It's just eczema

So most of you know that I have been battling a rash on my hands for about 2 years now. It started on my left hand ... my ring finger to be exact. This is why I haven't been wearing my wedding rings all the time. Anyway, right after Tanner was born, my left hand started breaking out. The pain was unbearable, and when it didn't hurt, it was itchy. REALLY itchy. I would put lotion after lotion after lotion on it, hoping to make it stop. Then I started putting antibiotic ointment on when I wore my rings; I even used that Second Skin stuff once. (Yeah, not a good idea on broken skin.) Nothing seemed to work. So I just decided I would only wear my rings when I had to ... when we were going to dinner or a party.

Then about 8 months ago, my right hand started breaking out. Very strange considering I don't wear jewelry on my right hand, usually. And it's all over my right hand ... pinky, middle finger knuckle, right side of my hand ... very unpleasant. And the rash is so ugly, it's embarrassing. It made me not even want to try on rings when we had to buy the new one (well, almost!). And now that we've been spending time in the pool, the chlorine has made it really awful, and the itching keeps me up at night. (Now I know how Kendall felt all those years!)

I decided, when Tim bought me the new rings, that I want to figure out what's up with my skin. Why is it only on my hands? Am I allergic to white gold? Soap? Shampoo? I made an appointment with a local dermatologist (in my network), and they got me in this morning finally. Naturally, he told me it is eczema ... which I didn't know you could just "develop" in your 30's, but whatever. I asked him why it just started when I had Tanner, and he called it "housewives' eczema." Funny, hunh? He said that when Tanner was born, I probably started washing my hands more, and that's also when I started staying home full time. I do more dishes, wash more clothes, give two baths a night, etc. My hands are exposed to a lot more soap and hot water now than they were before. Ergo, eczema.

So, they gave me a prescription for a steroid cream. Little do they know that my med cabinets are well stocked with steroid creams from Kendall's eczema. I probably won't get it filled unless I have to.

The trip was a success ... except one thing really bugged me. When the nurse left and came back with the doctor, she was carrying this blow-torch-looking thing in her hand. Apparently, the nurse must have mentioned that I look well-tanned or something. The doctor talked to me about my hands and then said, casually, "Well, let me take a look at the rest of you to see if there's anything else we need to worry about."

Hunh? The nurse had asked if I wanted the doc to look at anything else, and I said no.

So he proceeded to check my stomach, my back, my shoulders, my chest ... then he blow-torched the sun spots on my shoulders. Yes, he took that little blow torch to my shoulders, zapping the little spots there. It stung ... I guess he was "freezing" them off. He says they will scab over and peel off within 10 days.

10 DAYS?!! Did I mention that we are going to the beach in 5 days? To add more sun spot to my shoulders???

Oh well ... at least I'll have some healthy new skin to burn ...