Professional Skin: Traveling with Eczema

Dear Frequent Flyers,

Sometimes if we are not careful, eczema, psoriasis and adult acne can become a debilitating condition. A physical condition, if not carefully monitered can begin to affect ones psychological and social health. 

Eczema does not have to harm your peace of mind, your social status or your professional career. 

Here are a few things you can do so that you can travel with ease:

1. Request a non-smoking hotel room

2. Travel with eczema travel kit

----- Daily Medication (if any)

----- 1% Hydrocortisone Cream (for unexpected breakouts)

-----  Vaseline (great emollient)

----- Olive Oil (In well sealed, small, portable container)

----- Lotion (stay away from hotel lotion. Cera Ve, Cetaphil, Eucerine work well)

----- Soap (stay away from hotel soap/detergent. Aveno, Cetaphil, Homemade Soap, or Oatmeal may work well)

---- Shampoo (stay away from hotel shampoo)

---- Plastic Covers for Pillows

I reckon, when you have eczema... you can never be too careful. 

Love,

Lhea J.

A Day in the Life: Life without Health Insurance

Dear Card Holders:

If you are one of the fortunate Americans who has health coverage, count yourself blessed. You will be able to use a combination of prescription drugs and home remedies to nurse your skin back to good health. 

If you, like me, are one of the 47 million Americans without health insurance, you will have to make the best of home remedies and over the counter drugs until your condition changes.

Within the last week, I have changed households. My skin is making the adjustment as well. 

When I was a child, I had atopic dermatitis or or atopic eczema. The rashes were a result of an allergen or irritant that I ingested.

Now that I am an adult,  have a combination of atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis. My skin reacts to allergens and irritants that come in physical contact with my skin.

So, I my skin and my immune system is learning to cope with a new environment: an environment with cats!

I have discovered that the most important defense against eczema and psoriasis is CARING. No matter what your skin looks like, or how your skin feels, you must wake up every morning and care. Literally care for your skin.

1. Short daily showers - 10 minutes or less.

2. Olive Oil on body, avoid olive oil on face

3. Cetaphil on body and face (Or, my skin prefers Cera Ve)

4. Oatmeal face mask, once per day

5. At least 8 glasses of water per day

6. Leave the house everyday. I'm not sure if this house is skin friendly.

7. Purchase some over-the-counter hydrocortisone until I can get a prescription

Unfortunately, since changing households... my face has begun to swell into small hive patches on my cheeks. and my eyes have begun to swell with huge bags.

This is a sign that my skin is battling an infection, not just eczema.

If I had health insurance, this would be a great time to take an anti-biotic (Cephalexin). The swelling usually goes down, along with the raised patches of skin, within 24 hours.

Well, I'm doing the best I can. Hope you are, too. 

Love,

Lhea J.

Lhea's Secret Remedy: Oatmeal

Dear Beautiful, 

If Olive Oil is a gift from God, then Oatmeal is rain from heaven. It is one of the best natural defenses against eczema.

One gentle soap that is often recommended by Dermatologist is Aveeno Soap.  The bars are oatmeal based. The Aveeno line of products also offers an oatmeal - based bath product.

Each person with chronic eczema should have two routines in their arsenal: daily skin care for break out prevention and emergency care for break out reduction.

The routine for each person will be different, as everyone's skin and immune system responds differently.

For Daily Skin Care for Breakout Prevention:

Oatmeal can be used once a week in bath

Oatmeal can be used every other week as a facial mask

For Emergency Care for Breakout Reduction:

Oatmeal can be used daily as a facial mask

Oatmeal can be used with every bath or shower as a soap

Hope this helps!

Love,

Lhea J.

Professional Skin: Interview Day

Dear Professionals:

Honestly, I live two lives: the life of a black, fairly-social 24 year old and the life of a hermit. The fairly social life is glittered with bars, clubs, poetry cafes, local concerts and networking events. The life of the hermit is spent scratching for hours at a time. The amount of time that I spend living each of these lives is dictated by one thing: my skin.

Upon graduation from college, I decided to enter the professional world of corporate america. Since the only thing I really care about is books, I was sure that publishing was the industry for me. Moving to the big apple was something my skin did not agree with. I am not sure whether it is the waste facility burried beneath the state park 5 blocks from my brownstone, whether it was the germ infested subways and stations, or if it was just the daily pollution of 5 million people. Whatever it was, New York was not kind to my eczema.

But, I had less than a thousand dollars left, and no employment. I had to interview for jobs. My skin begin reacting in ways that I deemed humanly impossible. But, I had to interview.

Here are a few things that saved my life:

• Ladies Scarves-- while initially used to cover apparent rashes and scars on my neck, eventually I discovered that the pressure from a tightly wound scarf actually dismisses any feelings of itchyness
  
• Foundation-- foundation can be a blessing and a curse. It may be effective at temporarily masking rashes and dead skin, it may also lead to future breakouts. My recommendation, stick to liquid foundation avoid powders.
• Oatmeal Mask-- a quick oatmeal mask in the morning, gently removes dead skin without scratching, rubbing, ripping.

These aren't the perfect remedies... but if you wake up and your skin has flared up beyond your expectations. You can't cancel your meetings. You can't miss your interviews. You can't run to get a steroid injection shot, without an appointment, before work. Sometimes, you just have to make do.

Love,

Lhea J.

Lhea's Secret Remedy: Olive Oil

Dear Beautiful People: 

Olive Oil appears to be a gift directly from God to Eczema sufferers. It is much thicker than most lotions and creates a protective outer layer to lock in your skin's natural moisture.

There are many ways to use olive oil to combat eczema.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil directly onto skin.
• Olive Oil directly into bath water
• Combine with Raw Oatmeal to create soap or a mask

After a severe breakout, olive oil may be the most soothing remedy. Please note, the use of olive oil will probably not reduce the presence of any rash. But, it may help the affected areas to itch less, and scractching less will help to not make matters worse. 

Olive Oil is best admistered on the body, may cause facial break out.

Repeated use of olive oil through out the day, often irritates my skin. I recommend use of olive oil once a day, and a thick moisturizer (Cera Ve or Cetaphil) for additional moisture through out the day. 

Love, 

Lhea J.

Brown Eczema: Do You Need a Black Dermatologist?

Dear Brown Skin, 

To be a member of a community which prides itself on its style/appearance and have eczema can be a devastating phenomenon. What is a black woman if she does not have her looks?

Luckily, you may never have to find the answer to that question.

The first step is to find a great dermatologist. While you don't need an African-American dermatologist, you do need a skin specialist who is used to observing Black skin. 

In the mean time, there are a few simple steps that you may take to keep your skin healthy and most importantly, within your control.

PREVENTION

to decrease the chances of flare-ups...

• Find a great dermatologist with experience in treating Black skin
• Increase your water intake (8-12 glasses per day)
  
• Olive Oil and Baby Oil Gel soothe the skin
  
• Cera Ve Cream or Cetaphil Cream lock in moisture
  
• Avoid extremely hot showers and baths (dries skin faster)
• Oatmeal, itself, or Oatmeal-based soaps (such as Aveeno) are gentle
  

REACTION

to decrease the effect of flare-ups, once they have occurred...

• Monitor your diet: Caffeine increases breakouts that already begun
  
• Monitor your diet: Citrus often increases breakouts that have already begun
  
• Monitor your diet: Soy may increase breakouts that have already begun
  
• During bathing, cloths may irritate skin
  
• After bathing, do not towel dry
  
• After bathing, apply Olive Oil, Baby Oil Gel or Cream while still wet
  
• Prescriptions: An antibiotic may stop reaction. Reactions are often perpetuated by an infection
  
• Prescriptions: Hydrocortisone may decrease flare-up
  
• Prescriptions: Protopic (non-steroid) is better on the face
  
• Prescriptions: Triamcinalone will decrease flare up, if Hydrocortisone no longer works. Please note: Use of Triamcinalone WILL make your skin thinner. Your skin will tear and bleed much easier than it did prior to use.
  
• Prescriptions: Predisone (oral or injection) will decrease flare up, but may have long term effects on internal organs. Please ask your doctor about all long term side-effects before using the medication.
  

What Flare ups look like, on Black skin: (Face, Arm & Neck, shown below)