Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Day 27: Swollen Eye

Itchy dry red arms, I can deal with. Hands that better belong on a seventy year old washerwoman? Well, with the eczema, I've had those since I was 12 so I'm used to it. Have burning red itchy skin all over my neck? No problem, just like a sunburn!

What I can't deal with is the swollen eye I've just woken up to. I've always had dark circles (which I affectionately refer to as my "Romanian orphan eyes") but never, ever bags or puffy eyes. I'd read all those tips in Cosmo about hemorrhoid cream, ice packs, and frozen spoons -- so happy that at least there was one thing my body got right! No bags!

That's no longer true today. I woke up looking like I'd been punched in the left eye. (For the record: I have never been punched in the left eye. Or the right one, for that matter!)

I hoped that I would skip the facial symptoms. The rest of my body - yeah, sure, fine, I'll wear long sleeves and pants. But my face...? You can't hide that very easily.

Stopping steroids is absolutely the right thing to do. Even if it turns out that I don't have topical steroid addiction (doubtful considering my history), topical steroids are NOT a long-term solution for chronic eczema. Period! It is not sustainable.

I just wish cessation didn't come with all these other awful symptoms.

1 comment:

  1. Puffy eyes are common with this.

    It will pass.

    Keep up the good work Brista. Great blog hun x

    ReplyDelete