
How I Cleared Up My Eczema Flare Up
About a month ago, my eczema began to really flare up on my arms and hands. I had thought it was because of my diet as it was Christmastime and my diet had really veered off from my norm, and I was away from home so I was using different soaps and items (like blankets, etc) that weren’t my usual. For example, while we were away, one of the blankets on our bed was a wool blanket. Well, if you have eczema then you likely already know where this is going: the wool blanket tool my eczema to a whole new level. Wool is known for being somewhat of a trigger and irritant for those who have eczema, and it is a big-time irritant for me.


My Eczema + Hypothyroidism
In many of my skincare posts, I talk about how my skin is quite sensitive or how it used to be extremely sensitive. But, in the last few years, I had thought my skin had somewhat balanced out, I stopped being quite as nervous to try new products and even if my skin got a little irritated here or there it never got to the level that it used to. As a teen, I was lucky in the way that I didn’t have to deal with acne very consistently. I would get the occasional pop-up of pimples (especially when I was PMS-ing) but in general, I felt that that was one thing I didn’t really have to worry about too much as a teen. Then when I was 15, things shifted in my health and it really began to show in my skin, hair, energy – everything, really. I began feeling extremely tired. I would get migraines, my nails peeled, my hair thinned, my skin got extremely dry and rough, and I would sleep a full 10 hours, get up and go to school, and then come home and have to take a nap before doing my homework. I was truly exhausted and it showed. Well, this went on for months and months until finally my doctor tested me and told me that I had hypothyroidism, which is pretty unusual for a 15-year-old. It was during this time that I started experiencing flare-ups of eczema. As I mentioned above, I had always had pretty easy skin, and though I wasn’t dealing with acne, I found myself unsure how to handle my now super dry, rough, and irritated skin. I would do my usual skincare routine and my skin would seer. I would apply a moisturizer and it would make my skin even redder. I quickly realized my usual moisturizers just weren’t doing the trick, and in fact, I felt like they were making it worse. So, I went to my real-life beauty guru, my mum, who then took me to the pharmacy to get something specifically made for eczema. Since then, there have been a few times where I’ve had to actually go to my doctor to get prescription creams to help soothe my eczema, but more often than not the pharmacy items have helped.

– I do not wear makeup
– I take a look at my diet
– I stop using my normal skincare routine. Instead, I simply just cleanse my skin using a super gentle cleanser and then follow up with the Spectro EczemaCare cream. I also only use lukewarm water on my skin as hot water can make the flare up worse.
– I wear my hair up 24/7
– I investigate my house for possible irritants: laundry soaps, dust, etc.
– I access my energy, nails, and hair. My eczema flare-ups have often been related to my thyroid being off and needing to take a look at my medication and my lifestyle – am I doing everything I should be to support my health and my thyroid? The fact is diet and sleep have a huge impact on my thyroid so if I am stretching myself too thin (which I definitely felt happened over the holidays – I was exhausted!) then I am exhausting my body and my health.
It doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but it really can stunt my content when I have to take multiple weeks off of creating makeup tutorials, and beauty content. So anyway, when it flared up this time I knew I had to stop messing around and get to a pharmacy.

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