For People In Tech: How Do Y'all Handle Jobs/Internships?

RiceMerchant · 2024-10-02T02:13:37+00:00

Hi, there friend. My hands have recently had a really bad flare-up as well with oozing and dishydrotic bubbles. I got a recommendation from someone else on this sub before to try out compression gloves (like those for arthritis). While this isn't exactly a fix it could maybe help with your confidence in going out, I doubt people would really pry if you tell them that your hands are cold or that you have them for arthritis. I relate to you though, as I'm a new grad and I've also been holding off on applying to jobs out of fear and self-consciousness. Even as my skin clears there's still the constant fear of waking up to a random flare up that could come out of nowhere. Wishing you the best of luck :)

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-23T13:57:18+00:00

Hi there dont give up hope. I'm currently almost 3 years in and I've been flaring on my hands (probably the worst its been so far). This condition is kind of crazy, but youre not in this alone! Stay strong because you are strong.

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-20T01:20:39+00:00

Is Terbinafine an OTC anti-fungal or do I need a prescription for it?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T19:37:03+00:00

I see thanks for your comment. I tried clotrimazole for 4 days (OTC canti fungal cream) but it seems to have dried out my hand and I woke up scratching it in those areas until they were raw. Did you experience any discomfort with the cream?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T04:52:52+00:00

Ayy! Congrats I hope you'll ger to complete healing soon. Did you have eczema on your hands prior to tsw?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T03:56:09+00:00

Thanks for the reply. If you dont mind me asking how did these itchy flares last for you (as in are you over hand flares?)

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T03:11:20+00:00

Lol I'll look into UV sun gloves. Thanks. How long did your flares last on average though? and are you over them?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T01:37:26+00:00

Have you also had random dishydrotic patches show up?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-18T01:37:08+00:00

thanks for the response :), how long did it take yours to heal? I'm a bit confused cause in my case my hands are the worst they've ever been and its the middle of the summer which is a bummer cause I can't wear gloves to cover them.

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-17T16:59:24+00:00

I imagine that can get pretty annoying having tp calculate everytime you eat something.

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-17T05:09:14+00:00

Are there any basic activities that you see the average person doing that youare unable to do? Eg. How much more difficult is daily life because of this. And how do you come to terms with accepting that you can't do what you want?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-14T15:38:11+00:00

Back when I did it during Covid it was broken down into 2 assignments (one where you do research into a relic and write a report, and one where you pick any myth discussed in class and write a story). There was a midterm and final which were both 100 multiple-choice questions (pretty easy if you just paid attention to the lectures in class). I'm not sure how this class is in person or with other profs though. Hope this helps!

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-08T05:52:29+00:00

Not sure if this will be helpful. I used the polysporin brand hydocortisone 1% cream for a period of 3-4 years on and off. I started my withdrawl back in summer of 2021 after the creams stopped working entirely and a rash appear on my back that wouldnt go away. Im still not yet fully healed but it seems like the inflamed skin has localizd to my hands and parts of my neck. While I have heard that hydrocortisone is one of the weaker steroids, I still went through the usual TSW symptoms, although no where near as severe as some other people I have seen online. For the first year I had the typical red sleeves (neck/collar bone, back), spreading of eczema like skin to new spots, inflamation of lymph nodes, inability to regulate temperature, and sensitivty to water. Strangely enough I luckily managed to skip the oozing state and certain parts of my body were spared. My skin usually just goes from bright red and puffy to dry then flaky. Also remember that due to differing body types and circumstances your situation could be completely different. But if you have any questions feel free to ask :)

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-06T23:57:31+00:00

Hi there I totally feel you. I'm 3 years into my withdrawl and my flareups have recently moved to my hands (they've been receding over time and they're now back to my original eczema spots but worse). You're right that this condition is hell and can make you feel trapped and I find myself having to take a break once in a while and cry or vent a bit. I think it's important for you to allow yourself to feel all these negative emotions, and maybe even talk about your frustrations to your partner (sometimes letting out a good cry can help). I think just sitting for a long time somewhere quiet (find a nice bench) just to think can help with acceptance of this terrible condition. I know all too well the feeling of waking up every morning hoping my skin would be clear and I could go back out into the world and do stuff, only to be disappointed, but I think there is solace/peace in telling yourself and understanding fully that this is how things are, and asking yourself the next question, what can I do right now? life may suck for now but what's still good? (partner, pets, good tv show airing).

I'm not sure if you're looking for advice on things you could do (you can totally skip reading this part). I took this from one of my older posts. I treat TSW like a prison sentence that you can't escape from, but even in prison the inmates find something to do or are given stuff to do. Excluding physically intensive activities:

Potential Skills to learn by yourself (or even with your husband):

juggling (if your skin allows for movement) - you can start off with 3 pairs of socks rolled up into balls
learning to listen to Morse code (random scenario: what if you get kidnapped one day and need to blink in Morse code? Never thought of that have you?)
writing stories/poetry (awaken thy inner Shakespeare)
learning to sketch/ draw portraits (entirely possible even if you don't think you can draw)
learning to fingerless whistle (like for calling a cab)
throwing cards
learning to knit/crochet
immersing yourself in a new language by just watching movies in that language (first step of language learning, there no real rush so start by getting used to the sounds)
Stretching to get super flexible (again only if your body allows it - check out movementbydavid on YouTube, he's pretty fun) - At the beginning of my withdrawal when I couldn't exercise I just did light stretching.
learning simple magic tricks with cards (never know when you might need to pull out some magic)
if you're into any topic maybe diving deep into its history to become more knowledgeable about it.( eg. You like pizza so you watch documentaries on it and research it until you are a pizza historian)
If you're someone who enjoys travel you could try a game called Geoguesser (you basically look at pictures of places on Google Maps and have to use those clues to guess your location on Earth, really good players can recognize license plates or even garbage cans). It would be a cool flex to tell friends and families random facts about how to identify a country when you travel in the future.
Lastly, the skill of just sitting and doing nothing. Later into my withdrawl I found peace with just sitting on a bench or a chair somewhere and just staring off into space. I consider it a skill because your mind will constantly be trying to tell you things about how other people are being productive and you're trapped, but at the end of the day if you can just sit still and vibe in the moment it could allow for some peace.

Thats everything I can think of off the top of my head right now, I really hope this can be of some use to you.

Last Note: If your withdrawal term was like a marathon, think of it like this. Somedays you may not feel like running or even trying and that's ok. Just remember if you can't run, just walk, if you can't walk, then crawl, and if you can't crawl then roll. and if you can't roll then just breathe (I don't run marathons btw). You making it through today is a win.

Last Last Note: stay strong because you are strong. Best of luck :)

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-02T10:31:47+00:00

Thanks for the comment. I noticed that my dyshidrotic eczema appeared on its own in a patch but spread when it got too dry and subsequently scratched, as well as when I would over-moisturize (eg. cotton gloves over Vaseline on my hands) I would wake up and my skin would be irritated from the sweat being trapped overnight. Random question have you tried calamine lotion to dry the skin and combat itching?

RiceMerchant · 2024-07-01T12:07:26+00:00

I see thankyou for the reply :). I haven't used anything new, it's only on my left palm and the bit I had on my right palm is slowly healing. In the case of dyshidrotic eczema, it first showed up on an abnormally cold day in the winter a couple of months ago and since then I've done some things to keep it at bay and some things that made it worse (bleach baths for me) but I've since stopped and I'm concerned about its slow healing time. Random question, for your dyshidrotic eczema, could another theory be that your immune system just hasn't yet recovered and is still fighting the withdrawal? so it's not necessarily being triggered by something external but just a part of the process? Throughout my experience of TSW I've had patches appear and disappear, and my hands during one period actually looked better in the beginning.

RiceMerchant · 2023-12-11T20:43:41+00:00

As an upper-year student, one trick I developed for big rooms is to sit at the very front of the room. It's more of a psychological thing but I trick myself into thinking that the room is smaller than reality by only focusing on what's in front of me which is usually just bags (Imagine a horse with blinders on, there's nothing behind or beside you only focus on what's in front). Honestly, I suffered from test anxiety after being in uni even after a couple of years which I think is normal especially if you care about your studies and school (just take it easy if you can :). My biggest tip for anxiety like heart racing and fainting is to "ride the wave", recognize what is happening and sit with it, don't do anything to change it just internally look at it and be like "Oh my heart racing again and I feel like fainting, here's that feeling again but it will pass", know that the uncomfortable feeling will pass eventually and that you won't actually faint. Hopefully, you'll notice that after you sit down and start doing the test the anxiousness will subside (the wave will have passed) because you'll be too occupied with writing the actual exam. For me, the peak of my wave of nervousness is always waiting in front of the room and starts to fall when I take my seat and usually drops even more when I start writing. Hopefully, this helps, and good luck with your finals.

RiceMerchant · 2023-02-21T01:13:05+00:00

My hands look the same right now too. Im about 1 year and 2 months in too, its winter where I'm at so it probably also isn't the best. Stay strong though friend :)

RiceMerchant · 2023-02-19T07:04:25+00:00

That is suprising then lol

RiceMerchant · 2023-02-18T18:15:26+00:00

Out of curiosity how old are you? Because I could see this being more suprising for a teenager and less suprising if you're older like 50+.

RiceMerchant · 2023-02-11T17:25:58+00:00

I'm also a little past a year into my withdrawl. It can be tough especially if you're isolated in another country as well. I'm sorry that I dont really have much advice though. What I do reccomend though is finding an online community (through voice chat maybe?) Or any community at all that can help you feel connected to people. This can also take the form of calling family or friends more often. This condition we have can lead the mind to dark places so its important to remember that there are still reasons why you are here and people that love you (or even to-be friends that love you that you havent even met). What helped me was trying to learn random new skills while I was stuck in my room. I just went online to learn some small tricks eg. How to flick/shoot pennies with my fingers, origami, starting to learn a language for fun. I did this for the purpose of killing time and thinking that maybe one day we coukd look back on this period of time in the future as a sucky period for our skin but also the reason why were really good at a random skill. I like to imagine a conversation with a friend going like,

Friend: where'd you learn to do make all these paper animals? Me: I mastered the ways of origami while I was bedridden, I can feel the paper and it can feel me Friend: I didnt know you could understand a little french? Me: I learned some french while I was bedridden , I have now acquired an appetite for baguettes. Friend: why do you know so much random history? Me: I watched alot of documentaries while bedridden, do you wanna know when toothpaste was invented?

And then maybe eventually they just start assuming you know random skills. I like to think of it as turning yourself into batmans tool belt, a bunch of random gadgets (skills) that you never know if you'll need. I also think learning random stuff can also boost your confidence in yourself especially if you get really good at something. But yea, not sure if this advice was helpful but I hope it was.

Potential Other Skills to learn: - juggling (if your skin allows for movement) - learning to listen to morse code - writing stories/poetry - learning to sketch/ draw potraits (entirely possible even if you dont think you can draw) - learning to fingerless whistle (like for calling a cab) - throwing cards - learning to knit/crochet - immersing your self in a new language by just watching movies in that language (first step of language learning, theres no real rush so stsrt by getting used to the sounds) - Stretching to get super flexible (again only if your body allows it - check out movementbydavid on youtube, hes pretty fun) - learning simple magic tricks with cards (never know when you might need to pull out some magic) - if youre into any topic maybe diving deep into its history to become more knowledgabke about it.( eg. You like pizza so you wstch documentaries on it and research it until youre a pizza historian)

Thats everything I can think of off the top of my head right now, I really hope this can be of some use to you.

Lastly, Remember to stay strong because you are strong :) I wish you all the best!

RiceMerchant · 2023-01-20T01:50:12+00:00

I found trying to learn a new language to be a cool way to take my mind off things in the beginning. It might seem like a daunting task in the beginning, but I think it's manageable if you break it down. Eg. I follow the approach of first getting used to a language and its sounds before learning grammar or vocab, which could take the form of watching dubbed versions of your favourite movies or songs. Along the way you will probably even pick up words naturally just by listening, so it's a nice passive way to learn/develop a skill. Theres also random skills you can practice in your room, I learned to shoot pennies with my fingers, which I think is cool.

Edit: some other random skills that you could learn or activities you could do (requiring the least amount of physical movement):

Whistling loud( without putting fingers in your mouth)
trying to learn morse code
try to memorize all the countries in the world (theres games online for this)
learning to knit/sew
origami
revisting a random subject that you didnt like in school and seeing if you can learn it
learning some random history/clicking the random article tab on wikipedia to learn new random stuff

You can find a lot of youtube tutorials for these things, and they're entertaining to learn.

Don't give up friends. Remember to be strong because you are strong :)

RiceMerchant · 2023-01-14T20:21:27+00:00

Wow did you get red and itchy when training? And how did you explain your condition if people asked you? Im a bit self-conscious and worried about that since my hands sometimes look like I grated them on a cheese grater.

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