Hey everyone,
I wanted to write this post just to update everyone on where I am and what's happening at this time in my life. I know those who read the blog regularly will have noticed that I am constantly talking about my skin needing a lot of work and my hair needing work and it's one of the things that has now led to me having to write this post.
Initially, I started this blog as a way to help you guys out, to give you real reviews on a variety of products as well as discuss health and beauty concerns and how to deal with them adequately. That is still my aim and to be completely honest I adore working on my blog and talking to you guys - even when it gets tough you guys keep me going without a doubt.
As a beauty blogger, some expect us to look or act in a certain way and I totally get that, you need to delve yourself into the lifestyle, research certain situations and test out products before giving any sort of opinion or advice. Most blogs skirt around un-attractive topics or posts that may push away readers but then where do people go to find 'real' advice or read stories on what real people have gone through?
I want to change that. Let's not make those awkward topics seem unattractive, let's own up to our experiences in hope that it's going to help someone else - ultimately let's get truthful. I plan to do at least one post per month in January onwards talking about 'It happened to me' in hope that it can help someone somewhere.
Today I wanted to discuss something that's been really tough to take in. Yes, it started when my face broke out, see I never really get spots so this was uncommon. It wasn't only spotted but there were boils and a couple of cysts - it was so out of the ordinary but as a beauty blogger I got right on the case with my cleansing routine, witch hazel applied periodically throughout the day and I didn't wear make-up, I was desperate. Shallow maybe but I've never always been the most confident and when you see spots and boils you think acne or that the person has a poor cleansing regime.
So the spots continued to get worse, I changed products I took vitamins and I started meditating more to reduce any stress. I then noticed that my scalp started to feel bumpy and itchy which was also highly unusual for me. Figuring it may have been head lice (as most parents would with school-age kids) I checked with the Robi comb and nada. Long story short I was noticing little balls on my scalp that when touched they would leave blood spots.
I found out from my doctor who's a skin consultant also that I have a rare auto-immune condition called folliculitis decalvans - not to be confused with generic folliculitis. Basically, the immune system overacts to the staph bug which results in boils and cysts and thickening of the scalp, this then leads to scarring and the condition ultimately causes scarring alopecia. It may take years for it to get to that stage but all I could think about is that I'd lose my hair and then would my sons be picked on because of it.
I know the condition was caused due to an Indian face and head massage I got at that time but now there's no cure for this. I have shed plenty of tears, it hurts so bad and while I still look like there's nothing wrong and my hair is fine to look at it still hurts so bad. So how can my post help you? Firstly I am here if you ever want to sound off if you have any questions on this condition or any scalp issues and of course medications and treatments.
Currently, I am on antibiotics (they make me sick though) but I read yeast and wheat can make it worse, I do suffer from the coeliac condition and because I was desperate I did something quite strange. When you have a yeast infection that's red, raw or oozy (TMI I know) what do you do? You apply Canesten cream, don't you? well that's what I did, I covered my face with it and my scalp and it helped so much - it definitely soothed the pain and redness from my spots and scalp and even my huge boils on my forehead were next to nothing the next mornings.
I plan to use a variety of products, mixes and treatments to keep this from taking my hair; mainly for my confidence and my son's welfare and I will promise to keep you updated because if they can help this condition I bet they can help a ton of hair and scalp problems - no lady wants to lose their hair and I know that.
Are there any topics you would like me to cover?
Elyse
Statement: Nothing to Disclose
Elyse,
ReplyDeleteI just read your blogpost "It happened to me" and it struck a chord with me. I'm a 22 year old college kid in NC and I've had Folliculitis Decalvans for over 6 years now. I've been through more antibiotics, topicals, and anti-inflammatories than I could count. I just wanted to connect and tell you not to stress about it. My hair has thinned a lot, but so far none of my friends have noticed and no one but my family knows of my condition.
The right treatment will keep the hair loss to a minimum, and there's constant ongoing research trying to knock this disease out. I'd say the best treatment for me was Rifampin 300mg twice daily with Clindamycin 300mg twice daily. Bring that up to your doc next time if you haven't tried that yet. I started a community on reddit for those of us with scarring hairloss disorders. Feel free to check it out and contribute. www.reddit.com/r/scarringalopecia. Also, shoot me an email if you ever wanna vent or if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Tyler