Firstly I am sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was unwell with my hair falling out and terrible fatigue, life goes on though so I am here today. For today's post I am going to ramble on about the butterfly rash....or if you are me...full body rash.
Oh the itching....you all know what I mean! It's that point in the night when you wake up and realize you've been scratching so hard your bleeding. Recently I have had the worse bout of malar rash I have ever experienced.
Mainly this was segregated to my legs, stomach, chest and forearms. It was the classic red bumps, with some that blistered and some that turned to bruises. The itching and pain was unimaginable, I'm not even going to try and describe it because there are zero words. It was at this point that I needed to find some kind of relief....so here are the tips I came up with that worked for me.
Keep as cool as possible
For me, the pain was worse when I had clothing touching my skin. Even just thin jogging bottoms made me wriggle in pain mainly because my legs were getting too hot. So I decided I needed to cool down.
Luckily it's freezing in the uk! So all I needed to do was lie on too of the covers with my legs exposed to the open window. However this isn't always possible so I also found I've packs really helped to take away some of the itching and pain. Don't leave them on for long, but just enough for some relief.
Creams, lotions and potions
In reality you should try not to put anything on a rash caused by Lupus unless it's been prescribed. However the unbelievable annoyance of them can leave us climbing the walls.
There are two creams I cannot do without in the situation. Calamine lotion and Diprobase cream.
Calamine is one that you will probably remember from childhood chicken pox and it smells horrible...well in my opinion anyway. However it is great for calming down many types of rashes and I found it took away most of the itching at least for a little while. I checked with my Rheumy nurse first before I used this, so please do the same. If they agree to using it then use a lot of it, a thick layer, you will notice the calming results.
Diprobase cream was prescribed to me for after the rash has gone. I suffer with really dry eczema once the rash has gone and it means that I need extra skin care. This cream is a moisturiser with a skin relaxant in it to soothe. After the rash has started to go, for me it turns to bruises, this is when I turn to this cream.....almost bathing myself in it!
I will do this at night and lather it on thickly so that my skin will be soft in the morning!
Make up and covering it up
The hardest thing for me is my face. The classic butterfly rash makes my cheeks look like red balloons....I am not joking it's quite clown like.
I know I'm not alone think like this, being a woman who loves her beauty, it can really get me down. The issue is that in reality you shouldn't cover it up in layers of make up. So what can you do?
There are many things I do when I get really down, starting with getting my hair cut. I know it's not covering the rash but it doesn't half make you feel better. If not your hair then our nails or even just a massage. Some form of pampering can lift your spirits and make you feel confident again.
Do I wear any make up at all? Yes of course I do. I keep to my beauty regime even when the inflammation and rash is there, but what I don't do is cover the rash with makeup. I will put on mascara, lipstick and eyeshadow if I am going out....even just the small things make you feel better. Once the rash calms down and starts to go I will add some liquid foundation but only as it's going. The one thing you don't want is for it to last longer.
Again, I will apply I've packs to my face. About 2 years ago I woke up with the entirety of my face covered and using the ice packs really helped to cool it down. I also found this helped it to clear quicker.
The most important thing to remember is that if this is your first experience of the rash then don't panic. See you GP or Rheumatologist as soon as you can for your own peace of mind.
