My Skin Healing Era: How I’m Taking Back Control of My Eczema
I've been battling dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and nummular eczema on my elbows and leg for the past three years (self-diagnosed, but very real). I had probably the worst flare I've ever experienced in mid-October, and that was my breaking point. I knew I couldn't do this anymore. I didn't want to live like this.
Dealing with eczema is extremely miserable. Ask anyone. It's hard to go out in public for fear of your skin peeking through and people asking you "what's wrong," knowing they're not going to have the answers to your problems. Or just fear that they'll be disgusted, which is even more discouraging. The last thing we want is to be known as “that girl with eczema.”
But being the truth-seeker that I am, I didn't accept the "well, this is just something that happens and you have to deal with it." No. I refuse to believe that. It's the same passionate belief that landed me in this career to help people just like you. I'm not signing up for steroid creams or drugs just to "get it under control." I want it gone. And I know there must be a way, because I never dealt with this as a kid at all.
The Reddit Rabbit Hole That Changed Everything
One night I was digging tirelessly through Reddit (which we all know is the only other place, aside from the Bible, that you can get any answers at all). I was reading so many posts and all of the comments under them. The amount of people I came across who were suffering even more severely than I am was incredibly heartbreaking.
These people saw so many dermatologists and doctors who just slapped a steroid cream in their hands, sent them on their way, and told them to come back when the cream stopped working. It's almost like these people had given up hope.
I did run across a few posts where they were "finding a light at the end of the tunnel," but again, they were merely band-aid solutions. Not much scratched the itch I had (pun intended, I suppose) of wanting to find permanent relief by getting to the root of the issue.
But then, I was reading the comments and I found a woman who had studied dyshidrosis for years and came to the conclusion that in almost every case she has seen, it's usually due to fungal overgrowth with leaky gut.
I was stunned. What?! I thought. There's no way. But I eat so healthy. I don't eat sugar in excess. I have yogurt all the time. It can't be me. It's impossible.
The Lightbulb Moment
But then I thought about it more.
Well, I do struggle with some mild digestive issues sometimes. I do notice a white coating on my tongue every morning when I wake up, which, with my clinical knowledge and understanding, is a classic sign of candida or fungal overgrowth. I do notice that sometimes I smell funky in warm and damp environments. And then there was that time I went to camp as a counselor and drank water all week that smelled like a pool (clearly filled to the brim with chlorine), and my eczema came full force only a couple short months later.
And that's when the lightbulb turned on. She has to be right, I thought. There's no other explanation.
Even though I do eat yogurt all the time, I really don't have many other probiotic-rich foods. And if I do, I usually feel it. That bubbling in my tummy, which usually indicates to me that I'm lacking in probiotics and my belly is screaming for more.
Though I may not have excessive amounts of sugar, my digestion isn't always optimal…especially when I’m stressed, which means that partially digested food is hanging around to be feasted on by the bacteria in my GI tract to then cause overgrowth. Which would then explain why my flares are significantly worse during stressful periods of time.
From there, I was convinced. This has to be my issue, and I need to do something about it right now.
The Gamble
Part of me wanted to get tested via a GI MAP or OAT test just to be sure, so we're not just shooting in the dark. But the other part of me was so miserable and was willing to make that gamble and risk wasting the potentially next three months of my life (including Thanksgiving) by overhauling my diet and lifestyle.
I'm desperate for relief, and I can only imagine how those other poor people on Reddit feel who are worse off than me.
But imagine if this risk pays off and on the other side I'm met with clear skin? Imagine that, if after this, I run into other people suffering from eczema, and I can lead them in the right direction to help them get rid of it permanently.
That is the dream. That is why I'm here. That is why God placed me here, for such a time as this, and allowed me to suffer with this disease so I know how it feels, but to also know how to fight it. Because He knew I would be the kind of person to figure it out. He knew I wouldn’t accept this as my “unfortunate fate.”
As strange as it is to say, what a blessing. What an honor to be chosen by God to walk this road and give others hope for healing, both physically and spiritually.
Come Along for the Ride
So I'm taking you along for the ride! I've started an episodic series on my Instagram channel giving the highlights, but here, on the blog, is where you're going to get the deep dives and the nitty-gritty details while I figure this out.
I hope you're buckled up and ready for the ride! It's going to get bumpy (literally), but I am so hopeful for the sweet reward on the other side of this. I mean, I kind of don't have a choice to find some sort of resolution because I'm in two back-to-back weddings next spring.
Next week: I'll be sharing the deep dive into my dietary protocol. What I'm eating, what I'm avoiding, and the strategic reasons behind every choice.
Until then, follow along on Instagram @_nourish.with.han for real-time updates in my Skin Healing Era.
Let's heal together.
***THIS INFORMATION IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A DIAGNOSIS OR MEDICAL ADVICE***
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”