What a Life!

Well, Ben’s eczema is almost gone. He doesn’t scratch anymore and I don’t see any flaking. There’s just some redness in that area and the skin feels a little more calloused when I rub the eczema oil on it. Steve’s eczema is much better as well.

My eczema, on the other hand, looks about the same. No, there aren’t all the little blisters all over all the time anymore. It always started with little blisters which would turn into dry, flaky skin. I did have a few blisters, but maybe 10% of what was occuring previously. I still have huge cracks in my skin which are red and inflamed and very itchy. The rest of it doesn’t generally itch – just where the cracks are which has to do with a mild infection. I can open my hand all of the way, which I couldn’t do last week without the cracks bleeding. Now the cracks are just there, though some seem to be healing. The flaking is down probably by 50%. But like I’ve said, it was much more severe on my hands than it was on Ben’s knees.

I’ve learned that the oil soaks in much more quickly if your hands have been wet for a few minutes before applying the oil (such as they would be after taking a shower or washing dishes). If I put it on my hands when they’re dry, it seems to just sit there, and even a half hour later I can’t use my hands because they are covered in oil.

The packaging says it takes two to four weeks to heal. Ben and Steve seem to be in the two week category while I will probably have to do four weeks of treatment to get the same results.

I got the EOB from the insurance company – they applied $70 to our deductible, so that is what we’ll be paying for the doctor’s visit. Then $30-something for the medication. We’re talking $100 to finally clear up this miserable eczema. At least it’s working, though.

I still would love to have one of those magnetic water softeners. They’re only about $200 or less. When I went to Sears last week, they had the water softener they recommended for us on sale for $499. Then it would be $200 for installation and $75 for each bypass. Based on how our house is plumbed, I think it would be more than that for the bypasses. Our basement is finished and so to get a double line – one softened, one hard – to the kitchen sink would not be a simple task. And yes, I would like to have soft water at my kitchen sink. So about $1000 for a traditional soft water system that would require salt all the time.

I asked the salesman the difference between their water softener and the magnetic softener and he didn’t know what a magnetic softener was, which is what I figured would be the case. People don’t know about that option and therefore they don’t buy that system. It is something that would be very easy to take with us to a new house, so it wouldn’t be a permanent investment in this house like a water softener might be (Steve doesn’t like having to move appliances).

But if our eczema is clearning up with this eczema oil, we probably won’t do anything about the hard water for now. We are going to get the water tested. I don’t know if the magnetic system would do anything about nitrates in the water, which is what the concern is around here due to all the agriculture. We’ll see…