Eczema Boil

It’s Friday, and I had a bad skin week.
On Monday and Tuesday it was about 95′F at the office, so I was expecting some kind of dermal explosion.
On Wednesday it showed up. I woke up with my face, chest, arms and knees breaking out. I put on my office clothes and planned on going in, [...]

If you have large weeping sores on your joints, or other areas of skin that flex frequently, cloth bandages can be very helpful. They keep the fluid from spreading, they keep the wound clean, and if they look nice people think they’re a fashion accessory.
Over the years I’ve experimented with different fabrics and techniques, and [...]

Do you know how many blogs about personal experience with eczema there are? The ones that are still updated, and in English, are listed to the right in the Allergy/Skin Links.
That’s five to represent the millions of people in the world with eczema.
If we don’t talk about it, no one will know that it’s not [...]

In the eternal quest for better hair removal without making my skin swell, I have a new epilator – the Emjoi Optima.
Last night I tried it on the least sensitive part of my leg and I rather like it. It stung for a second, but was nothing really compared to razor burn. It also didn’t [...]

Seventh Generation Liquid Dish Soap in Free and Clear, which I’ll just call the Good Stuff, because that was far too long winded, is awesome.
I’ve always found it nearly impossible to do dishes because my hands would turn bright red and swell. I figured it was a combination of the orange soap and too much [...]

And I’m not even kidding.
Nourish-mint. This is the only lip balm I’ve ever used that doesn’t make my skin react. It also lasts long enough that I only need to apply it two or three times a day. While it’s $15/tube, it’s worth it to me. Goodbye crocodile kisses, hello one more illusion of being [...]

This image was the banner for the site for awhile, but I realized I’ve never properly posted it here. Below is a macro of an eczema boil on my foot, the place I most frequently have them. Gory details of self-maintenance ahead – you’ve been warned!
They act and feel different from normal boils, being [...]

I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing
To those that know me.
- William Shakespeare, Macbeth
The other night I was scratching rather loudly at my forehead and after 15 minutes Orion left the room saying “I have to go somewhere else,” and I couldn’t help but reply “Sorry!” After a bit he came up to me [...]

Immunosuppressants can be dangerous, please be careful when using them. This includes Protopic and Elidel, which have had the alarming results of an increase in skin cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma among their users.  [This means you Chris!]
Please read the directions on your medication and follow them accordingly. These ointments suppress your immune system. It’s like [...]

Pubmed has an article from Switzerland about the genetics involved in eczema -
Atopic eczema (AE) is a multifactorial skin disease caused by a variety of factors such as genetic conditions, alterated skin structure, immunologic deviations and environmental factors, among others.
Recently, it was demonstrated that Filaggrin (=filament-aggregating protein, FL) is a major gene for atopic eczema.
The [...]