Ugh, Health Issues...

[bethzylla]

For the last month or so, I've been battling what I thought was a particularly nasty case of athlete's foot.  It started out as a few small blisters that I initially thought were chiggers, but instead of staying for a couple days then fading they just kept getting bigger.  I tried neosporin and a band-aid for a couple days, but that seemed to make things worse.  That's when I got online and found that some types of athlete's foot cause blisters, though I've never personally had that kind before.  Out came the Lamisil and Desenex and epsom salts, and I treated it aggressively for about a week.  By that time it had developed into a pretty horrible looking sore that constantly rubbed in shoes that have closed heels (like the athletic shoes I wear to work, my costume shoes, many of my cute sandals...everything but flip-flops really) and walking was painful.  Small blisters started popping up in a couple other spots on both feet, and then my hands.

I did some more thorough digging online and turned up dyshidrotic eczema.  I won't post any pics because it can get pretty shocking, but you can google it yourself if you're curious.  It fit all my symptoms (hooray for a tentative diagnosis!) but doesn't have a cure, only treatment for those symptoms.  It's the most rare kind of eczema, and is caused by stress.  Yes, that's right...I'm apparently allergic to stress.  How crazy is that?!  I don't feel particularly stressed, and certainly there have been times in my life when my stress levels were much, much higher than now.  Not wanting to rely totally on the internet as a diagnosing tool (and in light of my worsening symptoms) I made an appointment with a dermatologist.  Blisters kept popping up between my fingers and on my palm, and they were ITCHY.  Like, can't sleep without sleep aid itchy.  By the time of my appointment, it was tough to make a fist and the constant itching and tenderness from the blisters was making me edgy.  The doc took one look at my hands and confirmed the internet's diagnosis.  He prescribed oral and topical steroids, ordered a medical leave for my work, and told me to come back in 3 weeks for a follow up.

The meds are working, but the blisters are taking a while to recede.  Luckily the itching is under control (not gone, but totally manageable) and I haven't seen any new spots pop up in the last day or so.  I'm hoping this is a one time, freak occurrence.  Maybe my immune system was just particularly susceptible or some other combination of factors just aligned and this happened.  I really don't want to believe that anytime I have a teensy amount of extra stress (like dealing with crabby customers at a part-time retail job) I'll have to contend with this.  That would really limit the things I can do in life and it would hamper my ability to financially contribute to household expenses.  That's a pretty scary thought really.  So, in the interest of reducing stress (LOL)  I'm going to just hope like crazy this never happens again.

I'm going to enjoy my forced time off and hopefully get some UFO sewing stuff completed.  I'm working on an Elizabethan hat for a friend's birthday (at least I can still fit a thimble on my finger!) and then I'll work on getting my messy house under control.  Having a tidy space to live in reduces stress, right?  I'm thinking yes.  :)

Comments

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds horrible! I'm so sorry. It sounds a little like the hideous case of poison ivy I got when I was a young teen. I'm glad you have confirmation of it (even if it's kind of a bummer of a diagnosis), and time off work is great. Especially now that it seems to be going down.

[kaesha-nikovana.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the sympathy! It really does look similar to poison ivy, but with deeper set blisters. That's good since they're less likely to randomly pop while you're doing normal tasks, but my goodness they feel odd between my fingers!

[jaelie.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that's no fun! I've had my fair share of fungal infections (even one is too many, right!?), once even while I was living in Italy. I totally had to write home and have my mom send me some anti-fungal cream to get it all fixed up.

Hope the steroids kick in quickly and that you enjoy your forced time off!

[kaesha-nikovana.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez, you are so right about one being too many! How awful to have to write home and wait on international shipping for relief.

Thanks for the sympathy! Every day gets a little better than the last. :)

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

:-/ Feel better soon!

[kaesha-nikovana.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[darthcynthia.livejournal.com]

Well that sounds like an annoying pain-in-the-feet-and-hands! :( I'm so sorry about this. At least you're able to find ways to keep busy, without irritating it too much. I hope it clears up quickly!

[kaesha-nikovana.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the sympathy! My hands are much better now, but my feet are taking longer. I put on 'real' shoes yesterday for the first time since I went to the doc, and it still hurts like crazy. I did manage to get some mowing done, but I was very happy to get back to barefoot!