For about a year, I’ve been staying away from the kitchen as much as I possibly can. I almost stopped cooking and baking altogether – other than popping frozen food into the toaster to heat up.
Oh, and that one time Blake wanted his own homemade cookies.
Hand eczema crippled the baking-loving side of me.
My last round of outbreak lasted almost a year. It was painful emotionally and physically. Every time I have to wash my hands, it hurts. Every time it gets too dry, it hurts. I couldn’t hold my children’s hands for long. I didn’t dare to touch them, in fact! I was also embarrassed at having to reject shaking hands at introductions because there were ‘juice’ flowing out of the open wounds. It was a very horrible period!
but it’s really too gross for me!
During that period of eczema madness and after, Sean did all the washing – kids, bathroom, dishes etc. While others see it as a blessing in disguise to have the husband wash everything for them, I felt nothing but guilt, especially if I’m the one who made the mess. It’s not exactly a pleasant sight, seeing a sink full of dishes waiting for you to wash the moment you step into the house, right? I felt bad whenever I make something delicious but can’t wash up after as I fear my hands will crack at the touch of the dish soap. So I just stopped.
My sister suggested I try a particular brand of dish soap, which her friend with similar condition uses without any problems. It took me a while to muster up the courage to first purchase it and then to use it, which I eventually did. And I couldn’t be happier!
Image source
I have been using it for a while now (half the bottle is gone!) and so far, my hands are doing great!
There had been a couple of close calls of another outbreak (I had no choice but to use the hand soap in public toilets which tends to kill my hands), but all’s well when I lay off the other soaps and stuck to my usual cleanser for a few days.
I can’t believe I’m free to bake whatever I wish to again! 😀
This is not a sponsored post for iHerb or any of the products listed above, ok? I’m just super happy to find a gem like this dish soap! The skin cleanser I’m currently using was also recommended to me by my best friend who has eczema too. It just so happens that I shop on iHerb and they carry the products I’m using at a much cheaper price.
And because I shop on iHerb, I was automatically given a coupon code to share the love upon sign up (as long as you sign up, you’ll be given one). So if any of you are first-time shoppers on iHerb, use this coupon code ‘GTJ908‘ and you can enjoy up to $10 off your very first order!
And I repeat, this is not a sponsored post!
