The Day My Face Melted
Not being the avid gardener, one day, in late fall, I decided to clean out some dead debris in the flower garden along the garage when I felt a sting above my eyebrow. I immediately dropped the dried up debris and noticed a little black and white caterpillar drop down on the sidewalk. Not knowing what stung me, (certainly not a caterpillar lol, must have poked myself with the dried twig?) I decided to give up on my wimpy attempt to clean up the garden. LOL
Looking in the mirror, at where I felt the poke, I noticed a small black spot above my left eyebrow, which I flicked to see if it was a splinter. What happened next was like something out of a SciFi movie. I stood there watching the left side of my face melt. It progressively started loosing its structure, down to my mouth.
Being a bit grungy from work and concerned about what I just got myself into in the garden, I proceeded to the shower to wash off anything that might have gotten on my skin. I washed my hands and arms pretty thoroughly, thinking it was some kind of an allergic reaction to the weeds I was pulling.
Back out of the shower, the mirror was not being anymore forgiving. Yep, my face just melted...Looking in the mirror, I could not tell if the black spot was still there, or there was just a hole but I tried to leave it alone. By the next morning it actually looked a little worse and moreover my arms, legs and part of my face were covered with an itchy inflamed rash. On research, I discovered that black and white striped caterpillars are extremely dangerous and one boy in Ohio died that year from being stung. (Who knew!)
Knowing I was going to be attending esthetician (skin care school) in the fall, and being the study nerd I am, I had already started researching how to prevent aging and rebuild collagen etc. I had planned to specialize in anti-aging. I began putting my research to work right away. Taking supplements, low dose homeopathic medicine etc.
I realized that I could most likely rebuild the under layers of the connective tissue. But how was I going to hide the way my face appeared to my father and friends, patients etc? Well, hats helped, but eventually I was found out and pressed to consult a medical doctor by everyone that I encountered. Much to my suspicion, they basically diagnosed me with dermatitis and prescribed topical steroid, which made me wish I had not spent the money. After all, what else could I have expected I suppose, it was pretty obvious however not a solution in my mind. I passed on the prescription, and proceeded with my research.
Calamine lotion was my go-to for the itchy, seeping. inflamed skin but it took quite a bit to keep it under control and a long time to get it to eventually dry up and go away. I started school in early November so I had about 1.5 months to get myself back to some semblance of "normal" to enter school without suspicious looks of being contagious.
When I told some of my colleagues later what had happened, they could not believe that in only a month and a half, I basically rebuilt half of my face. My skin was also radiant as well.
I learned how to address the skin from the outside in Esthetician school but from my personal experience, and nutritional background, I now offer anti-aging advice to my patients and work with skin care from the inside out.
I have used this knowledge to rebuild my skin over and over. Several years later, I went through an extremely physical and emotional trauma. My face looked 20 years older due to stress causing fluid retention and inflammation. It took about the same amount of time. Also, after breaking my arm at the growth plate and shattering my elbow due to an accident, I was able to completely heal my bone in about 4-5 weeks by supporting the underlying muscular structure with nutrition. My surgeons was not certain it would ever heal because of the location of the break.
The body is capable of amazing things if it is supported and given what it needs to heal! I am proof of that :)
So grateful for my education and "Nerdism" LOL
Patricia J Ahner, AP, LAc, LMT, Lic Esth. Reiki Master
get-relief.com
Looking in the mirror, at where I felt the poke, I noticed a small black spot above my left eyebrow, which I flicked to see if it was a splinter. What happened next was like something out of a SciFi movie. I stood there watching the left side of my face melt. It progressively started loosing its structure, down to my mouth.
Being a bit grungy from work and concerned about what I just got myself into in the garden, I proceeded to the shower to wash off anything that might have gotten on my skin. I washed my hands and arms pretty thoroughly, thinking it was some kind of an allergic reaction to the weeds I was pulling.
Back out of the shower, the mirror was not being anymore forgiving. Yep, my face just melted...Looking in the mirror, I could not tell if the black spot was still there, or there was just a hole but I tried to leave it alone. By the next morning it actually looked a little worse and moreover my arms, legs and part of my face were covered with an itchy inflamed rash. On research, I discovered that black and white striped caterpillars are extremely dangerous and one boy in Ohio died that year from being stung. (Who knew!)
Knowing I was going to be attending esthetician (skin care school) in the fall, and being the study nerd I am, I had already started researching how to prevent aging and rebuild collagen etc. I had planned to specialize in anti-aging. I began putting my research to work right away. Taking supplements, low dose homeopathic medicine etc.
I realized that I could most likely rebuild the under layers of the connective tissue. But how was I going to hide the way my face appeared to my father and friends, patients etc? Well, hats helped, but eventually I was found out and pressed to consult a medical doctor by everyone that I encountered. Much to my suspicion, they basically diagnosed me with dermatitis and prescribed topical steroid, which made me wish I had not spent the money. After all, what else could I have expected I suppose, it was pretty obvious however not a solution in my mind. I passed on the prescription, and proceeded with my research.
Calamine lotion was my go-to for the itchy, seeping. inflamed skin but it took quite a bit to keep it under control and a long time to get it to eventually dry up and go away. I started school in early November so I had about 1.5 months to get myself back to some semblance of "normal" to enter school without suspicious looks of being contagious.
When I told some of my colleagues later what had happened, they could not believe that in only a month and a half, I basically rebuilt half of my face. My skin was also radiant as well.
I learned how to address the skin from the outside in Esthetician school but from my personal experience, and nutritional background, I now offer anti-aging advice to my patients and work with skin care from the inside out.
I have used this knowledge to rebuild my skin over and over. Several years later, I went through an extremely physical and emotional trauma. My face looked 20 years older due to stress causing fluid retention and inflammation. It took about the same amount of time. Also, after breaking my arm at the growth plate and shattering my elbow due to an accident, I was able to completely heal my bone in about 4-5 weeks by supporting the underlying muscular structure with nutrition. My surgeons was not certain it would ever heal because of the location of the break.
The body is capable of amazing things if it is supported and given what it needs to heal! I am proof of that :)
So grateful for my education and "Nerdism" LOL
Patricia J Ahner, AP, LAc, LMT, Lic Esth. Reiki Master
get-relief.com
Of course, Acupuncture is amazing for collagen regeneration. Generally you look about 10 years younger after 10 sessions but even 3 sessions begins the process and you start to notice results just increasing blood flow! Acupuncture with the right nutrients to support puts you over the top!
ReplyDelete