Note: This post is satirical, it’s intended to bring a smile and a bit of lightheartedness to the everyday battle of dealing with Eczema.
If you want to find more information on Eczema, make sure to check out CC’s Ultimate Guide to Itchy Skin!
Recently, I’ve been feeling pretty down about the state of my skin. I’ve been having regular flare ups and it’s been having a big toll on my mental health. So after having a little break down, a little crying sesh, I decided I was looking at things all wrong. I needed to focus on all the best things about my Eczema.
When it comes to dealing with your Eczema, you can’t focus on the negatives – I know that’s difficult because there are a lot of them! But I’ve taken a step back and re-evaluated the way I think about my daily experiences with Eczema. So here are the 10 best things about having Eczema!
1. The flaky magic of having Eczema
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I would love to live in a snowglobe. How cool would that be?”. Well, when you have Eczema, you don’t need to wonder!
With every turn you release all the snowflakes into the air that you could possibly wish for. Every movement is punctuated by a wonderful flurry of flakes that settle into a beautiful blanket on every surface. And the best part? No matter how much you hoover and wipe surfaces down, winter lasts forever when you have Eczema.
2. The simplicity of the products
Something I’m super grateful for about having Eczema is that I don’t have to waste my time with fancy products. Bath bombs? No, thank you. Sweet smelling perfume? Nu-huh. Anything with any kind of fragrance to it? Leave it outside!
With Eczema, all the difficulty of choosing between the thousands of super nice products is just not needed. Grab your totally not boring, clinically packaged shower gels and shampoos and you’re golden.
Luxury toiletries are for fools that don’t know the relaxation one gets from products that are free from everything you might want in a toiletry item.
3. You have so much time to be productive
When you have Eczema, you gain so much time that normal people waste by sleeping. While everyone else is snoozing in their beds, someone with Eczema is usually wide awake and trying not to itch their skin off.
On average, I gain about 4-6 extra hours of time awake. This means I’m able to get so much done in the odd five minutes in between itching where I’m able to focus. I can catch up on work, do some writing, walk around endlessly in circles because I just can’t get comfortable. The possibilities are endless.
You can read more about the effects Eczema can have in this post, Who needs sleep when you have Eczema?
4. Mornings are a breeze
I used to live with my sister, and she would spend so much time in the morning getting up to do her make-up. Between the foundationing, the contouring, the eye liner winging it took up a good chunk of her time.
My mornings were spent leisurely applying a single layer of moisturiser and staring into the mirror at my latest flare. Most people with Eczema react to the ingredients used in make-up so tend to stay clear of it – me included. And it saves me so much time.
Since my realisation that I’m actually suffering from Topical Steroid Withdrawal, I don’t even use moisturiser anymore. So all I have to do in the morning is roll out of bed, brush my hair up off my neck so it doesn’t cause any irritation, get dressed and my morning routine is done. How great is that?
5. Everyday is a surprise!
Probably one of the best things about having Eczema, is the unpredictability. Every day is like a game show. You never quite know what your skin is going to look like or feel like. Will you be flaring today? Who knows! It’s so much fun.
You can (try to) go to sleep one day and be thinking to yourself, “Wow, my skin’s been pretty good today”. Next morning, you wake up to a full red-faced, itchy as hell flare. It’s the mystery of the skin condition that makes it interesting.
It also makes it real fun when you’re making plans. The risk of whether your skin will be flaring or not on that particular day is exhilarating.
6. You’ll never have to work out what to say to someone new
Once someone finds out you have Eczema – you’ll have a conversation piece for days. Did you know that almost every person’s second cousin’s daughter in law’s next door neighbour had Eczema and it went away instantly using Aveeno? Have you tried it?
Having Eczema means you get to meet and speak to so many people that really wasted their talents by not pursuing a career in the medical field. The only thing you have to work out? How many different ways can you say, “Thanks, I have tried that.”
7. You’re the best detective around
Another one of the best things about having Eczema is the way it really develops your mystery solving skills. Sherlock Holmes has got nothing on you.
Something triggered a flare? Get that magnifying glass and look for clues. Was it that laundry detergent? Is the pollen higher today? Something you’re wearing? New environment? Are you extra stressed because you’ve flared up and there seems to be no earthly reason why?
Those of us with Eczema are always on high alert for any suspicious, potential flare causing items or environments. It’s a great way to work on those problem solving skills. Really makes life fun when you’re constantly trying to figure out what’s irritating your skin!
8. You know all the best ways to cover up
This is all thanks to the ever present and ever changing patches of Eczema that like to show up in the most inconvenient places. When you get that big flare up on your neck? Out come the high necked t-shirts and scarves. Some fun red patches up and down your arms? Long sleeves all round!
Whether it’s with clothes or with make-up (that you know is going to make it worse) you become a concealing expert when you have Eczema. There’s nothing better than realising you’ve got a new spot of Eczema and having to work out a brand new innovative way to hide it away. We’d hate for someone to be offended by the sight of our skin…
If you’re worried about keeping your Eczema under wraps during the warmer months, have a read of this post, Why you don’t need to cover your Eczema this summer!
9. Subtly scratching becomes your superpower
With Eczema, the itch never goes away. It’s always there, driving you insane. One of the best things you can learn from having Eczema is how to itch it really subtly so as not to alert those around you.
You might try hiding your hands under the table for the entire time you’re sitting down. Running you hand up your face to get a quick subtle itch in there. You become an expert in making it look natural…nothing going on here!
Who doesn’t want to be able to scratch every inch of their body completely undetected? Everyone, right?
10. You can turn anything into a top notch scratcher
One of the best things I’ve found from having Eczema, is how innovative it’s made me. Any regular person might look at the edge of a table and see the edge of a table. Me? I see a perfect place to scratch the inner part of my arm. The amount of regular objects that I’ve managed to turn into scratching implements is rather impressive.
Who doesn’t want the ability to turn a perfectly normal dry shampoo bottle lid into the best scratcher you’ve ever seen? Everybody, of course. Admittedly, they’re not the best in terms of damage to your skin but for the bone deep itch that blesses those of us with Eczema, that’s not important.
So there you are, 10 positive ways to look at life when you’re dealing with Eczema! Who knew having a skin condition could be so good?
Obviously, this post is entirely satirical and written with the intention of bringing some humour and light-heartedness to things. As I said at the start, I’ve been feeling pretty low the past few days about my skin so I wanted to write something that would make me, and hopefully others, feel a little better.
If you have Eczema, leave a comment below with your favourite thing about living with a skin condition. I’m sure there are a lot more, much funnier things that I didn’t think of!
