Tag: Skin

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Is it herpes? And other stupid questions.

If you are a regular reader on my blog you might remember that I have had major issues with my skin. I’ve done 2 courses of Roaccutane, I’ve had cysts the size of large marbles under my nose and on my lips and I’ve been hospitalised twice for complications and for IV antibiotics.

Well, after almost 3 years of having clear skin, I woke up a week ago with a small hard lump on my lip. In the exact spot the one that sent me to hospital the last time was.

I immediately went to the doc and she put me on antibiotics. After 4 days it was worse, again the size of a large marble and solid and extremely sore)  so I went back and she changed me to a stronger, antibiotic specifically for resistant staph (this is what caused the cysts in the past) and booked me off work for 2 days since I could even brush my teeth or eat solid food. 4 days after that and the cyst is slightly smaller but more importantly is not as solid and has developed a ‘head’ where it will hopefully begin to drain the fluid so it can start healing.

http://www.cutestpaw.com/images/baby-owl/
Here, have a pic of a teeny tiny baby owl, because Im not showing you my face

So back to the title of the post…

2 people, 1 of them a total stranger, looked at me yesterday (while pointing at my lip) and at the top of their lungs said ‘Is it herpes?’ Now I know Israelis have no tact, its one of the things I love about them but hell, way to make me feel worse than I already do.

Other stupid questions I’ve been asked:

  • Is it sore? Sometimes this is accompanied by people trying to touch it (!?!?)
  • When I have a pimple I do xyz, have you tried that? Well since it’s not a pimple…
  • Have you been to the doctor?
  • Should you be around people?

I know people mean well but hell… Usually I’m not self conscious, I couldn’t care less what people think of my looks, but there is only so much I can take.

And a pic of a sweet little piglet because you really don't want a pic of my face!
And a pic of a sweet little piglet because you really don’t want a pic of my face!

So I am being a hermit this weekend. Nothing short of the apartment catching on fire (Gd forbid) will get me out of here. Hopefully by Sunday it will have gotten better enough to at least look a bit more normal. It has to be better by Sunday because we have our company Fun Day and I’m not missing that for the anything!

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Flesh – A discussion with my 3 year old

This morning, Faith told me that Michael Jackson has black hair and that his skin is black and that she is flesh coloured.

Where to even start.

I hate, hate, hate that ‘flesh’ is still/even considered a colour.  I have no idea where Faith got the concept from, I spoke to her teachers at school and they said they haven’t taught it to the kids, they speak about pink, peach, chocolate and brown.

I found this image on Google, not sure where it came from originally
I found this image on Google, not sure where it came from originally

I tried to explain to Faith that flesh is not actually a colour, that it is the word we use for {skin, muscle and sinews} in our body. I told her that Michael Jackson is actually brown (yes, I know, a totally different discussion) and that she was pink.  I said that I am also pink and that Aletta, our nanny is brown like Michael Jackson.

She seemed to understand although I think I will have to keep reinforcing the concept.

I never had this issue with Aaron. When he was little he spoke about people’s colour in terms of the clothes they were wearing, for example, the man wearing a blue t-shirt was a blue man, the lady in the pink dress was a pink lady, the kid in the purple shirt was a purple kid.  I still have never had a skin colour conversation with him actually.

Has this ever been an issue with your kids?  How did you deal with it?

 

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Its of to the dermo I go… again!

For two days now I have been ignoring the sore spot next to my nose, the slightly red, raised sore spot.

If I ignore it, it will go away right?

Wrong!

It seems to be getting worse, so I called my amazing dermatologist and she can fit me in tomorrow. Hopefully I wont have to have anything {cut, drained or injected}!

This is the first ‘big’ issue I have had with my skin in over 5 months!

Not too bad 🙂

But Im not letting this one get out of hand, I will put on my big girl panties and see the Dr tomorrow and hopefully we can sort this out before it get worse!

 

 

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Not the best photo, it looks better in the photo than in real life 🙁

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Skin – day 177!

Day: 177

Dosage: 30mg per day

Skin issues: Nothing to reports, no cysts, no break outs! Yay!!

Side effects: Other than the general dryness of my skin, lips and eyes everything has remained the same. Except for one new development.  Roaccutane dries the skin and makes it thin and brittle, especially in an area that already has thin skin, like the labia.  Turns out that with thinner skin any sort of friction can cause irritation and tears.  This lead to 5 days of extreme agony, I could barely walk or wear underwear and making a wee was pure agony! Spoke to the gynea and I now have a estrogen cream that I have to use for as long as I am on the Roaccutane and I at least feel like Im back to normal.  Only another 2 months on the Roaccutane!

Improvement: Total improvement!!

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I wore makeup and I liked it

So I mentioned here why I never wear makeup and then I mentioned here that I have worn makeup now and that my skin didnt freak out about it 🙂

Most of the makeup and creams I have used have come from samples that I got from GlossyBox and RubyBox , the exception being the mascara that I have had for ages and ages (because I never wear makeup I actually dont own any except the mascara).

So here goes…

Foundation – NYX

Sorry for the bad pic

The colour is a lot darker than it looks but its for night time it looked ok 🙂

 Eye Shadow – Eye Majic

This is the colour I used. Not my choice, will get more neutral colours next time 🙂

I never really buy eye shadow because I never use it and when I do buy it turns crumbly and yucky with age.  I got the Eye Majic in my GlossyBox months ago and I will most definitely be buying more!  Soooo easy to use.  The colour I got as a sample was not so great but they have a huge range 🙂

Eyeliner – Beauté

‘Scuse the bad photo!

 

I never really use eyeliner but thought what the hey, might as well 🙂

Mascara – Clinique

Love this mascara 🙂

Now for cleansing and moisturising…

Cleansing – Africology

Love the tingly feeling, I use this every night

Moisturising – Anesi

Let me just say that I dont care how expensive this might be, but when my little sample runs out I am buying this.  Smells divine and absorbs with no greasiness and best of all my skin has no adverse reaction to it!

So thats it, the products I have started using.

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Skin – 4 month later

Day: 111

Dosage: 30mg per day

Skin issues: I had what I thought was a small white head on my lip line, I steamed the area and tried to squeeze itout (Yes I know, naughty naughty! Dont do that again etc…), turns out it wasnt a white head and I suddenly had a realisation that in the past what I had done would have created a huge cyst.  Thankfully that didnt happen this time 🙂  Also, I have worn make up twice since this post, and no reaction!!

Side effects: Lips and eyes are still dry but nothing else to report.  Oh! Actually, I had a full set of blood tests done about 2 weeks ago from my GP and all the liver and sugar test came back normal, so the Roaccutane is not negatively effecting those functions.

Improvement: My skin is looking better than it ever has.  3 more months of the Roaccutane and I should be cured 😉

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Skin – Why I never wear makeup

So, the whole skin thing, ja, thats basically why I never wear makeup.

The minute I put base on I break out in cysts, I really mean that, within an hour I can feel them building and by the next day they are clearly visible.

I dont even use moisturiser because I have the same reaction, although I have found that if I use a very mild one now I am ok.

I have been on the Roaccutane now for about 3 months.  My skin definitely show vast improvement.

But I’m scared.  Im scared that if I start using make up now I will get cysts.  Even though my skin is so much better and I’m pretty sure I wont react, especially if I use hypoallergenic products.

I have some really beautiful products from GlossyBox and RubyBox and I am dying to try them out.

Whats the worst that can happen?

 

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Skin – looking good :)

Day: 93

Dosage: 30mg per day

Skin issues: No changes from the last post 🙂

Side effects: My lips are very dry and I am using a variety of products, I just have to keep remembering to put them on. A new side effect is that my eyes seem dryer than normal.  I am going to go get some eye drops this weekend and see if they help.

 

Please excuse the crappy photo, I always seem to write my posts at night and well ja, crappy cell phone pictures 🙂

Improvement: So far no new cysts so I think that is a vast improvement!

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Skin – two months (and a bit) down the line

Day: 72

Dosage: 30mg per day

Skin issues: My skin is still slightly red and a little bit swollen on the sides of my nose, I’m not sure if its a remnant of the cyst or if its some scaring under the skin but I’m not too worried.

Side effects: My lips are very very dry, and in fact, I woke up the other morning with blood on my pillow from my lips.  I am using Lansinoh (a pure lanolin nipple balm for breastfeeding moms) at night since it is so thick and lasts the whole night. During the day I use LipIce Med+ or whatever I can lay my hands on.

My skin is very dry, especially my arms and I am bathing myself in body lotions.

Improvement: Touch wood, spit on the ground, cross all my bits, I haven’t had any new cysts!!

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Skin – 3 weeks later

I’ve been a very bad blogger while I was away and the week since I’ve been back.  Things have just been sooooo hectic, in a good way 🙂

So while I work on the Cape Town and wedding post I thought I would update you on the skin issue.

Day: 55

Dosage: 30mg per day

Skin issues: The cyst that was opened and drained took about a week to calm down (I totally forgot to take any photos, sorry), it was, and still is,  a little red and tender but unless you look closely you cant really tell.  I think Im going to have a small scar where the dermo made the hole but Im fine with that.  The main issues I have at the moment are that the sides of my nose are still reddish but there have been no new cysts.

Side effects: My lips are extremely dry and chapped and I am trying many different balms to keep them moisturised.  My skin in general is dry but not as bad as I expected.

 

Improvement: No new cysts since being on the 10 day course of antibiotics and having the last cyst drained.