Things are feeling much closer to normal now. I don't think people even notice anything strange about the appearance of my face. And this morning when I took a shower I left the temperature at full hot and let the spray fall on my head without problems. The skin is a little tender but doesn't burn anymore. In addition to feeling somewhat itchy, it also feels a little "tight" when I smile or grimace. But the skin really is much smoother!
 |
| Much less contrast now between red and normal areas |
So is there anything I would do differently next time? I found that the most painful times were in the final days of applying the Efudex and, in particular, in the 2-4 hours before reapplying. The moisture of the Efudex had evaporated or soaked in, leaving dry burning skin. But it turns out that vaseline petroleum jelly that my dermatologist had me use
after finishing with the Efudex does a great job of restoring the moisture and relieving the burning. Other people's blogs have noted that it is OK to apply vaseline or Aquaphor two hours after applying the Efudex, and I think that would probably have eliminated the most painful times. So next time, if my derm approves, I will apply vaseline two hours after the Efudex and then reapply during the day to keep it moist until the next Efudex application.
This is the area of the AK on my left cheek. It is still redder than the surrounding skin, but now has a divot toward the lower left where damaged skin was perhaps removed. I still plan to wait a while and then test the area by hitting it area again with Efudex to see if it lights up.
 |
| Divot in area of AK on left cheek |
I will probably wait to post again until the redness is all gone, until I've tested if the AKs on my cheek and scalp are really gone, or until something else interesting happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment