Eczema Client Story
“It started in August 2010, six weeks after my wedding. I had suffered with eczema as a child but during my teens had grown out of it. I had suffered the odd flare up on my hands but that was easily controlled by hydrocortisone cream.
This time was different. It started on my back and gradually spread to my arms, legs and stomach, by Christmas 2011, 90% of my body was covered the only parts of my body not affected were the palms of my hands, soles of my feet and my breasts.
I was referred to a dermatologist and tried cream upon cream, but nothing made it better, in fact it got worse! My lower back was red raw, constantly weeping and infected. The skin on my throat was the worst part, although not red, the skin was so tight from using steroid creams I couldn’t turn my head without it splitting, up to 3 inches long.
It was discovered I have two allergies, firstly to an organic compound used as a preservative in food and in fabric dying. Secondly and more severely I am allergic to Disperse Blue, a dye used in the textile industry added to many dark colours and therefore very hard to avoid.
By this point, my entire life’s routine had changed, each morning my husband would have to slather me in cream before I could dress for work, my uniform was dark. In the evening, I undressed in my Mum’s bath because of all the skin that would be on the inside of my uniform. I would sit on the edge of the bath whilst she exfoliated my skin to remove the worst of the dry skin before she repeated the cream lathering.
Despite doing my best to avoid my allergens, I was miserable, every day I wanted to cry because I just didn’t see it ever getting any better. Long sleeves, trousers and a lightweight scarf to hide the split on my neck became my new uniform. I wanted to feel like a woman again not some kind of leper.
I tried many treatments, light therapy, etc. All produced little or no results.
My Mum, who was an existing client of Amanda’s, bought me a voucher to visit the salon. Amanda recommended I take supplements, I took Skin Vitality 1 and Skin Omegas. I started on 3 omegas a day.
An improvement was noticeable after just a few weeks. After a couple of months, having seen a significant improvement ,I dropped this to two a day. Now almost a year on, I take one omega and one Skin Vitality 1 a day. If I have a flare up, I go back to two omegas per day until it has subsided, usually within a week.
This summer I won’t need to worry about wearing shorts and t-shirts and people staring at my skin because I look normal again.
I still feel like crying on occasions, not because I am miserable but because I am happy!”
Sarah
