Reposting - MARY/eczema/dermatologists

[Guest guest]

> - I noticed you said you had eczema on your nails. Well, I've had

> psoriasis on my fingernails since I was in the 9th grade. I was already a

> self-conscious, overweight teen, and I thought that having ugly

> fingernails

would just make it even more obvious that I was a freak of nature and would

never have a boyfriend. So, Mom took me to a dermatologist and I had

several visits where he used a gun-type injector at the base of each

fingernail to try to fix it. Not fun, but tolerable. Well, it would cause

some healthy nail to grow, but then the psoriasis just came back. When he

said that the only other alternative was to try shots with a large

hypodermic needle, I decided to live with it. I still have it to this day,

although I do believe that hormones play a role, as it has improved some as

I've aged. Anyway, my nails have small pits in them. Is that what your

eczema was like or more a flaking? Just curious.

> Jeanne in WI

[Guest guest]

>

>

>

>

> > - I noticed you said you had eczema on your nails. Well,

I've had

> > psoriasis on my fingernails since I was in the 9th grade. I was

already a

> > self-conscious, overweight teen, and I thought that having ugly

> > fingernails

> would just make it even more obvious that I was a freak of nature

and would

> never have a boyfriend. So, Mom took me to a dermatologist and I

had

> several visits where he used a gun-type injector at the base of each

> fingernail to try to fix it. Not fun, but tolerable. Well, it

would cause

> some healthy nail to grow, but then the psoriasis just came back.

When he

> said that the only other alternative was to try shots with a large

> hypodermic needle, I decided to live with it. I still have it to

this day,

> although I do believe that hormones play a role, as it has improved

some as

> I've aged. Anyway, my nails have small pits in them. Is that what

your

> eczema was like or more a flaking? Just curious.

> > Jeanne in WI

>

Jeanne, it was around the base of my nails and did spread to some

small areas of my hand. I don't remember any flaking back then ---

40+ years ago, but when it did show up on my hands more 5 or 6 years

later, I did go to the dermatologist about it. I always thought some

of it was brought on by stressful things in my life. Now this

pustular form that I get on my right foot behaves much differently

than what was on my hands. My right foot really does look these days

as if I have a huge patch of very dry skin that needs lots of

moisturizer but I know from past experience, that would not really

make it go away. (and as I always seem to need to have a sore or

something to pick at, this gives me a BIG surface!) When I had it in

the late 1990's, it did show up as small pustules that looked like

tiny pimples but were more clear. Those were what the doc injected

with what ever it was. I now carry his report which includes the lab

work and I guess you have to be in the medical field to understand

the jargon. But because I was working AND wearing either knee highs

or stocking all of the time, they could have been causing moisture

which made it worse.

My grandmother had a patch on one of her legs that I remember as

being purple, the patch on my husband's calf is red, but then he has

only had it for maybe 2 years --- but both of those were supposedly

exezma, so I don't know what to say.

=== Oh! they are, if I remember correctly, auto immune diseases

of the skin -- like so many things that happen with fibro related

stuff.