flu-like symptoms of cough and sniffling nose.
So when I felt like that, I would take a break in between and continue when I felt a bit better. I ended up wearing a bandana to protect my scalp. Since the apartment is small we had to open one or two boxes at a time to pack. There was just simply no space to pack. Eventually the one or two boxes made some space to became five to 7 boxes at a time. During the week we packed and at the weekends we’d move the boxes. So you can imagine how long it took. (about 2 and a half months) Then we hired a 5 ton lorry to move the bigger furniture, like the TV sofas, dinner table and chairs etc etc.
The doc gave me ELOMET scalp lotion. Which helped with the weeping but now I’m back to having super dry scalp. I can’t wear black or dark coloured tops any more. I’ve changed my shampoo to T-Gel recommended by one of my blog visitor. Sorry honey, it made it worse. It also started to sting and weep. OH I DON”T KNOW! This is so frustrating. I’m trying everything! Doc says its the stress of my move. That’s the cause. Finish the move, stop the eczema.
OK the thing is I know this and I’ve prepared for it. I’ve taken steps to not agitate it and get it under control. I even meditated and did Yoga breathing to help with my stress. I did things and packed methodically as well. I did eveything that would reduce the stress. Seriously I did not feel under so much stress. I guess that’s the thing. I reduced the stress but really did not take it completely away. Hmmm…..
Maybe there is more to stress than what I know. I feel some research coming on. š But I have a house to organise and boxes to unpack! HAHAHAH now I feel stressed LOL
Undercontrol
ItChY
November 23, 2007
Website doing very well
Hello Peeps,
First of all to my friends who regularly visit my blog, I must apologise for not writing for so long! I’ve been very busy with work and my house renovations and the move. And also building a website for people like us in Malaysia
I really felt alone here suffering by myself. On the net everyone seems so far away in US or UK or Australia, at least to visit or a chat would be difficult. This blog really helped close that gap for me and I’m happy to have met people with Eczema outside of Malaysia. However since October I built a website and I’ve made at least 3 new friends. So add to the people I know who have eczema or are taking care of a child with eczema here, I know have 7 friends in Malaysia. YES!!!! I don’t feel so alone any more. In fact I’m quite happy. It just makes those people who are staring and who don’t understand eczema and passing silly comments unapplicable in my life now.
So I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends and visitors of this blog. I hope you are feeling not alone in life and happy to know that there a people who understand and willing to help.
Amen
ItChY
PS visit my website. From this blog visitors were saying that there is not much information out there about eczema. So periodically I go on the net and compile the website addresses concerning eczema. So there is a compilation of eczema site that you can read.
Its on the blogroll on the right but here it is as well. www.eczema.webs.com
October 21, 2007
happy to help :)
I’ve copy and pasted this blog entry from another blog. I answered Summer hall’s question who wrote in reply to one of my blog entries. I put my answer here because it was a long answer and I also thought it would be a good blog entry. Summer is in search for a cure for her husbands eczema which is on this scalp.
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Hello there
From what I have read to date, there is still no cure for eczema. Research on this disorder continues. Meanwhile weāre left to manage the situation. The good news is there are many ways to minimise the itch and distress and discomfort that comes with eczema. From what Iāve read too the first thing you can do is to find a scalp care routine that would suit your husband. There are many products you can use that is over the counter, natural remedies etc etc. Personally when I was on the journey to find my own skin care routine, it took me about 6 months to get the routine down solid. But then I had to change the routine many times because, I moved countries or the creams I used discontinued etc etcā¦ Much money was wasted Its trial and error. But donāt give up.
Secondly there are people out there who have the same disorder. Problem is, the severity of eczema may differ from one person to another. So what works for one person may not work for another. There will be people who will tell you of some miracle cure or what worked for them got rid of their eczema. My advise is, with respect to the advise giver, is to get eczema educated and filter the information. what is useful for you take it and what is not discard.
I have a website I started about eczema at http://www.freewebs.com/eczema. I set it up for peeps in malaysia. but click on the hyperlink – āother eczema websitesā This link will lead you to other eczema website that I have found useful. They are full of information and hopefully you can find a support group for yourself and your husband.
Now after all that, if your husband has the eczema on his scalp diagnosed as eczema, then its called seborrhoeic eczema. I have it too. My dermatologist said the difference between dandraff and SE is the yeast factor, in that SE has less yeast than dandruff. So I guess the point is to balance the yeast on the scalp. Home remedies that I have come across is using apple cider. The other non home remedy is using T-gel shampoo. Iām now using eucerin shampoo which is working for me. For the itch if Iām at home I will wash my hair so that I cool my head down. The itch some how stops.
I hope what Iāve written will help you some. So good luck. Let us know how you and your husband get on.
Happy to help
ItChY
Diaries of an eczema sufferer 