As you sit at your desk, trying to get some work done and trying to ignore that growing itchy feeling on your shoulder or wishing the patches on the back of your hand would go away, do you find yourself shouting out inside, “What the hell did I do to deserve this?” I know I do. Why do I have it, what did I do to get it, and when will it go away?
We didn’t do anything to deserve it. There are estimates that around 17% of Americans suffer from eczema to a greater or lesser degree. Doesn’t it make you feel better knowing that you have so much company? Didn’t think so; doesn’t make me feel any better either. We probably have it because of heredity (Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!), which means we didn’t do anything in particular to get it. When will it go away? Possibly never. You would think that with so many of us suffering from eczema, the medical profession would have found a cure by now, but they haven’t. All they can do is treat the symptoms. For me, it’s just one more piece of proof about how little the medical profession really knows about the human body, despite what they may say to the contrary.
OK, we have it. What causes it and how do we deal with it? Allergies or skin sensitivities are major causes of eczema. You need to be very aware of what you are doing when you have a flare up. Did you eat something in particular? Did you wear a certain shirt or blouse? Were you hot and sweaty? Did it happen when you went out in the cold? You get the idea. Once you figure out your triggers, you can avoid them. For example, my eczema flares up if I drink white wine, so I no longer have that glass of Chardonnay in the evening. Lucky me!
If you can’t avoid the triggers, then you can at least moderate them. If cold, dry weather sets you off, moisturize your skin religiously. This will lessen the itching due to dry skin. If a particular piece of clothing irritates you, maybe it’s the fabric and you need to avoid it. Maybe it’s the detergent you wash your clothes with. Try changing to a more natural product for awhile, such as Seventh Generation or Biokleen.
Even there is no cure per se, we can be successful enough in controlling the flare ups that for all practical purposes it will seem like we are “cured”. There are, unfortunately, some people who, if they can’t have the silver bullet, magical cure, just say, “Screw it,” and don’t do anything for themselves. Don’t you be like that! There are lots of things we can do to moderate our symptoms, and I don’t know about you, but the simple act of just doing something makes me feel better.
To your good health!
There are a lot of eczema treatments and “cures” out there. Some work, some don’t. I have tried Beat Eczema and it is working for me. Click on the banner below to give it a look.
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