Living with Ichthyosis

My Story and how I beat it

Bathing        Moisturizing         Exfoliating         Killing the Monster        Daily Routine       Diet      History

Daily Routine

This is the most important part of living with Ichthyosis. You must Educate yourself and Discipline & dedicate your intentions faithfully to the fullest everyday.

"Make time... to heal in time"

   For me, I came to the conclusion, it was not about soothing the condition or treating the condition....there was no treatment. It was more about setting my goals on getting rid of the underlying precursers, environment, and daily activities that promoted and or inhibited my condition from getting better, heel bent on making it go away and taking steps to ensure it didn't return. Well we do know it can return and it will, if you ignore your methods of treatment for keeping it away.

Moisturize yourself after every event or action you take or do during the course of the day that will dry out your skin or take away any moisture. Such as sleeping, yep, before you wake up  & grab that cup of coffee, put your lotion on. Even if you intend to shower. Unless your one of those people who go from pillow to shower. Take a good look at your environment (work & Home) is it humid?, is it a dry area?, do you have a Humidifier?. If you work around dirt, sand, gravel, cardboard, some textiles, chemicals, laundry....all of these things affect your condition. Take time out to moisturize. Its your barrier.

Lets take this even one step further...Your health. Do you suffer from chronic colds, nasal problems and or always worn out....it could be your "environment" such as working around kids all day, a grocery store, a public retail place. People with Ichthyosis are like magnets for tiny little bacteria and open to all sorts of contagious airborne infections and germs.

Get some sun. Your skin when healthy produces Vitamin K from the uv rays of the sun.

Wear loose clothing. Moisturize yourself every six hours and before you go to bed. Buy a pair of slipper socks and use these to sleep in. Rub Vaseline or moisture mixture between your toes and on your feet,  & place these socks on. You can use these during the week and wash them on weekends or when ever laundry day is. (see Laundry below)

Another thing we found was that one of the first things you need to do is..."Get Naked". Thats right....get rid of those long sleeve shirts and long pants. Do not wear Blue Jeans, tight clothing, tight underwear and do not sleep with any cloths on. Use polyester sheets and stay away from cotton. All of these things rob your skin of all of the essential oils that it already is lacking. Start loving "Boxers", male or female and get in the habit of wearing them; relaxing, watching TV, cleaning, etc. A nice loose a-shirt, tank top or tee shirt will be your new "House cloths". I got so used to wearing boxers, I once went to Wal-Mart with my sister and didn't even realize it until I went to reach for my wallet in the pocket that wasn't there.

       Polyester sheets only, no cotton and or heavy blankets.

If your case is severe, you will have to make time at first every other day to Exfoliate. I recommend the natural clay or mud way. After a while you will only have to do this every 10-14 days. And if your success rate is like mine, maybe just once a month during the summer. In severe cases Every other day allows your skin to heal should you go to far and remove skin that is attached to good skin. This is the same philosophy Athletes use to heal thier muscles. Because muscles and skin tissue rejuvenate when you are at rest.

Push back your Cuticles.....Make it a habit.

Stay away from Alcohol and drink plenty of fluids. Orange juice and water.

Take your Vitamins. Vitamin A, DHEA and C. (Seek Doctors Advice on DHEA)

STOP Scraping and peeling. !!!!

If you have a spot that itches...then your not moisturizing. But if you have a spot that is peeling, do not touch it, let it come off naturally or from exfoliating. If you constantly pick and pull your skin, you not only succeed in removing the dead skin, but you damage the good skin underneath if it is attached, which it is or it wouldn't still be there, now would it.

Remember you need to take a proactive approach to your condition. A preventive maintenance attitude towards the future outcome of all that you do.

In time, naturally, with a little help from your regimen, your good skin will become the only skin and you will keep doing what you are to prevent further or future build up of dead skin.

Laundry ??? Yes even your laundry plays a role in how your skin reacts. I use only Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent. It seems to work best, no itching or harsh chemicals. When Drying your clothing, softer is better, but the softeners can also irritate your condition, so use non scented or Dryer sheets. Bleaching: Run your cloths through twice to make sure all of the bleach is removed.

Note: The Arm & Hammer detergent also seems to be the best detergent for removing any residual oils and Vaseline from your clothing.  Here is a little test: Rub some A&H Detergent (Powder) in your hands. You feel the heat that is generated from the natural Soda properties used in its ingredients.

Google Ad here

This site offers valuable information and even has a forum for members to discuss anything related to Ichthyosis.