DAY 31 (DAY 10) - Thursday 18th September

DAY 30 (DAY 9) - Wednesday 17th September

DAY 29 (DAY 8) - Tuesday 16th September

DAY 28 (DAY 7) - Monday 15th September

DAY 27 (DAY 6) - Saturday 14th September

DAY 26 (DAY 5) - Saturday 13th September

DAY 25 (DAY 4) - Friday 12th September

DAY 24 (DAY 3) - Thursday 11th September

Last night was a bad one. I woke up a few times with a burning sensation on my cheeks that was almost unbearable. The pain was really throbbing. It was worst under my eyes and I think my skin is starting a second stage of breakdown, which will then lead to peeling. I applied Aquaphor and went back to bed, eventually dropping off to sleep each time. The second time this happened I washed my cheeks, which gave some relief and then I applied Aquaphor and went back to bed.

I'm pretty tired this morning and my cheeks are tingling. It's only 5:45am. I'm up early and take a few pics (front and each side) before showering and a couple after showering and applying Aquaphor. Showering is a nice relief. I have learnt two important things over the past 2 days; firstly that the pain doesn't subside as soon as the treatment stops (it's not worse but as bad) and secondly it's much better to apply Aquaphor before the skin dries out after washing. My face has that dry appearance again as if it wants to peel and already there are bits of skin peeling off. It doesn't look so nice and clean as it has the past few days. I'm in work today and I plan to have an early start and finish around lunch-time.

DAY 23 (DAY 2) - Wednesday 10th September

Last night was a bad one. I woke up a few rims with a burning sensation on my cheeks that was almost unbearable. It's worst under my eyes and I think my skin is starting a second stage of breakdown, which will then lead to peeling. I applied Aquaphor and went back to bed, eventually dropping off to sleep each time.

I have to go to the office today, so get up early. I can see a few patches under my eyes and my temple where the skin is creamy having absorbed the Aquaphor. This is also the case on my nose. After showering I apply Aquaphor and go to work. Work is fine, but I get a few enquiring looks from the people at the other end of the office. My colleagues all know what's going on. Nobody mentions my face but they ask him I'm doing. I last out until about 12:30 and decide to go home. My fave is starting to tingle and get uncomfortably itchy.

I go into the city centre to visit the Apple shop, in order to get a replacement phone for my daughter who dropped her's down the toilet. I get a lot of looks, they seem sympathetic and guilty at the same time and I can feel the awkwardness. Maybe it's my imagination, but the sympathy I see in people's eyes brings me down. It's like I can feel their pain imagining my pain. One little girl was saying something to her mother when I was in Boots looking at cream. Her mother quietly told her to shush. I didn't say anything as she may not have been saying anything about me. For the first time I feel uncomfortable in public and I start to realise how people must feel if they have some physical difference that other people can see as they go about their lives. It's something that most people never get to really understand.



I tried applying E45 soothing lotion this afternoon. I use this on my forehead most days to help with dryness. The applications only seemed to last a little while. When I got home from town, I tried applying a thicker layer on my right cheek below my right eye. The immediate pain was excruciating and I couldn't wipe it off quick enough. I will stick with Aquaphor and make an appointment with my doctor tomorrow. In the evening I washed and immediately applied Aquaphor.

DAY 22 (DAY 1 AFTER TREATMENT) - Tuesday 9th September

There is quite a burn this morning to my cheeks and below my eyes. After showering there are still small areas of skin that have collected water and appear white and creamy. This is mostly confined to my nose. I guess these are dead skin patches which will come off soon. I have not applied Aquaphor as I want to see how I will be without it. My nose and under my eyes are tingling like mad. It feels like a little spider is running across my cheeks. I can help touching my face to relieve the itch. It's almost unbearable at times. Not painful, but torture nonetheless. I'm working again today from home so that will help. My cheeks are a little bit tight, but it's minor. I have a few little bits of skin flaking off near my nose. Touching my whiskers still feels like pin-pricks, but it's for less painful. Generally my face feels ok really, so I'm planning on leaving it now to recover, applying E45 to keep my face moisturised as necessary. I'll maintain daily posting at least one a day for the forseeable future.

DAY 21 - Monday 8th September

I woke up once in the night and applied Aquaphor for relief. The itching is horrible. I wake up in the morning feeling tired, but that's not surprising. I'm going to be working from home today and that will keep my mind of it. After showing I apply Efudix to my temple and I leave my skin to drip dry and consider leaving off the Aquaphor to see if I get less itchiness/tingling. After a few minutes my skin feels very tight so I apply Aquaphor and this gives some relief but the tingling under my eyes returns, accompanied by a burning feeling across my cheeks. My nose is also tingling.



I think I must have gone to the loo to check my face 20 times today. It's so uncomfortable that I've had to wash it with warm water three times to get some relief. I'm not sure whether the Aquaphor is contributing to the discomfort or not, but I keep applying it to keep my skin moist and protected. I wash in the evening about 8pm and apply Efudix to my temple. This will be my last treatment with Efudix. I notice some crusting of the skin before doing so and can't really tell if the sore is completely gone. I've applied Aquaphor to the rest of my face. I think the redness has subsided a bit, but I cannot be sure. Tomorrow is the first day of my recovery :-).

DAY 20 - Sunday 7th September

Last night was my worst night so far. I woke up shortly after 1am with a very uncomfortable tingling/burning on my cheeks and nose. Applying Aquaphor gave some relief, but I was not able to get back to sleep straight away. After dropping off eventually I awoke again at 4am, again with an intense itchiness. Perhaps it's worse after stopping applying the cream and I hope it's short term. Today is running out on the moors with friends, so I just go without doing anything to my face. I only run for an hour as it's a sunny day and a cap won't keep off the low sun. After running I watch the river running by at Two Bridges and realise that the last day of treatment is tomorrow.

After getting home I shower and help some more loose dead skin off my face. It has nearly all gone now. I apply Efudix to my temple only (where the original sore was). To the rest of my face I apply Aquaphor. It doesn't feel too bad today. I'm sure the endorphines from running will be helping. However my stomach feels a little bit iffy and when I go to the loo I have the squirts (sorry too much information probably).



My skin is looking ok this evening. I can see that my temple, where I applied the cream this morning, is looking weepy and seems to be scabbing over a little. It's hard to tell whether this is just the weepiness crusting over. I carefully wash and apply Efudix to my temple. I apply Aquaphor to the rest of my face staright away as it feels like it is drying out and tightening up. I have little pinpricks of pain under my eyes and my nose feels tingly, especially at the sides. The Aquaphor reveals where there is still skin that has yet to come off, this being mainly on my nose, with a little under my eyes. I guess that explains the tingling as it's all part of the regeneration process. One thing that I have noticed is that my whiskers in the treated area are extremely uncomfortable when touched. I guess that's easy to solve - I just need to avoid touching them. You'd be surprised how difficult that is.

DAY 19 - Saturday 5th September

Before showering



After showering



I feel a little tired this morning. I think the on-going pain and discomfort is starting to get to me. I've got a bit of a headache, but fortunately it's not too bad. I have a lot of dirty looking skin peeling away. Rather than pick it off with my fingers, I roll up some tissue and see if I can push it off. As my skin is so moist from the Aquaphor it move around and comes off onto the tissue. The skin underneath is quite pink and fresh looking. On my nose the pores seem to be erupting a little bit and there is a little bit of pus on some. They bleed when I prod them with a tissue so I'm going to leave them alone. I'm at the point now where I think the Efudix has done its job, so I apply it only to my nose and the original sore. The skin is tightening up as it dries. I didn't pat my face dry, preferring to let it drip dry. After a little while I feel guilty and apply Efudix on my tender new skin. It's not painful and eases the tightness. Again I apply Aquaphor after a couple of hours. I try to keep busy today and end up with a full day, fiddling with my old cars. At times my skin feels fine, at other times it's really itchy.



Quite a bit of the old skin has come away now, assisted by bits of rolled up tissue. After washing I apply Efudix to my nose and where the original sore was, applying Aquaphor before going to bed. My skin is becoming more and more uncomfortable now, with itchiness taking over from the burning. At least the new skin looks good, albeit very red.

DAY 18 - Friday 5th September

This morning there is a lot of skin peeling away, mainly from my cheeks. The areas on the edge of my nose are also showing clear signs of peeling off. There are little red spots below my eyes, but no bleeding as such. These areas seem to be quite thick. I can't be sure whether showing was a relief today or not as it was quite painful having the water hitting my tender new skin. After showering I can see peeling skin moving around and wanting to come away, so I help it out a little. I've peeled away some of the loose old skin around my nose with tweezers, but I think this is a very bad idea as the skin below looks extremely tender. There is no bleeding though. I don't think I'll do that again. I've applied Efudix as normal, but it was quite hard to steel myself to do so. Only a few days left now. After a couple of hours I've applied Aquaphor, mainly to relieve the uncomfortable tingling and burning feeling. I've been out of the house during the day, as I didn't feel like working.



Three pictures before showering, showing my shiny face due to the Aquaphor and three pictures after. I've applied a thin layer of Efudix across my face, with, as usual, a thicker coating over the original sore. Before going to bed I apply Aquaphor.

My sleep is disturbed and I wake up with burning cheeks. Applying Aquaphor gives some relief and I'm able to get back to sleep. It's almost as if the burning has caused the Aquaphor to evaporate, but it's probably just soaked in and is doing it's job.

DAY 17 - Thursday 4th September

This morning I have noticed a change. The extreme tightness I have felt over recent days has subsided. The pain is mild. The area under my eyes has almost turned to a liquid. It is like the consistency of runny fudge, a little off white in colour. I think the Aquaphor has provided a moisturising effect, but has also encouraged the skin to break down and I think it's probably going to was off when I shower.



The creamy looking deposits around my nose have spread more widely and I guess this is broken down dead or dying skin cells. It doesn't look infected at all and there's no puss. My face is beginning to break down though and looks quite poorly. The amazing, detailed posts that people have created over the years have prepared me for this. Thank you everyone. I place the edge of a sheet of toilet roll over my cheek, below my eye and it sticks immediately. When I peel it off the sticky creamy 'stuff' under my eyes comes away with it leaving very tender looking skin underneath. I repeat this on the other cheek and again a little comes off. I'm not sure this is wise so I'll leave it alone. I leave my face to drip dry and I notice red spots of blood under my eyes. After a few minutes the pain returns with a vengeance, with a clear burning, tingling feeling. I quickly apply Aquaphor which has the same soothing effect as last night. I think that the Aquaphor serves as a very effective barrier, under which the new skin is protected from the air and has a nice moist environment to regenerate and strengthen. I apply Aquaphor later that day to the same area.



Today a little circle of skin has dropped off the original sore. I hope that's the last I see of it and wash it down the sink. This area has had the greatest application of cream, yet it hasn't been particularly sore. It has been itchy at times. In fact the itchiness of my skin has at times been really bad, especially my nose. There are a few areas of dead skin that look almost like dried fudge, only thinner. the area looks like little icebergs, with cracks in between that could be the sea. They are pretty soft and I can't help peeling a few away from the area either side of my nose, near my nostrils. No harm done, underneath the skin is very fresh and clean, but I manage to leave it alone. I've been to work today for a couple of hours. My colleagues are very sympathetic and I'm lucky to have such an understanding boss. Towards the evening I'm feeling a lot of itchiness.



I have a wash and this seems to remove the Aquaphor which is good as I've decided to apply Efudix to the whole area. What a difference a day makes. My thinking is that I don't want to have areas that are nearly treated but not quite. I really want to treat the whole area for the 21 days, if I can. Using Aquaphor may diminish the effect of the Efudix, but I figure that it's better to use Efudix with Aquaphor on particularly sensitive areas, rather than stop using Efudix on those areas. At the moment I've only applied Aquaphor on the area underneath and to the edge of my eyes. Anyway, after washing I notice that creaminess is now all over my face, still mostly around my nose and in washing there is some on my beard. I now know that this is dead skin and the top layer of my face is beginning to come off. I drip dry my face and as it dries I notice bits of dirty looking skin almost coming away and falling off my face under my eyes. I've peeling a few bits off and they come off easily, leaving fresh looking skin underneath. I feel now that if I jump up and down, the remains of my whole 'old' face will slide off. I won't because it hurts if I jump.

Feeling brave I've applied a thin layer of Efudix to the whole area, with a little extra where the original sore was. I little unexpectedly, there is a little pain and tightness, but it is very bearable, especially compared to last night and I know that Aquaphor will come to my rescue if I need it. To be honest I feel quite good now about the process and I'm optimistic about the results.