When Eczema takes over your life, and your arms

Hannah Baldwin

Can you believe it’s been 3 days since my last post? It feels like so much longer and I really want to apologise! What a week it’s been. To be honest not much has really happened, I’ve spent my evenings after work having my tea, showering and then getting into bed to watch Friends and Big Bang Theory.

But, that isn’t why I’m here today.

I want to touch base on something that’s really been bothering me. Of all the things that bother me at the moment, the worst of it all is my skin. I have always had awful eczema, I’ve been lucky (as lucky as I can be when covered in dry skin) in the sense that I don’t often get it on my face. It radiates towards my arms, it’s reached a point that I hate the thought of wearing any piece of clothing that doesn’t cover my arms because of hating the site of them. I have realised for so long that this shouldn’t be the case, I shouldn’t be embarrassed about my skin but it’s something I cannot shake. I’ve had more doctors appointments and so many ointments it’s unreal.

Now it would seem that taking a picture of your own arms, whilst in bed is VERY difficult and really, in these pictures it looks absolutely fine. I have just smothered myself in all kinds of cream so this is quite calm but hey ho.

I guess I just wanted to share a little insight into something different. Non-MS related. We all have parts about ourselves that we wish we could tweak or do something about and this is definitely my key one. But I have began to realise and maybe that is because of you know, MS taking over my life right now, that having bad skin is not the end of the world. It just definitely feels like it sometimes.

Maybe now is the time for get another trip to the doctors and see what else they can offer me.

  1. Things are allowed to bother you
  2. No harm in sharing
  3. There are things about everyone that they hide away

If anyone has any tips and tricks to deal with such delightful skin, I’d love to hear all. Don’t be shy!

H x

Published by Hannah Baldwin

9 Comments

  1. Great post. I especially like how you touch on the fact that everyone has something they don’t like about themselves. And to be honest, once you “fix” the thing that bothered you first, we just find another thing that needs “fixing.” Its human nature but we’re better off if we try to remember what parts of ourselves that we like

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  2. You’re right, everyone has something and these things, however small they may seem to others, can make us so self-conscious. I’m sorry I can’t offer any miracle cures or suggestions with the eczema, but I know you’ve probably tried heaps of things. The internet is a great place to look for outside-the-box suggestions (sometimes people find wonderful ways of dealing with things that are pretty random!!) Even though others may not even notice (your arms, my thinning hair, my spotty face!) they can really affect how we feel about ourselves on top of everything else. I try to remind myself as often as I can that everyone has something, nobody pays too much attention to the things we probably worry about, and that we’re all human.x

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    1. I haven’t even thought of checking out the internet. Very good idea!
      You are totally right though, no one else ever notices these things, usually people are too busy worrying about whatever it is they think everyone is noticing to actually notice anyone else’s ‘issues’ 🙈🙈 xx

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      1. Yup, definitely!!
        There are lots of sites with general tips that I’ve found, but I think it’ll be pretty hit and miss trying to find treatments to manage it because they work do differently for everyone. I found these (not sure if they’ll help, but it’s a place to start perhaps?)

        http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/g7665057/best-eczema-products/?slide=1

        https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/

        http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/mum-baby-eczema-skin-cream-nhs-available-childs-farm-baby-moisturiser-toddler-paige-sweeney-a7814176.html (Think this is for ‘Child’s Farm cream’ but often people comment with other things they’ve found have helped them!)

        xx

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      3. I’ve just had a look at these and there’s a good few tricks I haven’t tried on that Cosmo one so going to do some investigation!! Thank you so much 😁😁 xxx

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