So, here’s a quick little update—one year later, and Protopic is still working just as well as ever. I’ve been using it in tiny, tiny amounts, basically just at the first sign of a flare-up on my face, and it shuts things down overnight. Since last fall, I’ve only had to use it once... after doing some overly intense cleaning in the storage unit—honestly, those kinds of chores just aren't meant for us allergy sufferers, just let it go 🙂
That initial stinging and itching sensation when you first put the cream on can be pretty scary, but you really have to remember that it passes. Back in the day, during the heavy flares, I used to use cold compresses to take the edge off and stop the burning (basically frozen gel packs wrapped in a cotton cloth), but I haven't needed to do that for several years now.
I mean, movement is basically hardwired into our DNA... if it wasn't, we wouldn't all be instinctively tossing and turning in our sleep every single night
It’s not even about sitting or lying down for a long time, really... it’s about being stuck in one spot, totally motionless. Like, think about patients in a coma—they don't just wake up with pressure sores because the hospital staff is constantly moving them and turning them. Of course, how healthy someone is overall plays a huge part too.
Grabbing a 3% salicylic acid lotion—you know, that BHA stuff—and mixing it with some basic moisturizer isn't even pricey. You can just pick it up at any CVS or Walgreens.
You can dig up way more info on this in those old skincare PDFs, right here: . And honestly, no, it’s nothing like getting a nasty sunburn. If you're dealing with deep lines on your forehead or between your brows, Botox is definitely the move.
btw—did you totally forget about the dark spots that pop up from tanning too much? Not even counting the actual burns where your skin peels off... I mean, sure, you get that fresh, glowing, youthful pink skin underneath eventually... 🤦
but whatever, you're gonna go ahead and try it anyway, so there's really not much else to say.
Kimberly Gonzalez said:... I have to go in for some white blood cell counts tomorrow morning, but my period just started today. Can I still head in or should I just wait a bit?
Blood work is totally fine to do regardless (though if they're doing urine tests too, you might run into issues—but honestly, you can usually work around that with tampons)
Not even close, because the damage those tanning beds do with UV rays—like, the kind that actually burns you—is way more intense, goes much deeper, and lasts way longer than just some surface-level skin peeling. Long term, it causes wrinkles, purely from a cosmetic standpoint, and let's not even get started on skin cancer.
Why would I ever choose that over a chemical peel?
You probably already know the old-school home remedies for kicking a cold—chicken soup, hot tea with honey, hitting the Vitamin C, zinc, and calcium, maybe some Andalusia (as long as your stomach can handle it and you don't take it on an empty stomach), herbal steam, essential oils, etc... basically just resting up and waiting for your body to do its thing.
If you think it might be allergies, there are plenty of over-the-counter antihistamines out there you can just grab, so give those a shot, they might help.
You mentioned pain in your nasal cavity—are you running a fever? Feeling any intense pressure or pain in that area?
if that's the case, you should probably just ask your VA referral for a specialist appointment with a nephrologist. a basic blood panel doesn't always tell the whole story... and maybe get your thyroid checked out too, while you're at it
boldtinker82 said:so I was actually at a massage the other day and the woman working on me told me she could feel under her fingers that I’m just totally bloated with water😢...
Don't take this the wrong way, but honestly, that sounds like total nonsense. What you can actually feel during a massage is subcutaneous fat, definitely not "excess water" . Do yourself a favor and get some actual medical tests done—CBC, metabolic panel, check your kidney function (seriously, tell your doctor what’s bothering you because you can't just guess if your kidneys are doing their job or not), and start tracking your blood pressure once a week. If you really are having trouble flushing fluids, a doctor will give you actual medication for it—DO NOT go out and buy random supplements off the shelf to fix it yourself.
In the meantime, watch the sodium in all that processed stuff you grab—you know, things like deli meats or pastries from places like Panera or Dunkin' where everything is loaded with salt even if you don't taste it; maybe try drinking some cranberry juice once a day for a week (that nighttime bathroom tripping up usually points toward blood sugar issues or a minor UTI), and you absolutely need to get some cardio in. Like, thirty minutes minimum—forty-five would be better—every single day. And I mean purposeful, brisk walking where you're huffing and puffing enough that you couldn't hold a conversation if you tried... not just wandering aimlessly around the mall or pacing around the office.
What exactly makes you think you're retaining water—is it just seeing a higher number on the scale, swollen legs, or something else...? How old are you, and are you actually keeping an eye on your blood pressure regularly? Did you deal with any BP issues back when you were pregnant? Also, have you had your kidney function checked out at all over this past year?
When your blood pressure is running a little high, the standard advice is to cut back on salt to help flush things out; but you can't just wing it, you know? It needs to be done carefully. Messing around with diuretics too aggressively can totally throw your body's electrolyte balance out of whack, which leads to some seriously nasty—we're talking potentially fatal—complications
ambertrucker4 said:For some time now, I’ve been dealing with this brownish-orange discharge that seems to come and go quite randomly. Some days—or even just certain parts of the day—everything looks perfectly white and normal, but then by the evening, it turns brown. It also feels like there's a slight stinging sensation every once in a while. This all started after I had sex with my boyfriend, and I have this nagging suspicion, unfortunately, that it might be due to his poor hygiene... I really can't afford to go to a private clinic right now. Has anyone else here experienced anything similar? And is there any specific treatment I could try? I’ve already been taking Lactogyn, but it doesn't seem to be doing much for me... I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that women used to deal with infections using things like garlic or other alternative remedies, but I’ve never actually tried that, nor do I know how one would even go about it.
But seriously, why not just see your own gynecologist or your primary care doctor? This sounds serious enough that you shouldn't be ignoring it.
Hey everyone, please take a second to look over the rules for the Health PDF:
Nicholas Myers said:...
On the Health and Child Health PDFs, it is strictly forbidden to directly or indirectly testify to anything in a positive light (like sharing personal stories with a "hey, I'm just saying this worked for me, not telling you to do it" vibe) and/or solicit positive feedback ("just wondering if anyone else found relief from this?") and/or push or write positively/affirmatively about:
a) any form of "treatment" that falls outside of mainstream medicine—stuff the medical community considers life-threatening or dangerous to health (for instance, talking about MMS drops, colloidal silver/silver water, "Vitamin B17," or other toxins is totally off-limits), regardless of whether someone feels those things actually helped them;
b) any non-medical "treatments," with the sole exception of herbal remedies, vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements (this means stuff like homeopathy, bioenergy, bioresonance, etc., is banned, no matter how much someone swears by them);
c) you cannot directly or indirectly tell others to stop following a treatment plan prescribed by doctors according to standard medical guidelines.
Discussing herbal preparations, vitamins, minerals, and supplements is fine, provided they aren't toxic substances that pose a danger to life or health, and as long as the posts don't suggest—directly or otherwise—that someone should ignore their doctor's professional medical advice.
Yeah, I figured out the kid’s gonna be staying at the hospital; you can just grab a day pass down in the garage where they handle parking, takes maybe an hour or two... the rest of the details I'll just shoot you in a DM
fadedfox6 said:We aren't from New York City, and we're heading out in two weeks for some hospital stays at the medical center with my girlfriend... We'll be stuck in the hospital for a few days, so I'm trying to figure out the daily rates for the garage at the medical center. Like, how and where do I actually buy a pass? I checked the local parking authority's website and all they say is it costs $20 per day, but there's zero info on the actual purchase process or how to renew it every morning???
Thanks in advance!
Whereabouts are you guys (assuming parents?) staying? unknown has its own free parking lot
It still makes zero sense to me why nobody's talking about the functional issues... like, how many doctors actually helped solve them? I guess that’s why those greedy types managed to dodge the whole mess since they were out there taking risks without any help at all, if this is really the kind of world we're living in today. Why don't they just shut down this stupid topic and leave the doctors out of the roulette game entirely? ☕
I'm not even sure I followed you there—could you please clarify what you meant by that? Who exactly are you talking about?
goldencobra92 said:Is there anything that actually helps? Like cold compresses?
Time. Honestly, just time. Cold compresses make sense right after the injury, but a few days later? Not really helping much anymore...
goldencobra92 said:I'm not a doctor, I just read it somewhere on here. Now I'm kind of freaking out.
Don't panic, seriously. Just let your face rest. Everyone's recovery is different—you can't just apply every technique blindly without knowing the specific type and scale of the procedure you had. You really need to follow the instructions from your actual doctor, the one who saw you in person and knows exactly what they did during the surgery.
goldencobra92 said:I mean, why not? Is there anything wrong with that?
For the skin right around your eyes? Yeah, absolutely.
Tissue needs actual time to bounce back from trauma—you can't just fast-track the healing process. Messing around too much with the under-eye area can end up popping capillaries and causing way more damage than any benefit you'd actually get out of it.