They act and feel different from normal boils, being specific to eczema. Inside the ‘bubble’ is clear fluid, which burns and itches if it contacts the skin. Eczema itself is named for this symptom; meaning to boil over or erupt.

The best way I find to care for these is to open them carefully – tweezers or needles work well – and drain the fluid. Puncturing the boil shouldn’t hurt as it simply full of fluid. [It may hurt if the skin is aggravated, but that's just a general part of eczema.] I remove enough of the skin forming the boil so that the wound can’t immediately close itself and refill, but be careful not to tear off skin that’s living. A delicate touch is always best with skin maintenance.

After the fluid is gone it will probably continue to ooze a little, and it’s good to put a thin, soft piece of cotton over the area as a bandage so that the oozing won’t spread and create a rash. Since my feet break out the most I have a few pairs of thin, very soft cotton socks that I use for this purpose. Also, wash the wounds at least once a day to make sure they’re clean. These heal very fast compared to other kinds, like the stereotypical arm or knee scabs. However they also come back quickly. I usually have at least one a day.

It’s tight and peeling off in little flakes, so I’ve been using scotch tape to get those off as easily as possible. Sounds weird I’m sure, but it’s much more effective than scratching. People can’t really see the chapping unless they’re up close, but it still has me wanting to wrap my head in a scarf and hide. It brings back memories of the years when I looked like a monster. It also hurts to smile, frown, or raise my eyebrows.

I hate this idiot disease. I also feel like this post is badly written, and the only explanation I have is that it’s hard to concentrate on anything very long when my skin is making me feel phrenetic.

• Polysensitivity – patients with multiple contact allergies
• UV light sensitivity in patients with atopic dermatitus “The compromised skin barrier in AD is especially vulnerable to UV radiation exposure.”
• AD: Genetics or environment? “Recently, it was demonstrated that Filaggrin (=filament-aggregating protein, FL) is a major gene for atopic eczema.”

These are exciting to me because it proves that people are giving eczema attention and are trying to discover as much as they can about it, unlike what I’ve always been told by dermatologists – “It isn’t fatal, so it’s not a priority.” I’m also happy to hear that someone has actually figured out what genetic happenstance is involved in eczema.