SMELLING LIKE SALAD

Now the next subject is not something many of you will be familiar with.


ITCHING... CALVES!


Nope, nothing having to do with farmyards, OR cattle-tipping, alas.
Rather, something that some of you can look forward to when you are twenty years older than you are now.
Dry, itchy skin on your calves.


First, you must understand that good bath soap will inevitably dry out the skin - more on some parts of the body than others.

The skin is a sensitive organ, which often serves as your body's first line of defense. It produces oils, and is naturally slightly moist. Under normal circumstances you will not realize this or be aware of it - you probably don't think much about your skin, do you?

It never stopped thinking of you.


As you get older, the skin becomes less resilient, less responsive. And drier.

And at this point soap might become an issue.


You see, in colder weather, the circulation near the surface of the body kinda clamps down - exposure helps cool the body, and at this time of year you don't really want that to happen.
Your skin understands that. It realizes that you need to maintain body temperature, and it is still responsive. It loves you.

When circulation near the outer surface of the body lessens, the skin slows the production of its natural oils, and also that slight moistness, which you are unaware of.

The soap, in consequence, leaches out more than will be replaced over the next day.

And by the end of a cold week, the skin is almighty pissed (please remember that I mentioned it was 'responsive').


It has responded.



The skin of the calves has become a tormentation, which kept me up till nearly three o'clock last night.



ITCH, ITCH, ITCH, ITCH, ITCH, ITCH, ITCH!


Holy crap.


I'm not even gonna mention the hives which I occassionally also get (something growing out behind the building, my skin is allergic to - it angrifies the derma, and red welts arise).
I'm not going to say anything about the nasty huge raised red blotches, nor about having to take off my watch because the hives underneath are cutting off circulation and giving my left hand oedema. Or even about the hard pebbly surfaces that my wandering claws encounter when I scratch. Because all of this has faded into insignificance when compared to my burning calves.


This morning, before bathing, I anointed my calves with olive oil - marvelously soothing.


I highly recommend olive oil. It is also good for other minor surface ailments, and can used for cleaning out the ear, if gently applied with a cotton-tipped stick applicator or swab (cue-tip).

I smell like a salad.