My second outbreak, right after healing from the first

Toward the middle of June 2013, I noticed little clear dots again, forming on top of the dry, recently healed skin. I thought they were remainders of the first outbreak, but no-- they were signs of a second. By the end of the month, my feet and hands were covered by the vesicles. In addition, I had rashes (atopic dermatitis) on my wrists, arms, and upper thighs. I used to get those rashes on my arms and legs as a child, so it looked very familiar. Now they were back with a vengeance, in addition to the new condition, dyshidrosis. On June 28, 2013, I was desperate enough to go to another free county doctor, this time armed with all the information of dyshdrosis I could find. I liked this lady much more than the first doctor who saw me a month before. She confirmed that indeed, it's eczema, and took photos of my arms, hands, legs, and feet, and wrote a report to send to the county dermatologist. That was the official referral to a specialist. She said that if the dermatologist wishes to see me after seeing those photos, they will contact me. If not, well-- it's the bureacratic county hospital system, not much we can do.

June 2013

June 2013

June 2013

June 2013

In the meantime, she gave me hydroxyzine pills (strong antihistamines), which honestly do nothing more than put me into a deep sleep; she also gave me more of that clotrimazole and betamethasone dipropionate cream, which I wasn't too thrilled about because it leaves you drier than the Sahara, but I suppose those vesicles should be dried somehow. And they did dry up, they dried me so much that I went through a period where I was so dry my skin was cracking like glass and made it painful to walk. Vaseline worked immediately after application, but an hour later they were dry again. I did more research, learned through trial and error (and lost money, because these creams are not cheap; it's expensive to get sick in America!). Tea tree oil-- not. Aveeno cream? Not too much, Vaseline was better still. I read about emollient-based creams, so I bought Eucerin for my feet-- that worked to keep them moist much longer than Vaseline, which only moisturizes superficially, and doesn't go in deep like the emollient-based products. I also bought Curel cream for my hands and body. I used to use Suave Advanced Therapy for my whole body, but that simply doesn't do anymore. I also replaced my usual Dove bar with Aveeno Stress Relief Body Wash so as to not make my condition worse. It hasn't gotten better, but it certainly hasn't gotten worse. In the meantime, at least, while I wait for the county dermatologist to contact me... I still hope they do.