earthmomd's Journal

I have found that so much of my life has been affected by the fact that I have had cronic eczema since I was young.  So many times someone didn't want to touch me or made fun of me or excluded me from and activity because I was not like them.  As an adult ( I am now 52 years old) and just in this past decade I have now gotten the resistant staph that almost killed me in 2001.  I had never been in the hospital before and it seemed like it was just another skin infection, but the night when it became aparent that it was not going to let me go I so painfully remember going downstairs and having my son drive me to the ER.  I had to have a good portion of my left index finger cut away and it seemed like I was on antibiotics forever.  They had kept giving me Keflex, which as we all now know has become resistant to this infection and after about 4 months the infection took over me again and I ended up in the hospital again on IV's for days.  It was most frightening.  This audioimmune disease that hapens when the skin does not have it's natural barriers makes one so much more affected by just being in public or by trying to keep your home clean, it is very frustrating and scary at times.  We all can't live in some protective bubble so it just makes life a little more complex.

They have now found a factor that is genetic and is some deficiency in the body, good to know that has been discovered.  And there is much one can do to take responsibility to get things in some control, but that takes commitment and the desire to be well.

I guess God has a plan for each of us when we come here and I guess that for me it is to live with this and still find joy and happiness.  I have 3 grown children and I thank God that he did not pass down this plight to them, none of them have this skin problem.  Thank you God.  And I know that I would not have the insights I have if I had not experienced the painfull lessons that have happened to me.  I could just be very angry, but that does no good, so I come here to share and give hope to others and let them know that you can make it better.  I don't use topical steroids anymore, I really keep my diet "clean" , I rarely drink alcohol and I drink lots of clean water everyday.  I still get infections and when I need to I do use Bactarin, but only when I really need to.  I take a multivitamin, vit. c, cod liver oil and lysine as supplements daily and I use natural astringent soaks when I get flares to try and arrest the spreads.  I know and accept that I have to live with this the rest of my life and I thank God for giving me the awareness to deal with it the best I can.  So I come here for support and hope, and if this inspires just one person then it has been worth it.  Thank you God for my life, D