Eczema Awareness Month

October is Eczema Awareness Month! 

Did you know 1 in 10 people in the U.S have eczema, and yet the condition remains misunderstood and stigmatized. This Eczema Awareness Month

So there are more than 31 million Americans with eczema, and yet no two patients experience the condition the exact same way. How is this possible? We know there are seven different types of eczema, Let me start this post by saying I am not a doctor and this post is not meant to diagnose or treat any one either.  I am just a mom who wants to share her experiences. I am also an eczema sufferer so I wanted so  wanted to share our story. 

I was roughly nineteen working as a server in a buffet style restaurant when I first broke out.  BIG, RED, nasty splotch on the back of my hand. Itched like crazy and hurt like hell.  My customers and coworkers acted like I was nasty, dirty, or diseased. It was horribly embarrassing and hurt like hell.  

Finally worked up the nerve.(or desire for lack of a better work) to go to my doctor he looks and says, " I don't know what that is" and shrugs his shoulders. Eventually the blotch went away and that was the end of it. 

So this is not my picture but I FEEL it .. it was a long time ago and feel it still. It hurts. 

YEARS later when my children were very young. I broke out again on my fingers. My fingers were terrible.  They itched, cracked, pealed, they would bleed. It was unbearable. I couldn't use my fingerprints to sign my children into day care.  It didn't take me long to get to a doctor. And finally, i found out it was eczema.  It healed and never came back.

 

I am very happy to say Eczema is NOT contagious. So you don't have to worry about touching someone with eczema.  But did you know it is hereditary?  Also, eczema can be activated in the presence of environmental allergens or triggers.

Fast forward more years and i have three out of four daughters have you guess.  The first thing the doctor recommends is use a free & clear detergents and body wash/soap.  Which we did but something had to help the itching. HAD to help it is nothing nice and to see my little ones suffer was not nice. 

So we found a few things that helped. Eventually they grew out if the eczema and now we can use the scented bath stuff. But we still keep my recommended lotions and bath soak on hand just because!! 

I LOVE Cerave' it's great for all skin types and I use it all over.   I loved the Aveeno Bath soak it was a great way to sooth my skin when it was inflamed. 

             

 

 

 

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