Tortuga - Super Emollient Lotion - Update

Just a quick update on how I am really in love with Tortuga lotion from Keys now. It smells great and because the bottle is not very big, I have decided to choose this all-natural product to hydrate my face as well as managing the redness that occurs with my super sensitive face!

I just finished the bottle I order awhile back and just order a new bottle. This time it should last a lot longer for me because I was using it before for my body as well. This is another reason why I like this product so much. I'm not allergic to it and I can you is almost everywhere! Not the eyes though I just read. So I ordered the eye cream trail size to try. :)

So happy I have decided to stick with this product for it's super natural ingredients. It just gives me a peace of mind knowing that at least I am using some products that are natural and safe for my body. Whatever you put on your skin gets absorbed into your system as you know.

Eczema and Food Allergies

I've been reading on the internet about relationship between eczema flare ups and food intake. It's not news to me because my dermatologists have always told me that food can cause flare ups. When I was working abroad in Singapore, a dermatologist asked me to eliminate everything that I am allergic to. Well, he discovered that I was allergic to almost everything except for probably rice or potatoes!!!

I love to eat and I love all types of food so guess what? I couldn't do what he asked me to do. Especially when I was so busy with work, I didn't have time to journal and figure out what triggers my flare ups and then when I find out what it was to eliminate it completely. I would still eat what I know I'm allergic to but in very, very, very small portions. I was in Asia, so how can I not enjoy seafood??!!! Crab, shrimps and lobsters tasted really good there; however, I would just eat very little of it so that I won't break out. I always have my anti-histamine pills with me just in case I feel the effects.

In any case, the most allergic reaction I had was to YEAST. When they did the allergy test on my arm it swelled up like a balloon and slowly covered all the other test areas on my arm. Which means I shouldn't drink any alcohol or each any food with yeast. Which would mean bread! I LOVE bread! The next was wheat! So there you go...how am I supposed to not eat any bread or pasta???! I love these to staples. I'm glad at least I can eat rice and especially potatoes with no issues! I love potato.

When it comes to seafood I really need to watch it. A month ago I couldn't help myself and ate quite a lot of lobster that my boyfriend's dad made. He uses ground beef in this dish as well and it TASTE SO GOOD!!! I couldn't help myself, but what a mistake. Double whammy! Allergic to lobster and beef!!! I'm still paying for it now.

Once a flare up happens and scratching happens it's hard to manage. I'm not sure how long it is going to take to get those stupid open wounds to heal. I scratched so hard that my arm is now covered with wounds that is taking a long to time heal. But now I'm using a combination of Witch Hazel and Polysporin and I can start seeing the healing process happening. I tried using the medicated cream for my wounds but then remembered that I'm not supposed to do that. Plus, it didn't work anyways. The medicated cream only worked on my rash not my wounds.

I finally took a picture of my arm so that I can show before and after pictures, but it's been about 3 days now and though I can see improvements, there's still a ways to go. I'm not going to eat lobster again for a long time! Tonight, I looked at the shrimp dish and did not dare to eat even one. :( Thank goodness the rest of the dishes were very delicious...one of them being spinach. I love spinach.

Anyways, I'm also drinking green tea and will continue to drink at least two cups each day. It's supposed to be good for your skin. And every week, I would drink the cerasee tea as well. More liquids I drink the better for me I think. Oh by the way, my biggest issue as well is that if I don't make sure I drink something other than pop, I would drink pop all day except for coffee in the morning. I read that too much sugar is not good for your skin either so I think I better start buying soda water or some other carbonated drink. My addiction really is to the carbonated part!

Now that I have more time on my hands, I need to be careful of what I eat. I will buy more vegetables, fruits (not citrus or strawberries..again allergic), avocados (love them), fish (not salmon...it does have histamine).

I'm going to stop eating the cornflakes with 2% milk, I think I'm itchy because I eat that just before I go to bed. I love cereal but I don't think I can have it, and not too much milk either. *Sigh*, it's so depressing but I have to figure out better food to satisfy my love for eating! Why do I have to allergic to so many???!!!

Well, I hope I can show before and after pictures of my arm soon. When that happens it means my wounds all cleared up. Yipee! Spring is coming and I can't have that exposed. People stare and ask does it hurt! They mean well but it upsets me. Hopefully if what I do to get myself healed will work for others. Till then...

You are what you eat - Triggers

Okay, I did something so stupid a few days ago and I'm still paying for it today! I have no will power when it comes to food. I love eating and curse the day I discovered seafood. I love seafood and seafood is definitely one of the triggers that causes my eczema flare ups. Trying to recover from it takes many days later after eating what I'm not supposed to.

I took a picture of the dish before I ate it because it looked so delicious and it was a treat from my man's dad. He is such a great cook. Normally I would just eat one or two pieces and I'm fine, because right after I would take an antihistamine to stop the itch. But nooooooo, I ate almost half the dish and I loved it. The worst decision I made because now I'm still suffering from my actions!

Check it out. It's lobster tail with beef. Maybe it was the combination that made it even worse. I'm telling you it was so delicious -- but bad for me. Very bad.
I will have to practice more will power because this kind of stuff was unnecessary. Now I'm of course using my medicated cream and I'm still itchy as hell. The antihistamine is kind of working. I feel drowsy even though it's supposed to be non-drowsy. Drugs affect people differently my doctor told me when I told him about how I get affected by non-drowsy medication. He said that just because it say non-drowsy it doesn't mean you won't get drowsy. Some people do ---and I'm one of them. Nice!

Anyways, I just wanted to share this and to warn not to give in and eat something you are not supposed to. There are consequences! Live and learn, I'll never do this again! Back to one to two pieces...but not for a long while. :(

However, I thank goodness I did find that Kiss My Face olive soap because even though I was rashy, the bar soap did not sting. In fact it helped. Plus, I now alternate between using the Pure Shea Butter mixed with vitamin E and Olive Oil mixed with vitamin E. Works pretty well.