Allergies, eczema and itch: this will be the end of me

I’m itchy.

My wrists and hands are the worst, by far. Recently, parts of my legs started, too.

Maybe it’s the Plague. 🙄 🙃 😉

Hydrocortisone works to a point but you can’t use that stuff excessively. Sprays and drug store anti-itch lotions work a bit, but are not long lasting.

And then my eyes started to itch as well. I even refused to put my contact lenses in that day, something that hardly ever happens.

That morning I just couldn’t face putting them into my eyes.

It’s awkward wearing glasses when it’s a gazillion degrees out.

So I spent the day indoors in air conditioning and scratched my itchy spots: wrists, arms, shins and top of right foot.

Sigh.

I don’t think it’s allergies in the traditional sense. I spent most of the last few days indoors…and the windows are closed.

It’s not the laundry detergent: I haven’t changed it and never had a problem before.

It’s not the guinea pigs. We’ve had piggies before…

I don’t really think that it’s food sensitivities either although I do recognize an increase in discomforts when I consume certain food products excessively. Wheat products three times a day, for example, causes more frequent outbreaks. So toast for breakfast, couscous or a sandwich for lunch, pasta or pizza for dinner – I can’t do that.

So I don’t. Instead I made potato salad with a mustard vinegrette and fresh dill, a green bean salad with garlic and savory, and a Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese. And lots of fresh herbs. I have four kinds of basil in my garden…

Plus some grilled steaks.

Yum.

But the itch persisted.

Thing is when I completely abandoned the food products in question (wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine) during a trial period last year the itch remained…so it’s not that, either.

The dermatologist, whom I waited for over six months to finally see, barely looked at me and said it’s eczema.

“Wear gloves when you wash stuff”, she said.

“Moisturize with big pharma lotions”, was another thing she said.

The recommendations didn’t do much. One of the lotions actually thinned my skin which in turn made me itch more.

I went to see a naturopath.

The naturopath put me on an anti-Candida diet which reduced the itch but didn’t clear it completely. It did show me that certain foods triggered the symptoms. The usual suspects, stuff we all need to reduce from consuming: refined sugars and flours, artificially enhanced stuff, sugar and junk…alcohol too.

I did all that. It helped but did not cure.

One thing she recommended was to use nourishing, natural, organic lotions, rather than big pharma ones.

“Shea butter, olive oil, and Aloe Vera, those will all nourish your skin naturally”, she said. “Coconut as well”, she added.

I love the way they feel on my skin. Soothing.

She suggested a detox of the liver (lots of water, especially with lemon added), bitter greens, probiotic yogurt (or human derivative supplements, not dairy derived ones) and omegas were key.

“Evening primrose will benefit skin”, she suggested, and I take it, and zinc, daily.

But the itch comes and goes.

I’m convinced it’s hormonal, or at least influenced somewhat by hormones. Certain times of my cycle it’s much worse than other times…

The other thing that popped into my head was diaper rash lotion. I used a zinc-heavy one on my babies’ tushies back in the day, so I figured it can’t hurt me. Only thing is I leave the area uncovered (legs, wrists) so I can’t sit on couches or move around much since the stuff stains. So I lather it on while sitting in bed, and watch documentaries or stupid sitcoms. I’m currently rewatching King of Queens; before it was Mike and Molly.

🙄 😉

I wonder if I’m resigned to suffer itchy skin going forward, or if drastic measures must be taken. Everyone knows that aging can do all kinds of harm to the largest organ of the human body…

What works for you when you get itchy spots? Do you have allergies and tried and true remedies you can recommend?