Sorry but I am a bit obsessed with my condition. This time I have decided to give it a positive spin.
The advantages of having pompholyx:
1. You cannot go anywhere near detergents of any type, so you are not allowed to wash dishes, clean the bathroom or do the laundry, which means someone else has to do all of these things for you. (Thank you, Ming, oh and don’t forget to vacuum the house).
2. If you have freckly hands, and you don’t like your freckly hands, you will love how, once the skin peels off, so will the freckles.
3. Exercise is not a good idea if you have pompholyx on your feet so, even if you weren’t madly exercising every day, now you don’t have to feel guilty about that.
4. It is a conversation starter. People tend to find it quite entertaining to hear about your pompholyx, and fascinated by your suppurating sores. It is, however, best to keep these show-and-tell conversations to less than 10 minutes I’ve discovered.
5. It’s good assertiveness training. For example, when people tell you to stop scratching at your hands, you can say (loudly, if you wish), “I will scratch at my hands if I want to scratch at my hands!” I have had to say this to Anthony, Ming and friends on several occasions.
6. You have learned a new word – pompholyx (which derives from the Greek for ‘bubble’ I think).
7. If someone you only vaguely know sees you at the post office and wants to give you one of those spontaneous hugs that you are not in the mood for, you can throw your hands up and say “Don’t touch me – I’m diseased – see!”
8. It’s also a good way of frightening small children who are behaving brattishly, although I haven’t tried this yet.
9. Doctors are extremely impressed with your extensive knowledge of a condition they have never heard of and they look at your hands and feet with the glee of a new discovery. This gives you the brief glow of what it must be like to be on the red carpet.
10. You discover that you have a tonne more of empathy for all who are suffering any kind of pain. This is the best advantage by far.
Ming did the washing, vacuumed the house, did the grocery shopping and saw Anthony this morning. This afternoon he has gone back to see Ants, go to a movie and then he is bringing pizza home. Wonderboy!
jmgoyder 