Navigating New and Stubborn Eczema Flare-Ups

The famous quote, “I know this town like the back of my hand,” meaning that you are incredibly familiar with the place you’re at has new meaning when that hand has eczema. I had to learn this the hard way. And the learning didn’t just start with my hands!

Oozing eczema rashes on my legs

A few months ago, a few small rashes and lesions started appearing on my legs. I didn’t think much of it, figuring that they would heal and my legs would go back to being a non-issue territory. After all, my EASI score usually remains at about 50. The bottom half of my body (booty, legs, ankles, feet, toes) is pretty clear and only experiences the minor eczema issues - slight dryness, slight itchiness every now and then. Today some of those lesions have disappeared, but the others have remained and morphed into an entirely different beast that I cannot describe. I truly cannot. All I do is observe and itch, deal with the ooze, and survive another day.

Finding what works for each body part

This new change in my skin has been frustrating, to say the least. How could it not be? But with every new challenge comes a new learning experience, right? For example, I’m sure there is a part of your body that is currently flaring and has flared before. So you know how to deal with this one. You know that this one needs limited moisture and lots of open, cool air. But say, if another rash broke out in an unusual place (like what I’m experiencing now!) you have no go-to strategy this time. But at least you can go through your list of products and strategies that have worked for other parts of your body and figure out the perfect fit for this one. That’s what I’ve been doing now.

Trial and error for eczema flares

At first, I vigorously attacked it with everything - analyzed every little thing I was feeling and formulated a plan of action from there. I went at it with Domeboro (purchased from Amazon!) that helps dry the area, and it seemed to be working. But alas, it wasn’t doing the trick for my legs as it had for my back. Things were just not healing in the time frame I expected them to - which of course, is frustrating. So next, I tried red light therapy because a friend of mine (fellow #skinfluencer Alexis, @eczemalove) had found amazing success using red light therapy on her legs! We were both having eczema issues on our legs. This couldn’t just be a coincidence, right? Surely this was the answer! So I read and followed the instructions given by Pulsaderm Red LED Light Therapy Technology...but unfortunately, again, things just didn’t feel right and healing was not going in the right direction. Things seemed to be getting worse, actually. So what’s the next step?

Letting eczema go

Sorry for the corniness, but Elsa’s right - let it go. Sometimes, when it comes to the healing process, we feel like we need to be actively doing something in order to get results. We feel like we need to constantly cleanse, wrap, powder, and apply. Well, not all of the time! Sometimes, we just need to trust our body to do its thing. Give it the right tools: Good sleep if you can manage it, a good diet, and movement/exercise, and watch and observe as the magic unfolds.

Healing flare-ups

That’s exactly what I did, and holy moly let me tell you I finally started healing at a pace that felt right, which of course, also gave me peace of mind. The two huge areas on my inner thighs that were astronomically itchy and just as weepy? I’m running my hand over both areas right now and all I feel is regular semi-rough eczema. I honestly can’t believe it. Just two months ago, I was at the More Than Skin Deep Initiative in Washington, D.C., being pushed in a wheelchair from plane to plane due to the edema from TSW. I was silently suffering, not only the pain in my leg muscles but every time I had to peel off my loose pants from where they would adhere to the weepiness (those two huge areas on my inner thighs) of my legs. And just a month ago I was in tears, feeling absolutely hopeless as I uncomfortably sat amidst a pile of used paper towels, all yellow with ooze. Each of these patches was bigger than my entire hand, so you can understand how I’m in disbelief that they’ve healed. The skin has healed, but the muscles in my legs are still having issues. But that is another story for another time.

Let your body heal

So I guess the lesson is that even though there are times you don’t know the way to navigate a particular flare-up, apparently your body does! And it’s during those times that you just need to learn to trust and let it go. Happy healing, y’all.