Hi Stacya,
I think I need to clean out my inbox more often than my hand lotion container. The story goes like this:
I spent last summer in Europe and sublet my apartment. Before I left, to make space in the bathroom, I put my Lubriderm hand lotion in a drawer. When I got got back, I put it back on the counter and did what I always do, put it all over my arms and legs. A few days later, I developed a big nasty blister on my shin, which I thought was just an allergy (my skin is super-sensitive), so I just put some hydrocortisone on it. But it spread, all over the place: various spots on my legs, my arms, even a spot on an underarm, and then one really nasty one on my left index finger (it was really disgusting—I’ll spare you details). That one really worried me because it just would not go away and was spreading, so I called Group Health and told them I was worried about MRSA. I described symptoms and they told me get over right away. The GP was worried, and thought it might be some auto-immune response, so she called in the dermatologist who biopsied the blisters. We went over all the possible things that could cause something like this: I had spent the summer in Spain, I go to a gym regularly, but nothing made sense. She didn’t think the lesions were auto-immune but was worried about MRSA and she gave me both mega-dose topical steroids in case it was an allergy and an antibiotic in case it was a bacteria. She asked me if I used any new skin products, and I said no, I’m really fussy about that. What she didn’t ask me was whether I was using any OLD skin products. It turns out that the culprit was that bottle of Lubriderm that sat in a drawer in my bathroom, all summer (an especially warm one), and it was the perfect incubator for bacteria. Blame both my thriftiness (there was about 2 inches left in the bottle!) and the fact that it never occurred to me that Lubriderm could have a shelf life or grow bacteria.
The story has a happy ending. The steroids + antibiotics combo worked like a charm, the biopsy showed nothing but bacteria. A few weeks later my skin was back in the pink, not red and blistery, and only the fingernail on my left index finger betrayed any signs of all that nasty bacteria. Now, I use those Beauty Alert stickers on EVERYTHING.
One more thing: I should see you more often, not just because my brows need attention but because I always come away inspired, with such good advice on how to live a healthy life.
Thanks!
Theresa
