Staying Indoors Doesn't Exclude You From Having Skin Problems

It's been more than a year since we first heard the term "COVID-19" which all pushed us to an absolutely new world inside our homes. Yes, staying indoors during this difficult time is the best way to remain safe from the threat of the virus. However, it doesn't mean that our health is fully guarded, especially from other kinds. We might often ignore this, but our skin is one of these body parts that becomes vulnerable to pathologic attacks this season. Staying most of our time at home is a factor, but not the primary culprit. It's perhaps the thought of disrupting our skincare routine because we tend to assume that we no longer need ourselves to get devoted to it since we have no daily contact with dirt and other irritants outside. But based on my experience, it's a big NO.

I think it was April— almost a month after the Luzon-wide Enhance Community Quarantine was imposed— when I ran out of skin essentials. By then, I stopped doing my original routine and resorted to some little modifications. I used to put very gentle products on my face like Celeteque Facial Wash and toner. But since I got no feasible way to obtain fresh bottles from the store, I turned to body soap and toner with a high alcohol content as alternatives to cleanse my face. In a few weeks, it just went normal. I didn't feel anything alarming. And so I continued.

But months later— the same time I stopped applying moisturizing lotions due to inevitable laziness— my dermal nightmare began to take off. It started from scalp where I noticed that the itchiness became more often than usual. Until it turned as the source of my discomfort at work and even during my sleep. Even if it began to feel nontypical, I still tried to convince myself that this would soon fade away in a natural course.

I would say that my scalp problem got even worse in the next weeks. The itchiness level went really up to the extent I couldn't manage to have a stable sleep at night and the flakes were falling from time to time. At that time as well, I began noticing some redness at some part of my face. They were itchy and quite visible.

Thinking that these red patches on my face were acnes starting to flourish, I exfoliated my face and washed it with acne solution. Relief didn't come right after. The itchiness and the redness only got way triggered.

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I woke up in unimaginable disaster. That morning, my face really felt and looked so bad. The itchiness went all over. Forehead near the scalp, top part of my ears, corners of my nose and lips, name it. The feeling was terrible. I just wanted to scratch my pointed and sharp nails across my face.

I looked at the mirror. The patches were no longer just patches because they crawled everywhere in my face. The redness turned brown which I didn't know if a good sign or already alarming. I was afraid to see my face this way. By then— after some months since I first noticed some skin irregularities— I finally decided to see a dermatologist.

So the blurs finally got a clear line. At a time, I had two skin problems and I needed to take the medication all at once. My scalp and my face suffered from what the science called "Seborrheic Dermatitis." Based on my understanding, it's basically a type of eczema that occurs in the scalp and some parts of the face where the active sweat glands are located. The other skin problem that I endured is called "folliculitis". It's a kind of inflammation in the hair follicles that is mainly caused by bacteria. From what I'd observed, it looked like small pimples— not on the face— on the body.

Seeing how bad all of these turned out, I won't deny that I almost fell hopeless. But with all my might, I held it back and trusted the doctor as well as her recommended treatment. The process took some time more than I expected. It cost money and confidence. But thanks I got faith and I'm healed after nearly three months of continuous medication.

The Fragments It Left

The paranoia remains intact in me. I get easily paranoid from simple skin itchiness or redness. Therefore, I chose to keep a balanced diet in which I control myself from eating much fish or chicken because in my belief, these foods are eczema triggers. I also continued moisturizing my face and every bit of my body as it can somehow help the skin withstand various irregularities. And most importantly, I became much more careful in choosing the skin products I'm applying to my body. This is not sponsored, but I'm currently using Celeteque and Cetaphil products. I see them as the safest products for people with sensitive skin like me.

It may sound cliche, but if I would have to leave you an advice, I would accentuate to take care of your skin always because I have seen the worst it can do to take us down. It's no joke. Just continue the routine where it gets used to and if there's something that feels wrong, trust your instincts. Visit a doctor to assist you.

Photo Credit: Kevin Laminto