Today is my mom's birthday. I love her to pieces. When my mom was in her early twenties, she went through serious skin issues, mainly on her face. Huge chunks of her skin would peel off and her scabs would ooze. She tells me it was horrible and she wouldn't wish it in her worst enemy - not that she has one. My mom is Mexican and when this happened to her, she went to a Mexican allergist. She found out she had tons of food allergies and begin to take allergy injections. Here's where I get confused. My doctors tell me that food allergies aren't treated by allergy injections. There is no treatment, they tell me. Well my mom was cured with whatever injections she took in Mexico. Don't get me wrong, her skin isn't perfect and new skin conditions have taken over, but the horrible eczema she had as a young adult disappeared and has never returned. (Knock on wood.)
I worry that if / when / if I have kids, he / she / they will inherit my skin issues. It's definitely possible and I would feel terrible if it happened. My mother feels very sorry about my eczema, dermatitis and skin allergies. It's not her fault. The thing is, eczema and skin allergies seem to be more and more common these days. Babies left and right have eczema. My adorable one-year-old niece has it, even though my sister has never had eczema. A part of me wonders if the family eczema gene passed onto my neice or if she's just another, albeit adorable and amazing, baby with temporary eczema. I really, really hope it's the latter.
In the meantime, my mom and I will continue to have the eczema-sufferers bond. The "I know what you're going through" bond. It's good to have her support and understanding. Happy birthday, mom.
