It never hurts to ask

I’m going to give you three quick lessons today. Two of them won’t apply to most of you. One of them pretty much applies to all of us

I’ve had horrible skin my whole life. I’ll spare you a list of all the weird crap that’s gone wrong over the years. But eczema was – for years and years and years – the worst one.

Eczema’s not contagious. But it is miserable. It’s basically dry skin. And it cracks open, which hurts. Or it itches like hell, which makes you scratch the living shit out of, which makes it bleed or crack open. It’s basically this endless cycle of pain, itch scratch.

And of course there’s no cure for it. In fact, doctors can’t even agree on what causes it: Is it genetic? An allergy? An immune system thing? They don’t have a clue.

Well, as it turns out, I know the cure. So here’s the first lesson for today: Somebody told me a few years ago that Omega 3-6-9 would cure eczema. These are basically big pills of fish oil. And there are various types of Omega. But the specific 3-6-9 formulation would do the trick.

Now, I’ve tried all sort of home remedies over the years and had my doubts. But guess what? It does work. It works really well, in fact. Within three days of taking the first pill, my eczema was gone. For the first time in 4 decades, I didn’t have eczema. It was, unbelievable.

So, to recap: Lesson Number 1 for today: If you have eczema, go get some Omega 3-6-9 and give it a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain

Lesson number two: After awhile, my eczema came back – worse than ever – on my feet. Nowhere else, just my feet. And man, was it bad.

But I didn’t go to the doctor and get it checked out.

There were a lot of reasons why: There’s really only one dermatologist in Tuscaloosa. And getting in to see him is a major pain in the as..

Besides, I was an expert on eczema. I’d had to all my lift. I’d talked to more doctors than I could count about it. I’d tried every cream and ointment known to man. I’d Googled it and read about it endlessly. And I knew there was no cure.

Partner Insights
Information to advance your business from industry suppliers

So I drew some conclusions: The Omega 3-6-9 worked. But it wasn’t getting to my feet. They’re way down there. And I think I’d heard somebody say something about circulation to the feet being sluggish anyway, which is way diabetics are always having to get theirs amputated. So, I decided, the Omega 3-6-9 worked. It just wasn’t strong enough to cure my feet.

Except they kept getting worse.

So, finally, just a few weeks ago, I decided – after putting up with basically having poison ivy on my feet for four years – that maybe I ought to go see the doctor.

Which brings us to Lessons Three and Four today:

Turns out, my eczema was cured and long gone. (The dermatologist didn’t seem too thrilled to hear I’d cured it with some damn fish oil. But that’s another story.)

The problem was I am allergic to shoe leather. So if you’re wandering around with itchy feet all the time, it might be because you’re allergic to the leather work boots that everybody in the trucking industry spends 10 or 12 hours a day in. It’s definitely worth looking into, anyway.

Which brings us to the final lesson for the day: It never hurts to ask. I thought I knew all the answers. And even though I wasn’t solving my problem – hell, the problem was getting worse – I didn’t bother to ask anyone for advice or help because I was an expert and I’d eventually figure it out on my own.

Only I didn’t.

So, to recap:

If you’ve got eczema, go get some Omega 3-6-9.

If your feet are driving you crazy, you might be allergic to your shoes. (Google it. I did.) Go see a dermatologist and find out.

Finally, you’re not the expert you think you are. If you can’t figure something out, ask someone.

Oh, and Roll Tide!