A Day in the Life: A Good Night's Rest

Dear Sleepyheads,

The persistent nature of eczema and psoriasis is known to interfere with daily activities. When breakouts are bad enough, they may get in the way with your night schedule as well.

Having trouble sleeping? Here are a few things that you can do to help get a good night's sleep.

TEMPERATURE

1. Sleep in a cool/cold room. Heat tends to enduce or prolong the feeling of itchyness.

2. If a particular location or breakout is bothering you, try an ice pack. Extreme cold soothes the pain of itchyness

LINEN

1. Avoid itchy, synthetic fabrics

2. Try any bedding options made to fight dustmites and dustmite droppings

SKIN

1. Place thick emollient on skin before sleeping

2. Sleep with gloves or mittens on to reduce impact of scratching while sleep

Hopefully this helps.

Love,

Lhea J.

SKINtimacy: Eczema and Sex

Dear Skintimates,

The question that I would like to ask others is, "Does eczema interfere with your sex life?" Perhaps the more prevalent inquiry is, "How can you make sure that your eczema DOES NOT interfere with your love life?" Yes, I know, Love and Sex are not the same thing. But, no one knows like someone with full-body acne, eczema or psoriasis just how important physical appearance in falling in love.

How long can you possibly hide the effects of your eczema from someone you love?

Unfortunately for some, not very long. Here are a few turn offs I have personally run into in the past:

• Scratching Reflex 
• Overnight Rashing
• Dry, Flaking Skin

Scratching is a Reflex

Often, without noticing I scratch or rub my skin while in conversation with others. While this constant fidgeting goes unnoticed by me, sometimes, I am not certain how noticeable it is to other people.

Overnight Rashing

I am not a scientist. I'm a philosopher. My theory is that my case of eczema is highly dictated by the chemical and hormonal levels in my body.  I am assuming that cortisol is a primary hormone dictating my outbreaks, but I do not know for certain. 

My skin does not usually develop rashes throughout the day, except in extreme breakouts. During lesser, more frequent breakouts, the rashes always develop overnight. I think this has to do with the hormones that are released while one is sleeping amongst other chemical fluctuations.

Regardless, how embarrassing is it to wake up to a different face than the one you went to sleep with? 

Dry, Flaking Skin

The largest turn off that I commit, the turn off that I am most embarrassed by, is my dry flaking skin. 

During severe break-outs, my skin dries almost immediately after moisturizing and dries out the most during the 8 hours that I sleep. My gift, is a bed full dry flakes of skin. Since scratching is a reflex, there are often tiny red spots where blood has seeped through my very thin skin (due to years, and years of atopic steroids).

Often I try to sweep, the skin from the surface of the bed. That never goes unnoticed.

Clearly, my sex life and dating life are best for the first 6 months after I have received a shot of triamcinalone,  during the 3 months that I take oral predisone, or during the one month that I take cephalexin, an antibiotic, in addition to topic steroid creams.

Yet, since my condition is chronic... the rashes do reappear.

Are there any solutions to help the sex-life of an Eczema-Survivor?

...for the Scratching Reflex

• Stay Active: Idle periods often lead to busy hands- scratching!
• While communicating with others: Talk with you hands. This will keep them from scratching your face, your neck, your arms while you are on a date, or simply in conversation.
• While sleeping: Sleep with gloves or mittens on. Seriously. They have socks, gloves and mittens made especially for moisturizing your hands and feet at night. These are perfect for those who develop rashes on their hands and or feet. The gloves should reduce the chance of you scratching in your sleep, or at the very least, reduce the abrasiveness of the rubbing.

...for Night Rashes

• Put on an extra thick emollient before sleeping. During 8 hours of sleep, your skin may still dry out... but it's worth the try
• Be wary of linen, pillow cases and blankets made of itchy or synthetic materials
• Try sleeping with gloves or mittens to reduce irritating skin while sleep

...for Shedding Skin

• Share beds/Sleep with really understanding people -- only. This may very well be a test of how much they love you. Or was it really just about the sex?
• Be wary of linen, pillow cases and blankets made of itchy or synthetic materials
• Try sleeping with gloves or mittens to reduce breaking skin while sleep

I must admit, these aren't the sexiest solutions in the world. But, the person with full-body acne, eczema or psoriasis should probably only be sleeping with men or women who truly know them and love them, anyway.

If night rashes and shedding skin are enough to scare your spouse away, you probably had sex too soon in the relationship.

Love,

Lhea J.

Happy Housekeeping: The Battle Against Dustmites

Dear Concerned Skin:

For a person with eczema or psoriasis, the place that you work and sleep has a huge effect on your skin. Your skin is a portal between the outer world and your internal organs. It is our responsibility to guard this portal as well as we can.

The single greatest enemy to the eczema-patient is dust. One primary obstacle is adults with eczema or psoriasis may actually produce more dust than the average household.

Dustmites love skin. Those with eczema may be get caught in a dangerous cycle: shedding skin attracts dust mites, dust mites leave itchy droppings, dust mite droppings irritate skin, skin breaks out, dries up and sheds again attracting more dust mites.

Beware of skin and dust in three major places 1) bedding/linen, 2) carpet, 3) surfaces & appliances.

1. Linen should be at least rinsed 1-3 times per week depending on the state of your skin. Becareful about excessive washing with detergent. Soaps are often a very strong irritant of sensitive skin.
2. Noncarpeted and Hardwood floors are probably best for the eczema-free household.
3. My poor computer witnesses more skin fall than any other place on earth. The keyboards of desktop computers are much easier to clean than laptops, so I haven't thought of a remedy yet.

There is an argument that babies who grow up in too sterile environments may develop dermatitis because their immune system hasn't fully adjusted to fighting off various forms of germs.  I'm not sure if I support this argument, but I am almost certain it doesn't apply to adults battling eczema. 

The more sterile the environment, the healthier your skin will be. 

Love,

Lhea J.