Diet Anxiety and Misunderstandings During the Holidays

Quarantine has slowly started to lift for some places and currently, my state is slowly catching up to the rest. However, I’ve realized that while quarantine has been rough on me, it’s actually been quite wonderful for my eczema.

Not worrying about what people thought of my eczema

Before quarantine, I used to worry all the time about what people thought of my eczema, what if people stared? What would they say about it? Would they mock it? Quarantine granted the dream I always wanted, no one seeing or judging my eczema. It was wonderful to not constantly fear a snide remark or a judgmental glance.

Managing my eczema diet during quarantine

Another perk was not having to worry about was my diet! Now, for those who don’t know I have to be very wary of what I eat or else I’ll have a flare-up, I’m even allergic to red dye which if I have too much my skin will break out in hives and I become very sick. During quarantine, I was able to easily monitor what I ate, and I ate much better during the quarantine. I started having more salads, yogurt, seafood, etc. Even my craving for fast food went down.

The holiday struggle

Easy to say, while other aspects of my life haven’t been so great during quarantine, my eczema and anxiety around it has dwindled. However, with quarantine slowly lifting my fears are quickly coming back with the holiday season coming so soon.

Eczema limitations are so misunderstood

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always dreaded the holiday season. Not because of the holidays themselves, oh no, I love the holidays! I dread this season because of gatherings with family. Now, I love my family and I do not want this to sound otherwise, however, some family members aren’t so understanding of my eczema and don’t fully understand the limitations of my diet.

Dietary restrictions because of eczema

I remember grocery shopping with a family member on one occasion. I specifically told them that I couldn’t have anything with fructose syrup. It’s a major trigger for my eczema and also makes me sick. Well, nearly every desert we looked at that had fructose syrup in it along with every other item my family member would put into the cart. Every time I’d mention to them that I couldn’t have the particular item they chose, they’d say “Oh right!” put it back, and grab something equally as bad. At that point, I decided to give up and only have a very small piece of cake that night and made sure I bathed my usual flare up spots with my eczema cream.

Back to life

As nerve-wracking as it is to go leave quarantine and slowly go back to normal, I’m quite happy. As much it annoys me when a family member doesn’t understand my diet or the anxiety of wondering what my family will say about my eczema, I’ve somehow missed it. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I miss my family and their presence. So, while I’ll hate to have the anxiety surrounding my eczema again, it’ll be worth it to spend an evening with my loved ones.