From: Amanda Ulevich
Hello!
I came across your website via a link posted on the Skincell forum, located at www.skincell.org. Here’s the link: http://www.inthelight.co.nz/personal/pompholyx.htm
I wanted to add my story to your list of successes. I’m in the USA, and self-diagnosed, more or less. My battle with pompholyx started in 2001 when I got married and moved form a warm, humid climate to a cold, dry one. Suddenly, I was getting what I always had called “water blisters” and what everyone else called “an allergic reaction.” When the blisters finally subsided, my hand would be so dry and flaking… I have a large collection of hand lotions in testament to trying to moisturize.
That winter was pure [bleep]. My fingers were so swollen I couldn’t type. I remembered Mama’s admonitions that if the water came out, it would “infect” the surrounding area. End result: I spent a lot of time popping the blisters, soaking up the watery pus with Kleenex, and then rinsing my fingers with hot water to clean them. My husband also believed that scratching would remove the irritant as well as the irritated skin, so I would just hold my hands under running hot water and scratch. Yes, I’m wincing, too. I was literally doing everything wrong.
My family doctor had no idea what the matter was. He sent me to an allergist… I hoped desperately to get some relief. But of course, the allergist is a specialist, and it took several months to get an appointment. By the time I arrived in his office, my hands were fine. I had noticed that every nice lotion I had used seemed to make the blisters appear, however. One irritating skin patch test later, I was $200 poorer and none the wiser. I did, however, learn I had an allergy to nickel, which came in handy later. The allergist also gave me some super-duper-no-way-that-anyone-can-possibably-be-allergic-to-this-stuff lotion. They also made the blisters come.
Frustrated and itchy, I hit the internet in desperate search of what was wrong with me. I can’t describe the relief I felt when this horror had a name, and it wasn’t “just me” or my imagination. Although I’ve never seen lotions listed as an irritant, for me they are. If anyone wants some super-duper-no-way-that-anyone-can-possibably-be-allergic-to-this-stuff lotion, I’ll be glad to send you plenty. ;)
Just avoiding lotions, my primary irritant, has worked wonders. But I’ll still flare up if I run into English ivy (I’m really allergic to that), or if I’m stressed, don’t dry my hands well under my wedding bands, or get a thorn or irritated scrape. Sometimes my fingers will swell and itch for no reason at all… and that’s when I apply apple cider vinegar. Soaking my itchy mitts in apple cider vinegar helps a lot, especially if it’s cold. I keep a bottle in the refrigerator at all times, just in case. Vinegar also moisturizes the skin, so it keeps me from needing lotions. Right now, the hardest part is sleeping with my hands outside the covers when I flare, and explaining to people that I have a skin disorder – get away from me with that lotion! :-(
Thanks for reading all this, and I hope it helps someone!
Written by Amanda Ulevich © 2006
Updated 8-6-2006
Get your own Free Home Page