A friend has just posted a pic of her itchy, bubbly skin on a social website; I hope she has better care from Dermatologists than I had.
Three days after starting Tamoxifen, I woke up bleeding all over from bloody blisters. Had gone to bed with OK skin, but this overnight eruption frightened the living daylights out of me.
Rushed to hospital, where the Head Dermatologist told me”it’s your age”. Tried to question his diagnosis, but he swept out, saying he didn’t have time to answer questions.
Tourism, holiday & travel in La Roche-PosayLuckily, the Head Chaplain suggested I go to La Roche Posay, (LRP), the French centre for these types of problems. Phoning to find out if they could help, they brushed aside my awful French, and in charming English said they would be delighted to see me, asked searching questions and fixed me up, appointments and all to investigate my problem.
At La Roche Posay
After a thorough examination by a Dermatologist, seamless tests and lots of questions (in fluent English), they confirmed my skin lesions were a relatively common side-effect from Tamoxifen – and gave me superb creams and balms to sort these out. No French Dermatologist would dare tell one of his female patients her skin problems, appearing overnight, were due to age. But it seems that we will put up with bullying without a murmur.Products
This medical spa treats over 10,000 patients with skin problems a year, and 1928 they founded a range of skincare products, now used in hospitals in over 90 countries. These were so successful, that the brand has now been bought by L’Oreal, In France patients can get their products on prescription. I needed to use an awful lot, so tried to see if we had anything similar to LRP on the NHS. I was recommended Aqueous cream – but even my chemist turned up his nose. He didn’t think they would work for me – and he was right. Then, I find The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a Drug Safety Update for Aqueous Cream on 27 March 20. They issued an official warning that Aqueous cream may cause skin irritation possibly due to an ingredient, sodium lauryl sulfate, a known skin irritant. Yet tryinLg to explain to a Macmillan Nurse about samples of LRP, etc. on display at a Wellness Day I had organised for our local Cancer group, she sniffed. And as she walked away I could see she wasn’t convinced, and was to thinking “what does a mere patient know?” Yet, nurses constantly remark on what good skin those of us have, who use these products !!!!Now
If you find aqueous creams don’t work for you, look for a good Chemist and discuss problem with them. And look out for these skincare ranges:- Flexitol – Australian company, who have NICE approval, so some products are FREE on prescription. You can ask your GP to prescribe, and tell them it’s in the BNF.
- La Roche Posay – French company, subjected to over 90 Clinical trials, recommended in hospitals all over the world, Available in major Boots stores and specialist chemists.
- iS Clinical – brilliant creams developed in conjunction with Washington Cancer Centre – used in Harley Street for quick recovery from face-lifts! Expensive – but good.
- Living Nature – even little New Zealand has a range, approved by their cancer association.
- Elemis who have a team of researchers working on improving skincare
- Spiezia – who really care about ensuring they use nothing but the best, organic ingredients.