It was right after my lunch break. I do not normally eat at
lunch. I go to the mall =P Mostly to window shop because my renos have my bank
account on lock down. I did however grab a large pike place drip coffee from
Starbucks and added my usual- 2 creams, 1 sweetener, and a bucket of cinnamon.
I felt an itch behind my ear and chose to ignore it.
When I got back to my office, the back of my ears and neck
were buzzing and red. I thought I must be having some kind of allergic reaction
to the scarf I’m wearing. I took it off but as the day progressed the itching
only got worse. When I finally had a moment to go to the bathroom to check out
the extent of the rash/hives, I found they were all over my neck- back and
front.
I remembered that a few months ago my sister had a sudden
rash on her chest and face. I texted her and found that she had taken oral allergy
medication and hydro-cortisone cream. That night I took a reactin and the next
day went to buy some cream. The rash had now spread to my face and chest. It
was still the reddest behind my ears and at the base of my neck. I assumed it
must have been the new leave in conditioner or dye my hair dresser had used
when I had my hair done a few days before the reaction. I thought maybe it was
a delayed reaction because I had mostly had my hair up in a bun after the dye.
I had put my hair up in a bun for the last few days so that
it wouldn’t touch my neck, chest, and face. When I got home that day, I took a
warm shower with just a bar of dove soap. I applied the cream and took another
reactin.
The next day, the “hives” had spread to my shoulders and
down my back and stomach. My face was literally covered. I couldn’t raise my
eyebrows without deep wrinkles forming on my forehead because the skin had become
so thick and dry.
I didn’t understand how these hives were spreading if I had
been taking allergy meds, applying cream, showering with only water and soap,
and keeping my hair away from my body and face. If this was an allergic
reaction, the symptoms would be subsiding. Finally, I decided that I needed to
see a doctor because it just wasn’t adding up.
The doctor took one look at me and asked if eczema ran in my
family. I was shocked because yes, it did run in my family but the last time
that anyone in my family had eczema or asthma was when my younger sister was a
baby and I must have been no older than 3 or 4.
She then asked me if I had been under a lot of stress
lately. I had been a little run down but nothing I thought I couldn’t handle….
She told me that there is allergic eczema but this was just
an eczema attack that was likely triggered by stress. She explained that eczema
is hereditary and chronic and that just because I haven’t had eczema before it
doesn’t mean I don’t have it and won’t get it again. I must have gotten a
little teary eyed at this moment because she came closer and said “I know this
is frustrating but you really must try to relax. You will get better. It will
be okay.”
It all made sense. The more reactin and cream I took and put
on, the more frustrated I was getting because they weren’t working. And the
more frustrated and stressed I was getting, the more eczema would appear or
spread. It’s now day 2 of me knowing what caused this outbreak and I’m happy to
report that it has stopped spreading and has subsided a little on my face and
ears. My chest, neck, and shoulders are still pretty bad but I’m sure it’s
nothing some gym time followed by tea on the couch with some popcorn can’t fix.
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