Lotions and Creams

I've been staying up late watching the NBA finals. No time to pick. I guess that's for the best. I'm so tired, though. Now that the finals are over I hope I can catch up on my sleep.

I have to go back to the doctor in a few weeks for a follow-up appointment. She's going to send me back to the lab for more blood tests. She saw my arms last time, too, and was concerned about how bad they looked. When I told her they look that way because I pick at them she asked me if I had tried creams and told me to put hydrocortisone on them.

I tried applying hydrocortisone once the week before last but didn't like the way the cream felt. The truth is, though I told the doctor otherwise, I have tried creams. I've tried AHA creams to smooth the bumps I pick at, as well as lotions and salves with helpful herbs in them to try to help speed up the healing process. Since I've always ended up picking again, though, I've come to feel like creams are a waste of money. Every now and then I'll start feeling optimistic and will buy something. As a result, I have about four or five half-finished creams or lotions in my bathroom.

These days I prefer not to put anything on my skin when my skin has open wounds or scabs on it (which is most of the time), because I feel like it may interfere with the healing process. I'm also very lazy when it comes to putting stuff on my skin after the shower, because after I'm done showering I want to get out of the bathroom as quickly as possible! On the other hand, while I was doing some research on vitamin D on the Linus Pauling Institute website the other day, I read how helpful topical applications of vitamins C and E and essential fatty acids can be for the skin. I have some shea cream with Vitamin E in it left over from last winter that I've been trying to use for the past few days. Even though all it seems to be doing so far is to make my skin a little less dry, I'll try to at least finish the cream off.