Dermatology 101

And I think I failed.
Ready for this?
First of all,
this could all be a little indelicate,
and
just to assure you,
there will be no pics.
And
Advice,
Comments
and
even Reprimands
are perfectly welcome at the end.
Just hear me out.
For years I have had these "bumps"
for lack of a better word
randomly appear of my face.
They are sort of like a hive,
I don't feel them right away.
Usually one of my co-workers,
wait
usually
JWS or his mother look at me and say,
"What in the world is growing on your face?"
Really.
REALLY?
Then they itch,
then they flatten out and wrinkle
and scale away.
Not that fast obviously,
that is a week long process of
Neosporin,
Moisturizer,
Some scrub to remove the scaling and
lots of
Cover Girl.
Lately, I have been getting them more and more.
I blamed it on being out in the cold every morning.
And then,
about a month ago they got worse.
Slathering my face
alternately
with
Neosporin and Hydro cortisone.
I puzzled,
What could be causing this?
Internal?
Something I am eating?
External?
Allergy to something?
And then
Monday
It got way worse!
Way Worse!
Like put your head in a paper bag with holes cut out worse.
Like JWS staring at me,
saying you have to do something worse.
Like,
hissing bad words at JWS when he asked me to
wait on a customer
that I can't stand
because he smells so bad of
chewing tobacco
and never actually buys anything anyway,
all while I was on the phone
desperately
trying to find a
dermatologist
to see me on short notice
worse.
So,
while I was waiting for my three messages
to receptionists and
two messages to
nurses
at three different doctor's offices
to call me back.
(Don't even get me started on that scenario.)
I began
my college course of
Dermatology 101.
Otherwise known as search the Internet.
By this time,
I had pretty much ruled out my previous diagnosis
of fungal infection from yogurt
since two days earlier
I had quit eating yogurt and
tried an anti fungal cream and washing with Selsun Blue shampoo,
only to have it get worse.
Of course,
in
Dermatology 101
they use the usual scare tactics
of all the really bad things that could be happening.
and I read on.
No diagnosis,
class interrupted for customers that are going to buy
and don't smell like chewing tobacco.
And I get an appt.
Somewhere along the line there, we have jumped to Tuesday.
Time lines are hard when you are
in college,
working
and have a family.
Now is it Wednesday,
my face is
again...
WORSE.
I dress for work
and a doctor's appt.
I try lots of eye make-up
and
jewelry.
Enhance the good features, right?
Well at least enhance the ones
that are not
red, swollen, wrinkled and scaly.

Still with me?
My stories get a little long.
And harder to tell here than when I have hand motions
and can actually show you the subject.
But, trust me,
you don't want to see it.

Any who...
I'll shorten this and not go into
my information not being in the computer at the Dr's office,
parking as close to the office as I could so that I didn't have to walk down the street far
and scare people.
Chewing a really old piece of gum that I found in the console
because Logan thought the five packs of good gum that
I had in my purse should be in my desk drawer
and
found said gum while I was digging for change for the parking meter
because Logan took all the change in my purse 
to put in Papa's old fashioned toy cash register.
See, there is lots more to the story.

The doctor diagnosed this as
Nummular Eczema
and
gave me meds for it.
and I am on my way.
To the office's credit,
I was in and out in
fifteen minutes.
No need apparently for the three hours worth of change that I put in the meter.

So, I head for the pharmacy
to pick up the scripts.
Like that "scripts"?  That's Dermatology student talk.
So here's the rundown.
Anti fungal $8.99
Selsun Blue $3.99
Doctor's visit $25.00 (co-pay)
Antibiotic $57.00
Hydro cortisone $20
Steroid $3.00
Eucerin $8.99
Neutrogena soap bar $3.99
I am not going to even add that up yet.
Dermatology school can't be cheap.

And then...
I'll bet you thought I was done.

Last night,
I continued my education
in front of the TV
on my smart phone,
searching
Nummular Eczema,
my
red, swollen, scaly, itchy, wrinkled face
now greased and glistening
with medicine and moisturizer.

It was not pretty what I looked like,
or
what word kept popping up under
the
Causes Chapter
or my textbook/droid. 


WOOL!!! 

Whatever am I going to do?







And just so you have some pics,
This is everything that is laying around my house
STARTED.
Well at least some of it.
Let's just say these are
Current Items that Actually Have Hope of Being Completed
projects.










Again,
any opinions or advice on
this skin disease
would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

acorn hollow said…
Oh my goodness! that sounds awful!
and wool. I wonder why on your face and not on your hands?
sorry I have no insight but do feel very sorry for your problems.
Cathy
Unknown said…
Yeh, I thought you were describing some type of eczema. I've taken Derm 101 and am on 102 with my skin disease. My daughter is also a medical assistant for a Derm doc so I get LOTS of info from her. Wool...well, that's a bummer. No advice here as I know that's one of your 'loves' but on a positive note, the paintings are looking great!
}}Hugs{{
Vicky
I have itched like crazy from wool, but no "bumps." I didn't stay around it long enough for those to appear. So sorry to hear of your skin's disagreement with wool, I agree with acorn hollow, strange that it's your face and not hands - perhaps the face's skin is so much more delicate than hands? At any rate, your paintings are absolutely beautiful as well as your other crafts. I know felt isn't nearly as wonderful as wool, but would be a good alternative?
Hang in there!
JoAnn
Sheila said…
Oh, feeling bad for you right now. You love wool. You make awesome things with wool. You'll go through wool withdrawals if you can't play with it any more! You just worked on a huge project, that perhaps put you in overload mode. You have my address if you need get rid of it.

All joking aside Cathy, I hope the meds will get things under control for you, quickly. In the meantime you can work on your painting projects, looks like you've got some awesome ones started. The afghan turned out beautiful!
Hang in there.
hugz,
Sheila
Catherine said…
Oh yuck on the skin stuff....that's no fun at all! I hope the meds help you find some relief!
Teresa said…
So sorry about your skin troubles. If you have to give up wool the second hand stores in your area will be over run with wool jackets.
You are brave to show all your unfinished projects, we all have them.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches
So sorry to hear his Cathy!
I hope the meds work and get it all taken care of.
Love all the new projects you got started. Enjoy your weekend!

sandraallen260@centurytel.net
Whoa! Well... there is only one way to find out... put away the wool and see if it clears. Then don't even trust that... bring it back out again and see if it comes back.

Carmen and the Primcats
frontporchprims said…
15 minutes and your broke:( At least you know what it is though. No more paper bags.....or wool. Hu.....what are you going to do? I didn't know whether to laugh through the post or cry:) ;( Thanks for sharing. -Steph-
That's terrible Cathy! I guess you could always wear gloves and a face mask when working with wool! Can you imgaine what John would say/think? LOL
I hope it clears up for you soon.
Becky
I use tide and downey for my clothes , sheets, towels... and also wash all the wool I get in tide and downey. You could try the unscented.

I also use cetaphil gentle skin cleanser and lotion..wash and rinse face well in lukewarm water , not hot or cold.

I buy my makeup from the dermatolgist and makeup remover and also facial skin lotion underneath my makeup and it goes on so nice.

Things also come about from stress .. so try relaxing !

I have roseaca and take a mild antibioitc and have to watch what I eat. No real hot and spicy foods, no pop, chocolate aggravates, citrus products and stressful situations.

I hope it goes away.

Hugs,
Linda
Hope the meds work. Put the wool away...looks like you can finish those painted projects.
Lois
Unknown said…
I refer you to this item for reference, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001873/.
I caution you against self treatment, as these may actually make things worse with skin disease. Too much soap, stress and chemicals used to clean the skin all come to mind. I sure hope it gets better quickly for you!
I'm not your mom, lol, but I am a retired NP. Glad you saw a specialist for this!
God Bless!
Bev said…
Dang, that sure sounds like it is a big mess, get yourself in order and put that woolie stuff aside, perhaps goodwill, noooo sell it to pay for your days expenses. haha. I never could stand wool clothes, of any kind and of course the hand me downs from the cousins had wool in them. to this day I don't wear any of it. as for crafting with it, yes it was fun for you but now back to painting
TheCrankyCrow said…
Please tell me you don't wash your face with Selsun Blue....

Oh, my dear Cathy. You have my deepest and most sincere condolences. I feel like I should send flowers or something. Coming from one who loves every stinking thing about wool and has been known to pay surprise visits to my neighbor just so I can fondle her wool, I truly can empathize. Hopefully the drugs will be effective and you will be able to play on.....

Big Hugs to you.....Robin
Carol said…
I guess all of us were immediately thinking OMG not WOOL. Now the shock is over you probably have a choice to make; find a way to keep using the wool by limiting how much you do with it and making sure you don't touch your face while working etc. OR accept this as a clear sign that it is time to move on to something new. You are so talented and there are other products just waiting for you to try. Ooops sorry, that was probably the voice in MY head. Whatever you choose I look forward to seeing and hearing about your adventures! And good luck!

Popular posts from this blog

Walker/Wheelchair Bag Tutorial

Sharpie Markers and Alcohol = Really Quick Art

McDonald's Salt Packets and the Shelby Tree