Know yourself

I have been monitoring the eczema flareups I have been experiencing in a month. It seems to be there most of the time and when it does not flare up, the feel on the skin is still dry but not itchy. Skin still flakes but lesser. I am in my forties but my skin looks like someone in her fifties..true..I am not exaggerating.

I am pretty sure that sleep - deep sleep, does play a part in the healing process. When I have enough of rest, I tend to find the sores and redness to heal better. Whenever I have some tasks to attend to or I am terribly late for an appointment, I will naturally perspire alot and that's when I feel itchy again. So, stress is one factor that affects my skin condition.

An eczema sufferer should have a routine..sleep on time, wake up before the sun is up, do everything in a slow but steady pace so that it does not disrupt or stress us up unneccesarily. Easier said than done right? When I do things slow but steady, I feel ok but when I rush..my hands will be the first place perspire and the itch will come. The skin on my outer hands and feet have not really looked normal for around 2 years already. Eczema seems to flareup on these areas more frequently than other areas now.

However, I realised that the color tone of my neck down to the ankles have improved with my frequent spa. There are areas with white spots all over my body and upper arms which are actually marks from all the scratching. With spa, these white spots have become less whitish. My knee caps used to be dark because I dare not scrub my skin before. With spa, it softened the outer layer of the skin and I am able to scrub the acummulated dead skin away with loofah.

I consulted a popular dermatologist in PJ some months back, upon persuasion from my sis-in-law and I was surprised that he told me that my skin condition will improve. He asked me to show him the parts that are affected by eczema and when he saw the scratch marks in the process of recovering, he said I'll be ok. As expected he too prescribed me some steroid ointment for the more stubborn eczema on my outer hands and feet.

The short consultation at the dermatologist left me with a deep impression especially when he told me this.. "have a love filled heart and a positive outlook of life and you will be fine" - how wise.