X: ADD, and the unholy triad of asthma, eczema and allergies

Friday, 23 November, 2007

I’m sure many people are aware that some people with ADHD/ADD tend to have one or more symptoms of the ‘triad’of eeevill: asthma, allergies, eczema.

I had eczema first. I had no allergies or asthma till I was about 19 when I got a bad bronchitis in the forests of West Virginia (so many frikking trees and plant stuff; strangers to my immune system) and I’ve had asthma ever since. It’s not serious but it can be persistent at certain times. Though looking back, I think there were hints of asthma when I was young, I had those annoying elephant-sitting-on-chest sensations from time to time. I never bothered about them, didn’t know what they were but I imagine everyone might get them with a particularly bad cold.

I certainly did not HAVE ALLERGIES! I was smug and felt sorry for those who suffered during the spring. It just shows you karma will bite you in the ass, I’ve got allergies now. Not bad but irritating.

Anyway, my asthma seems to be quite dormant now, I sure as heck ain’t complaining! I have some theories. I’ve been taking fish oil pills for some months now regularly..ish.

You know this memory thing. But I’ve been taking the fish pills pretty regularly for me.

Fish Oil helps asthma

"People suffering from exercise-induced asthma were able to reduce their symptoms below the threshold used to diagnose the disease by eating a diet supplemented with fish oil, according to new research findings from Indiana University reported in the January issue of the journal Chest."

I also take Vitamin D and Borage oil (but I think that affects my skin more). I haven’t used my inhaler for at least 2 months now (knock wood), and the elephants-on-my-chests seem to have gone off on vacation. I have been having bad heartburn though, I hope it’s heartburn.

I also add the rainier weather. Madrid is very dry, and pretty polluted. When it rains, it gets more humid but not too much and the rain washes away the pollution. So though my feet get soaked, my lungs are happy.

So an alignment of these factors I believe are to do with my asthma going dormant!! JOY!

But there’s always a friking but, my eczema is flaring up! Really flaring up. I’m a walking bag of itchiness. It’s the sudden change in weather, it’s colder. People are probably thinking I have fleas. I used to use a certain cream from Juvena, something balance or something when I had some spare cash, but they’ve stopped making it!!!! (TYPICAL, every single time I find a great product, they stop making it GRR!) It hydrated my skin.

I got so desperate I paid 16 euros for a 200ml cream at the pharmacy from LaRoche called Lipikar Baume . It’s got lots of shea butter so has a slight odor, barely noticeable, more medicinal but not the stench of shea butter and no fragrances. Shea butter is great but it’s got a really weird smell.

I cried on the inside paying for it but it seems to be working quite well, not like the Kiehl’s Deluxe Hand and Body lotion, good for the hands not great for my dry, lizardy body.

My legs and thighs could do with a touch up but the itchiness has subsided greatly. And don’t forget to take your fish pills woman!