Living with skin rashes is hell. You’ve probably heard my say this before, but you may not know my personal journey overcoming Dyshidrotic Eczema. Dyshidrotic eczema can affect both the palms of your hands as well as the feet. Fortunately, I only had it on my palms. But that said, it drastically changed the quality of my life and my understanding of what it is like to live with chronic skin rashes. I would never wish this upon anyone (even my own worst enemy… if I had one). It’s my hope that through sharing my own story, you will understand WHY doing this work and changing the way that we approach and address chronic skin rashes is so important. In this episode: My worst moment living with dyshidrotic eczema What makes dyshidrotic eczema different than other forms of eczema How having eczema wrecked my quality of life Steps I took to stop my eczema flares (and how long it actually took) Why I started Skinterrupt and the Healthy Skin Show Quotes: I got all of these little paper cuts in the joints of my fingers and could no longer move my hands. My eczema in the summertime was completely different. It was red, angry, itchy, oozing, burning, but this whole dried out business was something entirely different. As I walked to the hotel from the train station, I was in so much pain — crying as I dragged my bag down the street because holding the bag was incredibly painful. I found my way to a Whole Foods and I remember breaking down in the skin care aisle. I was so desperate for some sort of relief! “We don't really know what causes eczema, but a steroid cream can reduce the inflammation and keep the moisture locked in with Vaseline,” the doctor said. I blinked twice. “Vaseline?”  First of all, I have cuts all over my hands that don't really heal because I'm constantly bending my fingers to do pretty much anything. You want me to put vaseline (derived from petrochemicals) on my hands? Secondly, I don't really know how I'm supposed to function in life with Vaseline all over my hands from a very practical perspective. Everything I touch — my clothing, my cats, my husband, my home — everything will be covered in Vaseline!