Cure 1: Food Elimination. Get rid of some eczema!

So I start. Takes me 1 month to get the guts to start..
Terrible withdrawal.. All I can think about is energy bars. Almost laughable really.
I figure since I'm taking out all my favorite food might as well take out the other stuff too like wheat and reduce dairy.
Not too hard since the only thing I want is fortified foods.. I suppose it's like an addiction to soda or POP as I like to call it.. My pick-me-up is fortified chocolate like my brother who needs Red Bull to get a going mid-day.

3 days later: holy shhhhhhhhh.... The rash is SIGNIFICANTLY LESSENED. It's a MIRACLE
I mean still not gone but not as insanely itchy as before.. half the red. I think: shoot. Well, here I am almost shaking in dire need of chocolate and wanting a Subway sandwich when something I'm not eating is helping..

By now I've eaten every bag of chip in the house and refined corn snack but WHATEVER it's a bit better!!
I haven't been able to cut out fruit as that's my other favorite food but my rec to any and all rash sufferers:

If you aren't getting any sunlight and live in a damp area.. You may have some sort of yeast issue! Yes, it sounds ludicrous and I am now a hypocrite eating gluten-free stuff but TRY IT.
It's not just ladies, although the doctors a say it affects ladies more..

My non-doctor theory is it's something to do with the mold in Seattle / damp, humid condition combines with sugar which feeds yeast infections.. I'm not saying you're infected.. rather, it's just your body reacting to the environment and then all that sugar / wheat is feeding the problem and growing fungus on your skin.

I'm no doctor but I'm telling you what few doctors say.. I don't know WHY they don't say this, perhaps because patients can't handle the change (I know I barely can and I'm pretty good at being OCD)..

Again, this is in no way a prescription but I've spent YEARS dealing with this non-sense and looking at rash-less people.. All of my suggestions have NO side effects, other than breaking down because you really miss a certain food.. These days there are a BILLION alternative foods.

In fact, they offer (really expensive) non-wheat bread! It's DELICIOUS.. And, heck you can probably have rice still..

I think the worst part is I've programmed myself to think that fortified foods with vitamins and minerals is good for me.. 7 years of that, 6 years of energy bars.. I still have that programming but ever since I've started avoiding the fakey fortified foods and just stuck to one multivitamin and extra vitamin D it's been a LOT better..

You don't have to stop eating your favorite foods, just find alternatives. I still eat a lot of sugar, just not as much. Also, I LOVE grapes. Stop eating those / skins of fruit. I am not 100% certain but I think these made the pussy neck infection worse.. Maybe something in the chemicals sprayed on the fruit.
I read one blog that guaranteed you'd get rid of it by eliminating ALL SUGAR. Well, as much as I want to do that I CAN'T.. The hormonal side of me will go bonkers and rather than thinking: I'll go cold turkey, try it little by little.. Perhaps one day we can be as sugar-free as that guy. (I would like to thank him though, as he was one of the few people to write about this problem in a blog.)

I eventually went to an allergen doctor who did the test. I was negative for all, but my neck got pussy again.. So, who knows which off the 22 I was tested for I'm allergic to.

More to be continued.. The rash is still on me.. But that solved a tiny portion. *Still experimenting* Although I have yet to find the all-encompassing solution hopefully these entries are helping you get ideas for what's causing your a-topic dermatitis  Or, at the very least, at least you know you're not alone!

Also, I still am eating my words for making fun of gluten-free people. Heck, maybe it's all in my mind but hopefully something in here is helping you!


NEXT UP: Shower head filters.. Chlorine issues & skin bumps during showers.
(I bought a filter by Sprite similar to the one below-- they're quite easy to put in. Just twist off your current shower head and put this in between.)

Potential Cure 1: So simple, yet SO HARD. FOOD

Ok, I think.. This has got to stop.
Luckily for me a bunch of granola heads kept hounding me to try my diet.

I think: FORGET THAT. For YEARS I've enjoyed making fun of my gluten free, vegan hippy friends.. All their illusions.. No way I'm doing that.

All of them though had a good point. I ate a heck of a lot of energy bars..
I'm basically addicted and the doctors keep telling me that's not the issue anyways. It's the lack of sun, the mold, the trees, the plants, the animals, the detergent, the soap, my stress (well, duh with all this scratching I've lost weight and slowly my sanity).. Apparently LIVING on PLANET EARTH is KILLING ME. Haha..

So, this is my diet on any and all typical days:

*Morning*
2 energy bars
*Mid-Day*
lunch -- salad, shrimp, cheese, other healthy things
chips-- baked
fruit-- citrus if I can get any or an apple
*Evening*
sushi (I can do this everyday) / sandwich / pizza / normal people dinner foods, not too much but enough to function
*NIGHT* (the landslide, I'm talking 7pm-2am constant snacks / munching)
More energy bars
more energy bars
chips
bread & cheese / tv dinners
random "health food"
egg rolls, heck whatever is in my freezer / a nearby vending machine..
brownies / more energy bars
fruit
fruit
fruit (I love fruit)
LOL, whatever I look and *feel* fine.. Other than the redness.

I start to think.. OK.. OK.. FINE.. YOU HIPPIES..
I think: Well, shoot. Most of my food is.. sugar.. What if this Yeast thing IS my issue?!
SHOOTTTT (censored version)
I'm addicted to the same food. I'm underweight anyhoo (fast metabolism thanks to the Filipino side. My brother and I can pound down food and gain nothing. yayyy)

So I start writing down potential things based on books, rumors, co-workers, etc..
Potential allergens:
Wheat (I LOVE BREAD.. This will suck trying to reduce)
Sugar (Increases Yeast issue and itchness according to the book the yeast Connection.. I think, I hope that guy is SO WRONG)
Dairy (probably not)
blah blah blah
energy bars (not sure what but a chemical / additive to them? I've had them for 6 years and slowly upped the intake so life without them, I don't know what I'd eat.. ACTUAL FOOD?!)

I procrastinate hard on this potential cure as food is my thing. I love eating.. heck the books tell me to take out fruits.. ARE THEY CRAZY. I can do bread but if you're taking away my energy bars I'm going to need brownies and fruit.

Now I'm praying that YOU don't have to get rid of food / get a more balanced diet but if you really want to see what's causing it I'd highly recommend you bite the bullet and see. Because the side effects of all the pills is nasty..

Post-Doctor: Side Effects of Antibiotics

So it's now been 2 days of antibiotics.. Are they working? Heck if I know.. Emotionally speaking I feel good taking them.. They look intimidating and smell like hard boiled eggs.. They must help, I think to myself..

*Read below if you enjoy graphic nasty things or happen to have an oozing skin issue*
WELL, they aren't.. @__@ Normally I am pro-pill, I'm talking uber fortification all the pills etc..
Again. I'm still doing my same sugar-crazy energy-bar maddening diet. In fact my brother did a fitness test on my intake of foods for his nutrition class and it popped up I was ridiculously "healthy".. Probably because I ate all those energy bars.

My graph on Fitday.com was something like 75% carbs, 50% of those being sugar (they didn't really point this out explicitly in the colored graph but being an ex-super-OCD eater I knew calories/ nutrition facts of the foods I eat like the back of my hand. You could ask me right now how many calories are in any food and I can guess it and only be about 20 calories off max. Oddly enough, other, perhaps more useful data tends to escape me.)

Anyhoo, back to the pills!! SO here I am taking these things when I can't help to realize that my neck is INSANELY pussy. I'm talking I can't move it.. Like, I can't bend it back without it feeling like I'm ripping skin off the front area of my neck. And the right side is 24/7 pussy. And, when I get in water it stings like nothing I've ever felt before..

It's so bad I tell people half-jokingly I'd like an immediate painless death to escape the maddening pain (I don't even know how people with terminal illnesses deal with this-- you all are my new heros.. @__@)

Plus, it's getting worse. I'm talking waking up with a oozing pool of puss around this scabby thing.
Antibiotics are supposed to defeat this sort of infection but it seems these pills are doing the reverse.

I tell myself it's fixing the issue and releasing the germs and continue taking the pills.. Plus, you're supposed to or you allegedly make it worse.. 11 days I think. Man, this is going to suck. I'm using colloquial terms because just typing this is making me cringe at the memories.. I luckily can't remember the sheer pain but I can remember how brain dead I felt.

I was so so thankful it didn't show. My neck was just red.. Or, crusty, Or, some other combo of itchy, pussy, dry skin.. I also used my hair to cover it (but had to make sure it didn't touch).

I washed my neck often due to the fear it would get infected. Did endless searches..

"Weeping Skin" they call it.. My symptoms sounded like poison ivy / oak.. I applied all Neosporin on the open wound to try to assure germs wouldn't get in.. Wanted to bandage it but it was such a large area that didn't work.

1.5 weeks later I would cave in and go to Urgent care.

Post-Doctor: Enter steroid ointment

So, here is what the Dermatologist had for me... Most of it I already knew from other trips prior to this visit but I figure: "This guy knows, he's seen skin I'll trust this guy."

Diagnosis:
Other Atopic dermatitis and related conditions and Pityriasis alba. 

YEAP. I knew that, but whatever. It was the drugs I wanted. Or, so that's what I *thought*

Prescription: Use Desonide ointment for two weeks then 3 days on and 3 days off until rash is gone. And, some antibiotics. I can't seem to dig up the name on my health care provider site, but once I find it I'll have to update this entry. And, get some light therapy. "I'll have them contact you," the Doctor says.  

Ok, now the homework. So I look up the cream I'm prescribed. Great, more steroidy crap with crazy side effects if used for too long. People tell me "it's super rare" but after my last run-in with bleaching and thinning my skin using this stuff I'm hesitant. Just so happens I'm in terrible rashy pain so whatever I'll use it.

I fork over my co-pay, not too bad (one of the few times I'd like to thank the government).. About 10 bucks for this junk..
That night I pop the antibiotics with some food and eventually take a shower.

Low and behold my rash is crazy itchy. My neck is stingy and pussy. I get out towel off fast.

Gross. It's all.. Vaseliney-textured (I love vaseline for issues but it's pretty nasty when you imagine that you're going to rub that sort of stuff all over your arm).

Random HELPFUL tidbit: I learned later that you should always get the cream version if you get the chance. There are 2 types of bases: cream and ointment. In rare instances people can have allegic reactions to the base ingrediant used in ointments. Cream is just less disgusting  They say it's also better for sensitive areas like your face / neck. (Heard from Urgent care Doctor 2 weeks later.) 

OK.. I'll admit I'm paranoid so I want to say this was placebo but I apply a wee bit first to a portion of my rash on my hand and wait.
Hand before applying ointment (I only applied it to the ring finger and a part of the hand, not the entire thing)"

~7 minutes later after Desonide Ointment:

Holy crap! I think.. I look up side effects.. Ok, well I'm used to crazy redness and.. Oompa loompa colors but this finger is getting all.. bumpy.. Blistery gross. Apparently that is a side effect that is rare in patients but it... should cure it?! (PS: my case may be rare, this might not happen to you so apologies if you're paranoid now. Perhaps it was just because I was using an ointment base, although this has never happened to me with ointments before.)

I think: FORGET IT this stuff is making it worse. And try to get it off. Since it's ointment it's like tree tar but eventually it's off of my skin.

I go back to the cream version of steroids I was using months ago and cut the tube so I can squeeze the tiny bit left out..

Wew, not great but much better... Either way I'm sick of applying all this junk to my body..

I e-mail the doctor guy and he tells me to try Clobatesol instead and says that blisters are super rare.. By this time I'm sick of druggy lotions and ready for alternative therapy so just let that one go..

Back in Seattle: To a 'Doctor"

So off I go to a doctor. Dermatologist in Seattle is booked for 1.5 weeks. GREAT I think..

I call in on the fly. God sends me a miracle, someone canceled for tomorrow.
NEXT DAY:  I'm now molting.. I'm talking sunburn molting, red on top, then white spots. Neck is now insanely pussy. Like constant stinking puss. I cannot even begin to describe the pain. I have fairly high tolerance as I'm a cheapskate when it comes to these sorts of things (or used to be) and like to self-diagnose since I'm rather anti-doctor (almost like doctors themselves who trust no one. Plus, I have only had good run-ins with a handful of them after some previous events.)
I enter the dermatologist and praise the Lord I don't have cancer ( I had a tiny little scab that was looked like a pic on the wall).

I take off my shirt. Dead skin everywhere (apologies for the details, just stating what happened and will leave it as not gross as I can). He looks at me and I can tell he's floored.

He says: "YUP, that is a really REALLY bad case of a-topic dermatitis."

I want to both face palm and thank him for his appreciation of my extremely painful maddening rash.. I refrain from the YES I KNOW (refer to picture on the right) and am willing to entertain his thoughts as this is the first specialist I've ever seen and he's willing to wheel and deal and give me some hard core drugs. Plus he seems nice and I don't have cancer! Knock on wood Praise the Lord..
I ask if it could potentially be my food as I eat a ton of sugar..
A TON. He says, that's super rare and it's just something that happens..

Whatever, he gets me some antibiotics I'm excited.. I will take whatever atm as I'm in itchy skin and my neck is rather pussy and stingy.


To be continued..!! (Realized it's 3:30 AM and holy man I'm sleepy as I just took some sleeping pills.. haha)

Hawaii: More! The after effects of showers

Spo they say us eczema bearers should take luke-warm showers..
Yeah, I'd like to see those people try it when any and all water is painful (except drinking).

Below: HAPPY DAYS. It's not too bad!! YET *bum bum bum*

So now I'm telling people 1 of 2 ideas I havea:

Sun allergy
Water allergy.. I read in Australia there was a chick like this. Her rashes looked just like mine. Due to Chlorine.

Post-shower pics:

So now I'm doing everything. Some days I try nothing.. Every cream. Steroids work like a charm to remove the red but once you hit the sun. BAM. Bleached skin. Months later I'll bget so annoyed I'll slather the steroids all over to bleach my arms. I'm super happy to have arms (yay!) just it's very itchy, I look like I'm flea-infested with all my scratching and I'm self-conscious. That doesn't help much. Still eating the same crap. 4-5 energy bars a day (I won't name the company as I like the company but yeah.. everything fortified. Doctors said that eczema wasn't due to food but environment so I didn't bother as food is my vice.)

I get back to Seattle. Time to bust out my bank because I'm willing to pay a hell of a lot to solve this.

(I mean, all in all, I'm thankful for everything and that I'm generally healthy *again praise the Lord, after searching for "rash" online you'll find some pretty scary things..* It's just that this rash deal is getting on my nerves and thinking is getting cloudy due to my constant scratching and people staring at me since I'm paying a lot of attention to it)

Part 2: Flash forward.. it returns

Sooo.. The rash eventually dies down.. Everytime I go to dry Eastern Washington and leave Seattle, or when I was in Japan it was gone within 3 days.. And, once it's gone you forget about it.. Flash forward a few years and make the thing come back only in light waves of red eczema rashes after showers and I thought: meh.. I'm too lazy and maybe it's just something that happens to humans..

Living now 2012: Seattle
Trip to: Hawaii, end of the year..

The rash is back.. I've used Hydrocortizone for some time (they never really tell you the consequences, just "don't put it everywhere" Well, I did just that for the longest time.. Including the steroid creams 90% of doctors will give you for a-topic dermatitis.)

In Seattle I'd have little break outs.. Pretty irritating so I went to the doctor. Same old problem:
"Oh, it's a bad case of eczema!"
Me: "NOOOO How did you know?? (sarcastic humor)
Dr: "I have the perfect solution, sorry you'll have to loive with this FOREVER but this will help contain it" (prescribes cream, doesn't tell me it's steroids..)
Dr: "Now only put it where the rash is and don't use too often.."

FLASH FORWARD to HAWAII.. I've only used it about the 2 weeks max they told me to.. (Not the doctor's fault.. Just pointing out that someone should *really* tell them to warn patients a bit better about the side effects of this stuff)

Now, I haven't been in sun in ages, I used to be immune, 1/2 Filipino skin and all. Thanks to the gloomy 6 years of Seattle overcast weather my skin was tweaking out. (I'm typing this and it's 3 AM, sorry if my descriptive adjectives aren't all there atm.)

I am a giant sun-lover (not the crisp tanner type, but rather I miss it since Seattle is the place for vampires and land of tall, pale, and handsome??) so, naturally I lather on SPF 55 and head out.

Day 1: Time for salt water! *get in* STINGS HOLEY MOLEY.. Not bad enough for me to get out.. But not great.. That night I take a shower. Do my typical diet: 5+ energy bars (as I mentioned before I am extremely addicted to any and all things sugar / carbs) and shower. BURNS.. PUSSY.. Neck.. omgosh. pain. I'm traveling alone and freaking out. After reading the side effects on Wikipedia of all the drugs I've been applying I try to do minimal steroid creams and use lotion.
Get to bed: so much pain, want to cry but I like to pretend I'm a man or some hard-core lesbian like in the movies and hit the sack at a nice early 2 AM (so, 5 AM Seattle time).
Next day: Not too bad, luckily at night the thing tends to go away.. Praise the LORD..

Also, as much as I love my 160 lb Newfoundland.. These cute little cats at the place I was staying at didn't really help the issue and caused a bumpy rash on top of the hives. HAHA They were characters though. I just had to retreat and avoid their floating hairs. Dog hair tends to be fine but tiny critters may be an issue with your skin too. 

Day 4ish: I'm out to get surfing lessons from this hungover LA guy (who is awesome). We paddle out and my neck is burning like crazy. I don't want to whine and my arms are slightly sunburned and back is getting pounded by the rays at 1PM. No biggie. I'm Filipino, historically speaking I can handle up to 101* Fahrenheit of extreme dry heat.. My mind wasn't there though as I was busy trying to not wack corral and anger the locals and still catch a wave (which was awesome as well)..
I get out. everything rashy. Salt water stings. Luckily there is fresh water near by via an outdoor shower. my neck, everything..  The guy teaching me thankfully avoided that conversation and I'm all rubing Benedryl lotion all over my arms and everywhere.. Which is stinging. I can barely think.


Day 5ishh: I decide to go out to the surf ALONE (well, Waikiki so jammed with people) I attempt to catch some waves but can't help but be irritated by all my stinging flesh. I give up 40 minutes after as it's now 12:30pm and the locals say only a doofus would be out there esp with my creepy condition. The rash is worse.. I get out of the water.. people staring.. Is it because I'm so white? Am I naked? No.. I look at my arms. HOLY CRAP..

So to the right is what your skin will look like when you only rub the red areas with that steroid cream for a few days then go into the sun.

There are some people I've passed and tapped on the bus who say their island calls it "Sun spots" and the "cure" is rubbing it in the shower with Dandruff shampoo.. Like Selsun Blue.. I think.. This ain't gonna be solved with no SHAMPOO.. But, thank them as they leave the bus..

I also looked it up vigorously weeks later, and no doctor told me this name.. I think, perhaps it happens naturally but it's called Tinea Versicolor. Of course, mine was created unnaturally and at the time I was just freaking out..

I start praying it's not permanent  I mean at least it isn't too mad painful but I proceed to buy every potential solution in the stores.. Kikui Oil (10 bucks), Aloe Gel (5 bucks, 3 bucks for generics), colored creams, lotions. You name it..


Everytime I go to bed and wake up it's a tad bit better but once I hit the sun it at first feels better but then gets all blotchy and crazy looking.. next up! The after effects of showers!

Part 1: Seattle Mold

This blog will walk you step by step through the many things i have tried to do to eliminate my rash issues. Hopefully one or all of these help to get rid of your issue. Either way each one of these is a good thing to do if you enjoy staying alive... So, even if it doesn't help the rash it might help your overall well-being.

So, it all started in 2009.
Lived in Seattle.. Moldy apartment. No sun.. Addicted to energy bars.. (I'm talking 3 a day..)

Minor rash.. On the arms. Like prickly heat. Only in the winter and summer.

A year later... Worse.. I open my window (I used to sleep with black garbage bags, yes I know I'm ghetto like that) to cover any summer sunlight my dinky little apartment window would get).
I started developing puffiness around my eyes. Worse rashes, etc... Like signs of what I now realize was hay fever but stranger.. Turned out I had gobs of black mold right NEXT TO my face.. So, about 1 year of breathing in that.. Fabulous. Of course the landlord down played it and used some 409 to get rid of it (what a crumby solution to a bigger problem in this complex).

SO.. Step 1: Check you place for black mold..
Step 2: Found any??? GET RID OF IT ASAP..
Now my issue is I live in an apartment, some folks say "hey could be in the walls."..
My thoughts: "Well, I can't go and RIP OUT the walls now can I?!"
Don't stress about it.. I mean you can only do what you can if you don't own the place and stress will probably just make your rash worse.. Take an antihistamine [aka: allergy drug over the counter] (I assume you're taking some now) and don't freak out..

Ghetto person's way to fix mold:
No gloves? Use plastic bags as gloves
Paper Towels: A lot
Bleach Cleaner / 409: Bleach Will SMELL BAD..

My regret was using the bleach at 10pm.. Turns out that will make you get really high at 2pm when you're trying to sleep. Try to do this in the morning so you have time to open your window and not shorten your lifespan thanks to chemical all up in your brain.

PS: If you want my main cures as of 2012 send me an e-mail. I'm starting from the past to make sure I cover every last thing, and if you're dying today I can send you and email with a quick list.

Picture for today:
2012 photo. My arm after a shower.

History: My life with rashes

Hello Everyone & Welcome!

This is my attempt to share my steroid-free and anti-pill-popping solutions with anyone suffering from HIDEOUS, horrifying rashes & eczema hives. Being a giant fortified food addict and pill-popper myself it finally came to the point I was ready for actual life-changes. The skin issues I faced are gross and you probably shouldn't read them if you're not into stories about puss.

All of the suggestions I have here are 100% FREE. I'm not trying to sell you anything, although if you'd like to support my via paypal or via Google ads I would be more than appreciative. I am posting this blog purely as I have been suffering from this issue for years and just recently it spiraled out of control. I noticed no one had quite the rash I had, luckily it is by far not the worst (praise the Lord @__@), however it is still maddeningly itchy. If this blog even helps one person I will be so glad. Please feel free to reach out to me via comment / e-mail. 

OK! With all that taken care of. To the photos!!!

I tried to make this as scientific as I could and documented it on every little scrap of paper in my home..

From babies to adults, I think the stuff I have in here will help you should you be all red and rashy.. You may have just figured out what you have or you've had it for years.. Or, your poor baby has it (seems to be the common thing when I do searches).. Either way the media likes to make all people look so beautiful, and then you / someone you know gets this rash and doctors tell you "You just have to live wirth it".. Well, I'm here to tell you WRONG. I mean, you might have to live with some of it.. But, chances are it's something in the environment or your lifestyle.. I've only seen a few blogs like this one which I will try to dig up soon here and link in a future post.

Good luck & remember-- you're BEAUTIFUL.
~Alice

PS: I'm going to type this extremely fast. Apologies in advance for spelling errors. Just trying to get all the data down before it slips out of my mind.