Wednesday, August 7, 2013

My First Dermatology Visit

After so many months of suffering with dyshidrosis, I finally got to see a dermatologist. The wait time was almost three hours, but it was worth it. When the dermatologist saw my hands and feet he confirmed that it is indeed dyshidrotic eczema. He was honest and said that there is no cure, but only preventive care. He advised me to use unscented soaps, to wear gloves when I do the dishes (which I already do), to not wash my hands all the time, etc. He said I shouldn't wash them more than once or twice a day. It's going to be awkward going to the restroom in public and have others give me weird looks for not washing my hands, after having been conditioned my entire life into doing so.

The dermatologist gave me a steroid injection, which he said should keep me clear for a few months at least. He was realistic and said that I will probably have this my whole life, with recurring outbreaks. However, he stressed that preventive care is important even during my clear months. After suffering with this for months, I'd be grateful for a few months of good skin health! He prescribed me a cream, clobetasol propionate, which is based on petroleum jelly and is therefore so much smoother than the clotrimazole and betamethasone dipropionate cream that the general county doctor had given me. He also prescribed antibiotics (azithromycin, 500mg) to take once a day for three days. I show no signs of infection, but he says it will assist the healing.

We'll see what happens!

1 comment:

  1. I have this too, my hands have been absolutely awful, and being a English student doesn't help because now i can hardly hold a pen never mind write an essay! And now I've noticed a start of an outbreak on my foot and I couldn't be more upset about it, I've been to the doctors, tried everything they've thrown at me and no hope!

    ReplyDelete