Bruising and thin skin.

I l ive in Florida where we already have the air conditioning on

because it's heating up.  I think I have to use some kind of soap

to wash bacteria off my skin because I don't care who you are

you will sweat in the Florida heat....I do agree that we don't have

to shower or bathe eveyday.  I'm showering every other day now.

I'm (won't say old but will say) mature and I don't do a lot of

heavy work anymore so don't get too dirty.  I guess the ideal

is to find what works for you and go with it.....

You all probably get it but with the sweating and bacteria

comes odor.....I forgot to stress that....and body odor

is not pleasant to be around....

If I lived in Florida I probably would spend part of the day enjoying a good shower..... 😋😋😋

xx

And as soon as you get out....if you go outside when the temp

is 95 and humidity at least that....you would be wet with sweat

right away......we trade that off for the wonderful winters we have.

Not one freeze this year.  I was raised in South Florida so this

weather is what I know.....I'm actually in Central Florida now.

and we usually have a little colder weather than S.Florida.  I think

the El Nino has something to do with warmer winter...

Lucky you. It has been 8 degrees here in the UK, rain and horrendous winds, I live right on the Ocean and the winds at night drive me crazy

 

My daughter lives in WA state and she complains about the winds

especially in the winter time.    I love going to WA in the summer

August is best but had to go in December 5 years ago for wedding of grandson and my husband wanted to know if his bride didn't know about  June weddings.....it was cold and windy....WOW!

I too live in a country where we have temperatures in the upper 90s (35C+) in summer, even here in the mountains. Almost nowhere has air conditioning other than very expensive hotels (which do become quite popluar when the hot period extends into weeks and weeks down in the valleys and even the material of the houses heats up). The bliss of the mountains is that while it is hot during the day it isn't usually at night so you can sleep with the doors open. Humidity is a bit lower than you have to, I admit.

The point is though that the bacteria that keep our skin healthy are also destroyed by soaps and too frequent washing - not just the "bad" bacteria which cause odour. It is no different from the situation in our gut when we are given too many antibiotics. The "bad" bacteria find the ground cleared and multiply merrily - just like weeds.

Odour only occurs when sweat is left to become stale - so washing the areas frequently with water to remove the sweat is actually good enough to prevent it and actually most BO comes from unwashed/unaired clothing. Using (especially) antibacterial soaps and deodorants makes the situation worse. 

Something I noticed early in what turned out to be PMR was that after having a shower and heading for the gym, by the time I finished a class, despite deo, I stank - that really isn't too strong a word! I tried various deodorants, none helped. I'm restricted in not being able to to use any products with aluminium salts so when I ran out of options I tried another approach - washing often and with water only. The unpleasant odour was gone in about 6 weeks, I was just sweaty at the end of a class. That is nearly 12 years ago and I haven't used deodorant at all since and soap only very occasionally on underarms.

The marketers have preyed on our minds to suggest we smell when we don't so they sell vast amounts of their products and make good profits. Yes, stale bodies smell unpleasant when the wrong bacteria are around but a good skin flora doesn't cause smells of the same sort - the smell is more like a baby and not unpleasant. 

Now I KNOW you are all cringing - but I don't smell. I check by asking family members who don't live with me and friends every so often - and no-one refuses to sit next to me! There was horror in the media recently when a survey found many people don't shower every day - but when a study was done on the skin flora they discovered the changes over weeks do mean that there is a completely different population of bacteria, that it prevents BO - people living with the test person didn't find them smelly and, in fact, the population of "good" bacteria spread to them as well!

As old as I am I don't "cringe" at hardly anything anymore.  Whatever

works for you is great.    I too have come to the thought that we

wash too much and that may be the source of most women's dry skin

problems.  Those with very oily skin have no choice but to clean

their skin more often.  My husband stopped using deodorant

several years ago because it's "ishy"   That's okay but he tends

to wear a shirt (T-shirt type) and keep putting it back without

letting me wash it and after a few times wearing it he smells

of strong body odor....I have to give him the sniff test before

we leave home.  I've tried to explain that he needs to let me

wash those shirts everytime he wears them because here in

Florida you do sweat....no way around it.   Stubborn

man!!  And if you all never hear from me again it's because

he found this and read it.......

Yes, I'm old enough to remember that my country-dwelling friends, those whose families I suppose relied on wells, bathed once a week, and in the interim just washed their "smelly bits", (sponge bath).  As for washing hair every day....  One of those early "life in olden times" programs done by BBC had people living like Victorians for a fairly long time.  The mother and daughter snuck out and bought modern shampoo and conditioner because their hair became so dry - one can only suppose because they were washing it every day a la modern practice, instead of much less frequently a la Victorian times.  

If he does read this Faye cover his head with one of his used tee shirts and hopefully it will knock him out.

GEEEEZZZZZ   TOO FUNNY......I don't understand why he

doesn't seem to smell the odor on his shirts.  He's going

to be 80 soon and I guess the smelling ability has gone the

way of his hair and his hearing.....

Like mine Faye and I am only 65. All gone but not forgotten.

Wasn't it Napoleon who sent a message to Josephine saying  'Home in three days, don't wash!!'

Totaly get that! Wash clothes as often as you like! They just wear out eventually 

It's a long time ago but my husband used to recycle shirts, socks and underwear - I suppose it started in Uni when he had to do his own washing and the less the better. When I realised there didn't seem to be the amount for the wash I expected I laid the law down! He did get the message - you don't have to scrub shirt collars when you wash them after one day! 

 

Believe so - pheromones.

Hmmm - wonder if that is a clue to modern relationships not lasting as long...

Interesting discussion. Years ago my mother worked with a French lady who only washed her hair once a year. She actually had lovely long hair up in a knot. Unfortunately short hair needs washing frequently to make it look unlike a haystack. I now shower every other day and my skin is dry but I just feel horrible if I don't shower or wash my hair. I use moisturiser by the bucket load. To be honest I just think the pred causes this and I was fine until I increased dose with GCA. I love feeling fragrent and my husband likes me wearing Channel 5

For sure he is a man of good taste- opposite to Napoleon .....😊

I am with you on that.

After a good / fragrant shower I feel being myself!

🌸🌸🌸

As it may interest to more people here goes how to search it on the Internet.

5 minute Arms workout with dumbells/ Shape magazine

There are photos of the exercises, too.

Hope it wil help you as it helps me.

xx

Thanks Eileen for this comment about shampoo.  I noticed the past year that my hair was getting thinner and quite dry.  I woke up one day and my hair went from straight to wavey. Did anyone else have this happen?  Figured it was from the Prednisone of which I have been on for nearly 2.5 years (down to 7mg) or thought it might be just my getting older (am in 60s). My hair was so brittle that I stopped using shampoo. People think I am nuts for doing it but I agree that it does strip the natural oils. I rinse my hair with warm water and that is enough to get dirt & hair spry out of it but I do use conditioner to help with this excess dryness. Also after rinsing most of conditioner out, while the hair is still wet, I apply JoJoba or Argan Oil.  You must use only 3-4 drops rubbed thoroughly in the the palm of your hand.  Then apply to hair, especially at the ends. Experiment because you don't want to apply too much oil because you will look like you did not even clean your hair.

Am also having terrible bruising on my arms. My skin has gotten much thinner. Just not sure if this is old age or meds????

The bruising and thin skin is also often a result of pred. It isn't a problem I've had which is strange as I'm also on a relative of warfarin so I'd expect bruising. 

I wonder if the curly bit is contributed to by night sweats? I find the under-hair which tends to get wet with the sweats is frizzy while the top hair isn't. 

That is strange that you are not experiencing bruising with Warfarin??? Many of my heart problem friends have terrible bruising. Well, good for you.  One less thing of aggravation is wonderful.

Good thoughts Eileen on the sweating which I developed last year. Didn't think of that! But on second thought, even after I "wash" my hair as it air dries, my hair just waves up all by itself. Forgot to mention on the dry hair problem that if you use hair spray and want to cut down on hair dryness, look for the first ingredient on the can to be water NOT some sort of alcohol.  Alcohol is very drying. 

Hairspray? No - detest it! My hairdresser loves using it...

Curly hair is a side effect of pred - lots of people comment on it!

My hair became dry and hay like. I doused myself with Argan oil, even then I look as if I had been dragged through a hedge backwards. My hair also started to curl. More recently I decided to have it cut really short and people keep saying how nice my hair looks and how funky it is! It is really easy to look after. I have always wanted curly hair, although I had not thought of having it spiky too! 

I am always covered in bruises. When I go swimming I get a cheap thrill looking for all the new ones. I even get them over my hands, goodness knows where they come from. 

This morning I doused my head with olive oil and let it sit for about an hour before washing (with a shampoo/conditioner combo).  Hair looks better than it has for some time!