In a bit of a mess

A question about : In a bit of a mess

Since having the flu a few weeks ago, my body has become a bit of a mess. Especially where skin is concerned.

The skin on my hands feels like I've scoured my skin with sand paper. The skin on my legs is starting to break down and feel sore and irritated. I'm getting a lot of spots on my face too.

I have started taking Metatone vitamin tonic to try and help pick me up a bit. However, I haven't got a clue what to do about my skin.

Been putting E45 lotion on my hands and have tried some on my legs but to no avail. As for my face, I'm totally lost.

If anyone can offer some advice/recommendations it would be much appreciated.

Best answers:

• If your skin is damaged (eg not just feeling raw because you are ill- (my skin feels sore when I get ill not because my skin is damaged but because a symptom of being ill for me is my skin hurting) then your skin is going to need time to get rid of the layers of damage and grow more healthy layers.
  To my memory you will have 5 layers of skin and the top three are affected by outter things the lower 2 are affected my internal things.
  You wont be able to do that much in terns of repairing the damage any faster than your skin is happy to deal with. If you can protect your skin this is your best option- that way it has less to do and can focus more on helping itself.
  Try things like thicker non intrusive clothes. Things like cotton layers rather than a man-made or scratchy fiber- though if things hurt this is going to be the last thing you feel like wearing anyway!
  If you up your nutrient levels; vitamins A, C and E are all good for your skin and healthy proteins help cells grow (try to get a mix of proteins rather than just from one source) and also very importantly keep up your water levels- nothing works properly without water. Resting well so your body has time to repair will help and making sure you protect your skin with heavier moisturisers when you go outside will also help.
  I don't know if you've read the ingredients of E45 but it's not such a natural product. It works well to create a barrier for your skin but also means your skin wont be able to breathe as well and over time this can mean your skin can become drier so try to mix it up a bit with using oils or more natural products for a few days every now and then. Whilst creating a barrier can be helpful in some situations doing this long term can often create problems.
• Try a good slathering overnight of good old fashioned Vaseline.
  Eat a couple or 3 spoons of honey every day and even put some on your skin if you can
  It is natures own antiseptic.
• I think this is something it's worth seeing your doctor about. Somehow with 'cosmetic' problems we tend to feel a bit odd about seeking medical help but there could be something else going on.
  edited to say you could also pop into your local pharmacy and see if they have any advice either.
• Thanks for the replies.
  I do wear cotton rich clothes as a rule. Can't stand too much synthetic materials just cause I don't like them.
  I very rarely catch a cold\flu as I'm quite fit, but this time I was surrounded by family who had the flu and fell unlucky. So I'm not used to it lol. I do take multivitamins and eat healthy. Just thought a tonic would pick me up a bit.
  It's weird cause I normally have decent skin, so don't quite know what's happened. Also it isn't that long ago that I had a comprehensive blood test and everything was fine.
  Will try the Vaseline and honey. I do have some cotton gloves that I wear when I've slathered my hands.
• Cod liver oil tablets or omega 3 capsules might be worth taking as well - I always notice that my skin gets drier and flaky of I run out of these.
  Hope you feel much better soon.
• I was the same in early December after having a cold. After a cold or flu, I get dry itchy skin, and my face gets spotty, I've always been like this, but it has got a bit worse as I have got older. Thankfully I am rarely sick.
  I use Neutrogena hand cream on my hands as it's so thick, Vaseline is great too, but I find the Neutrogena hand cream absorbs quickly so great for the daytime, and I switched to a moisturising shower gel for people with eczema, which calms things down very quickly on my body, its called Eucerin Atocontrol bath and shower gel, it's about Ј15 but a bottle lasts ages and has oil in it and kept my skin soft, I found this worked better than the e45 moisturiser.
• Aveeno is nice and very soothing. My little lad was prescribed some as a tot and I've been hooked on the stuff ever since.
  You can buy it in chemists and possibly supermarkets these days.
• I would not use E45 because it is dreadful stuff with lanolin in it. My skin reacts terribly to it. It does not deserve any praise and it does not deserve to be medically recognised or prescribed. My GP likes to hand it out and I made a point of telling my GP how badly I react to it and that I never want it again.
  Natural oils work well for me such as Rosehip oil which I have to get ordered.
• Thanks for the wonderful replies.
  I have never used E45 before and to be honest I won't again. Luckily I only paid a couple of pounds for it.
  Forgot all about the Neutrogena concentrated hand cream. Used it a few years ago and got on relatively well with it.
  I will check out Aveeno and the Eucrein bath and shower too. The Eucerin acute care cream looks good.
  Any tips on face moisturiser ect. My face isn't particular dry fortunately.