Eczema

Today, I spent a stressful day in transit and on very little sleep, so obviously my eczema flared up again. My skin was dry, painful, and itchy all day. Eczema saps the joy out of what could have been a good day.

The morning began with the confusion of last minute packing, emptying the fridge, and cleaning the house. The stress of that caused me to scratch my arms incessantly. Then on the road, my parents and I felt collective road rage at an agonizingly slow car in front of us that was preventing us from beating the rush hour traffic. I clawed at my neck. Having arrived at the airport, I had to guide my grandmother and our immense pile of luggage, sitting on two separate carts, from the parking lot towards the terminal. When we had a chance to sit down and breathe, I scraped at the skin behind my knees. In the train, the air conditioning didn't work, and the heat made my skin tingle uncomfortably throughout the ride as I fought the urge to scratch. In the taxi, while our driver made interesting conversation with my father, I was entirely focused on my burning skin. When we went to the Fnac (French media store), instead of excitedly helping my dad select books and DVDs, I could not get my mind off the itchiness pervading my entire body. And at the restaurant, I was unable to enjoy a delicious meal on a lazy Parisian night, too caught up I was in trying not to tear my skin off.

It has become untenable. Either I scratch myself raw, or I am impossibly itchy all day. I need a solution.