I’ve had hypothyroidism for as long as I can remember. It started off with taking a quarter of a tablet per day to now taking three everyday as a 24-year-old. I’m not complaining, it’s okay. I’m used to it. As a child, my mom (she’s a doctor, btw) would tell me all about the ways in which hypothyroidism affects you. Your height, weight, cognitive skills are all fair game. However, what I didn’t find out until now is that apparently one’s skin is also included in this list.
People with hypothyroidism tend to inherently have extremely dry skin
A recent visit to a dermatologist, based in Karachi, revealed just how much the two things are interconnected. People with hypothyroidism tend to inherently have extremely dry skin, she told me. The protective oils of their skin dry up (what a bummer, I know right?) leaving it prone to infections. Explaining my skin by using cloth as an example, she said it’s more mesh than skin. Therefore, I can contract contact dermatitis from just about anything. There’s no way of knowing what. Yes, there are preventions (which are extremely rich people things) that require I stay away from any kind of artificial jewelry. Rolex and Cartier all the way for me! Yay! Just kidding though. I mean, not really. Just trying to see the silver lining in things you guys.
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Anyhow, not only does my dry skin put me at a risk for contact dermatitis but it also causes various other problems such as eczema. As a result, I now have to keep my skin moisturized as if my life depended on it. The doctor prescribed me a number of great products that have really helped soothe my otherwise agitated skin. These included medicated body lotion, shower gel and face wash.
Anyhow, not only does my dry skin put me at a risk for contact dermatitis but it also causes various other problems such as eczema.
She also told me that scrubbing and waxing is a big no-no for me. However, I’m only following the former part of her warning and getting there with the latter one. After all, it’s super hard to let go of waxing. And laser is effing expensive. So until I found a more appealing alternative, I’m sticking with waxing. Literally.
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The point of this rant or, what some may view as, sermon is just to let anyone going through this know that you don’t have to continue to be confused over why your skin is the way it is. Forget about those remedies and stop talking to people who aren’t specialists because it’s your skin we’re talking about. It’s not something to be taken lightly. I listened to quite a few people and was super depressed. I didn’t know what was happening. Everyone had a different diagnosis. Some even went as far as to say I have chicken pox which resulted in me freaking out and taking three days off from work as a precaution. This crazy rollercoaster only ended when I went to see this dermatologist and things went back to normal again.
What I’m trying to say is: identify a health problem, take a deep breath, avoid the unnecessary drama in between and just visit a specialist.
You’re welcome!