November 6, 2012 • 3 notes

Ut-Oh

Hi everyone, 

It has been such a very long time since I’ve posted. 

I hope you are all doing well in your journeys to finding a state of health!

I am writing now because right now my skin has gotten to it’s worst for the first time in 1 year and 5 months since I healed from my work skin incident. Today it’s the worst it’s been in a long time.

There are several reasons I will go into more detail when I have time. 

Food, sleep, alcohol, grad school, maintenance, stress, neglecting my routine because I really want to spend time with my boyfriend. 

Right now my face is all dry, my legs are rough, my thighs are rough to the touch, my butt is scratched up, my back is flakey, shoulders and flakey, stomach is scratched, elbows are scratched and scabbed, arms are rough, neck is very rough and scaley and painful. 

Oh, and I have also been slowly getting some itch attacks again. 

ITS TIME TO BUCKLE UP AND TAKE HEALTH SERIOUSLY AGAIN. 

I am about to go and shoot my first film at grad school next weekend. 

April 9, 2012

re: eczema_emotions

eczema_emotions asked:

Have you found anything to reduce itching? either a distraction method or food or cream? anything really :)

I keep getting to the point where my eczema is managable and i can walk without hobbling and then it starts itching like crazy (something to do with the fact its healing apparently) and i cant help my self scratching. Its got to the point where i scratch during the night and wake up with my feet bleeding or during the day when i just cant stop myself. Obviously this opens the skin and makes it raw which is prone to infections and i really dont want to go back on antibiotics :/ also the guilt that its my own fault its bad so i cant expect other people to help make it better doesnt help :S

IF you have anything thanks and if you find anything could you tell me.Seriously willing to try ANYTHING at this point!

Leaf Replies:

Dear eczema_emotions, 

Thanks for writing me! For my itching was a crazy thing because besides the regular itching of eczema (that sucks!) I was also having this strange “itch attacks” that no one would explain. They were like anxiety attacks that would happen several times a day but instead of breathing abnormalities my entire body would swell up and become INSANELY itchy from the inside out. For regular itching, honestly since my whole body was covered in it it became a psychological battle of out of site out of mind. I would have everything covered in a cotton shirt and my wrists wrapped in bandanas. I don’t know how severe things are for you right now but yes, at the point I was looking like a crazy mummy was worth it, even in public. When the itch attacks would happen, all I could do was breath. I’d imagine I wasn’t my body. I’d imagine I was something else. That I was a little plankton in the deep sea. The mind is a powerful tool, everything you feel including itching is a signal from your brain. It might sound cheesy but it helped me a lot to meditate and try to think of myself out of my body. 

April 9, 2012 • 2 notes

The Eczema Healing Guideline

This is a website created by a woman who cured her eczema through her diet. She emphasizes not relying on pharmaceuticals. This website helped me so much through my hard times I recommend everyone read it through. It was very eye opening and gave me hope. I went by these principals (and more, I also researched anti-inflammatory diets a lot) for about 6 months along with acupuncture and rest. This allowed my body to heal itself, it supported my body to ACTUALLY become better, not mask it’s ailment. It takes patients, but it’s worth it. I hope this can give you hope as well!

March 23, 2012
Oh hey there #bird #michaels (Taken with instagram)

Oh hey there #bird #michaels (Taken with instagram)

February 26, 2012 • 250 notes • alkalinesisters.com

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February 26, 2012 • 9,848 notes • brain-food

Fruit oil paintings by Dennis Wojtkiewicz

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February 26, 2012 • 7 notes

My Eczema Incident Anniversary!!!

Dear eczema friends, 

For those who have read my blog, you know that I went through a life changing, incapacitating ailment with my eczema. A year ago this month my flare up began and I was made bed ridden, unable to move or speak with a stranger without an itch attack, unable to open my eyes in the morning from swelling, unable to function. My entire body was covered in leper like eczema like never before. My face was swollen red, I only wore long sleeve cotton with bandanas wrapped around my wrists everyday and I wouldn’t leave the house without sunglasses on. Even at night.

I am absolutely ecstatic to be able to write this entry. I was hesitant to publish my entire face, but I want to offer this as a gift of hope to everyone, I am amazed and so incredibly thankful for my healing. This is me LITERALLY a year ago, struggling to open my swollen eyes 02/26/2011….

This is me now…

No make up! That is all just my skin!! I am me again!

I am ecstatic because I hope this can be a a beacon of hope for everyone out there. My skin is better then it was before my incident. Life has been very busy and crazy so I haven’t had a chance to really take it in, but everyday is maintenance! Everyday I must appreciate and be thankful to my amazing body for healing itself!

It took me 6 months of being bed ridden, suffering, eating 100% RAW/Organic, acupuncture once a week, chinese medicines, self evaluations, a ton of research everyday, etc. 6 months of not knowing if I would ever get better. 

Life is so busy and I feel so blessed to be able to be busy again! Because of this busy-ness I apologize that my responses have been delayed but I promise you, I will respond! Whether it’s sooner or later. 

The pharmacy you need to heal is all within you!

MY MAINTENANCE ROUTINE

For maintaining my healing here are the things I am currently doing:

-Moisturizing everyday, twice a day with almond oil and sheer butter. Apply chinese herbs at night. 

-Only shower 1-2 times a week. Wash my hair and wash selectively more often, but I don’t dry out my entire skin 

-Acupuncture/cupping every other week. 

-Drink Chinese herbs everyday.

-I eat normal food! Most of the time I choose the raw and healthy vegetables and such, but here and there I do eat things I never thought I could eat again! I even drink sometimes :). I am not doing all raw at the moment. I was INCREDIBLY careful about reintroducing foods to my body. After a few months of healing a little by little I started to eat things I didn’t before and was very sensitive to how my body reacted. When it seemed my body was reacting okay I was amazed. Most of my meals are still vegetables, raw/stir fried, egg, tofu, quinoa, nuts, fruits, etc. But sometimes I do eat some chocolate, take a bite of chicken or bread or cheese! BUT I am very careful and always am listening to my body and see how it reacts the next day. If I feel like I’ve eaten more unclean foods than usual I make sure to eat well the next couple days after and also juice raw vegetables and drink it before I go to sleep! This definitely helps support my body to heal and maintain. 

Trust your body. Trust that you have the power to heal all within you, your body just needs your support!

When your eczema is at it’s worse, I believe a commitment to healing and 100% clean, raw foods is vital! But in my maintenance phase I’ve found my body is able to handle more versatile foods. 

I love you all! With all sincerity, this blog was such a big part of my healing process. It made me realize I was not alone and that was amazing! This community of us suffering, with no help from regular doctors and often with friends who don’t understand, we can help each other! I was able to express myself with complete sincerity here about my struggles and journey to health and that was a big deal. No one understands if they don’t experience it. They really don’t. They can sympathize but the pain is unreal to them. Skin conditions aren’t considered a big deal in regular society, the pain and suffering of it isn’t common enough apparently that it gets over looked. But please spread the word that we are all here for each other and that WE ALL CAN HEAL! We really can! 

Patients, commitment, discipline and most importantly trust in yourself, your body and it’s amazing ability to heal!

Love to you all, 

- Leaf. 

February 26, 2012 • 1 note
Q
Hello.

I have dyshidrotic eczema which I understand is different from 'normal' eczema, but it produces many of the same terrible symptoms: cracking, peeling, incredible itchiness and pain. It’s on my hands and for a while it was utterly crippling; I’m sure you can understand that! My partner linked me to your blog a few months ago when I had it so bad I was on the verge of a breakdown, and thanks to reading what you had done for help I decided to get on a more organic and healthy diet which has really helped a lot. I want to thank you first and foremost for keeping this blog, because without it I never would have thought of that and I might still be as miserable as I was a while ago!

In addition to the diet change, though, I found something else that helped me clear mine up. It’s a moisturizer called CeraVe and it comes in huge tubs at most drug stores. Using it regularly (basically whenever needed) on my eczema in addition to protective cotton gloves made it nearly clear up in almost a week (a miracle!), so if you’re still looking for helpful or something maybe that will help? I’ve also recently began using this stuff called Hemp Hand Protector from this little store called The Body Shop. The name says it is for your hands, of course, but it seems to be a really good moisturizer (better even than the other stuff I just mentioned) and you could probably use it everywhere for relief.

I just thought this might help and I wanted to thank you again for this blog!
leelandlovesyou
A

Dear prince-lee, 

I was nearly in tears! It touches me so deeply that my blog has helped you out! I am so glad that you found my story helpful, that’s what I hope to do by sharing! It’s so exciting to hear that you’re finding methods that help you. I have found gloves to be very helpful as well! For me when it was the worst a lot of it was a “out of site out of mind” method. It’s not true for everyone but my big outbreak took a lot of psychological maintenance. Stress of having eczema would make it worse! So I did a lot of gloves, even had bandanas wrapped around both wrists 24/7 for several months. 

I’ve used Cerave as well! It definitely does help. My routine right now is pure almond oil and shea butter! It can get pricey but I need the thickness!

Thanks so much for writing me! I hope keep discovering more and more ways to heal and maintain your health!

-Leaf

February 26, 2012
Q
I want to die everyday. I'm hiding my tears and put on a mask when i go to school. My skin is so horrible i just want to rip it off. It is all around my legs and arms, sometimes even my waist. IIt is so hard to move, because it hurts everywhere. When my friend pulls my arm, theres a sharp pain because it feels like somene is literally ripping it off. I need to get this cured before i start wearing short sleeves. PLEASE. HELP.
toniakuma
A

Hi toniakuma, 

I know exactly what you’re going through. I will offer you the hope that you CAN find relief from the suffering! It isn’t easy. It took me a whole life time, a total breakdown and then an intensive 6 months renewal of lifestyle and withdrawal from steroids. It’s hard work, both physically and mentally but if I can get better I truly believe you can as well. But it takes a commitment. I had to realize that I truly had to prioritize my skin’s health above and beyond everything else in my life! I put my skin first above social, career, school, romantic, above everything. Because I realized if my skin incapacitates me then then I can’t enjoy everything else in my life anyway! You can go through my tumblr and see in more detail what I did but this is what worked for me:

-Food is medicine. 

-Your skin is a reflection of your interior life. Stress appears on your skin. 

You need to prioritize eating clean foods. Most importantly no processed foods or fried foods. 

I hope you can find the information on my tumblr helpful! Remember it’s different for everyone. Having eczema is having a condition. Your body is not like everyone elses! I had to come to realize that. It can’t handle the kinds of food and stresses that other people’s bodies can. But it’s actually a wonderful thing once you get through the worst of it, you have a great excuse for having to prioritize relaxing and enjoying yourself! Message me with any further questions toniakuma! 

Food is medicine! Your body is literally made of food! 

-Leaf

February 26, 2012
Q
I wanted to tell people about a few things that have worked for me, because maybe it can help others too. Steroids, drugs, anything the doctor said never worked. So I went to korean remedies. I've been taking herbal medicine and going to an acupuncturist (:D) for daily use, I use aveeno 24 hour moisturizing lotion and this spray that that imitates the effect of a forest (being in a forest does miraculous wonders) to keep my skin moisturize. Basically, what you say really works :]
lizzielizardface
A

Yay~ Some tips from Lizzielizardface about what worked for her! Check it out!