The 90% rule

It is easy to treat 90% of 100 AD symptoms, and only leaving 10. Realistically, however, decreasing that to 1, 3, or even 5 is extremely difficult. If you take steroids, you may reach to 0 symptoms, but this is against the initial goal to undergo treatment with as little side effects as possible.

Let’s say, for example, there was class of 100 med students, and the student with the lowest grade, alarmed by his or her disappointing results, started to study harder. If this student was serious, this person could raise his or her grade to the average. Furthermore, if he or she was even more diligent, he or she could be in the top 30 to 20% of the class. However, to be in the top 10 or 7% takes extreme effort. If this student were trying to be in the top 5%, he or she would need natural talent in medicine. Finally, there are the geniuses in the top 2% of a class. Unfortunately, even if an average student studied his or her heart out, it would be impossible to get a better grade than these people.

You could say the same for AD treatment. You can undoubtedly treat 90% of all symptoms with the methods mentioned above. However, it takes effort to cure the other 10%. For example, normally you would not eat the meat in a meat and potato dish, but if you were thorough, you would not eat the potatoes or konjac which have sucked the meat juice. This strict conditioning will cause stress, and the symptoms that were 90% cured will reappear so that you’re only 80 or 70% cured. Another paradoxical effect is the stress you gain from trying too hard not to feel stressed. It is impossible to not feel stressed in this real life. You must accept that you will feel stressed to a certain extent. As a result, you should feel contentment with being able to cure 90% of your symptoms. Just go with the 90% rule. This way, you won’t feel any extra stress, which can bring good results for treating AD.

It’s okay if your legs are a bit dry, as seen in many AD patients. Male patients, in particular, aren’t even going to be wooing women with their “attractive” legs, and unless you have a special job (a fashion model, for example), why bother? Treating your body that you’ve endowed to its best condition is an important thing for people, and although it can almost be counted as an obligation, don’t take it too far; just take it easy. If you are in a relationship that can quickly dissolve if you show some traces of AD, just let it go. Just think of AD as a barometer of your partner’s love. If your girlfriend or boyfriend avoids you just because you have some rashes on your forearm, they aren’t right for you. In every approximately 60 to 70 patients (some researchers say that it is around 10 to 20% of all patients, but I haven’t seen that many in real life) there is a patient who has ichthyosis vulgaris in conjunction with AD. It usually entails dryness of exterior surfaces of the limbs or torso, which makes the skin look like fish “scales”. They are either caused by mutation or inheritance, which happens in families that have intermarried and is usually more severe. However, AD patients usually have light symptoms, and their skin is not “scale-like” but simply “dry”, even though it may look worse than other parts. However, this is merely slightly unsightly and does not cause any pain or itchiness, thus if anyone else can’t see it, it doesn’t inflict any harm.

Although I don’t have AD myself, I actually have light ichthyosiform eruptions on my legs. Although I know what I can treat it with MA(0) and salicylic acid vaseline, I can’t bother to put on the ointment everyday and just leave it alone. It’s not like I wear skirts and I don’t feel any pain or itchiness, and thus I just don’t care about it. However, some of my patients panic over skin conditions even lighter than mine, and come in my clinic asking what they should do. There are even some men who don’t need to be worried about their legs that come for this. These AD patients are as conscious of their skin as a person who once had a heart attack of his or her pulse.

This mental inclination is clearly bad. They must be more easygoing; everybody has a couple of imperfections. Although people, and teenagers in particular, should be realizing this, they are too caught up with their “AD condition” and are fretting over their skin. This is not good when you are trying to treat AD symptoms, and can even make conditions worse. Just keep in mind that AD will never kill you and that you should be content with treating 90% of your symptoms and forget the rest. In other words, follow the 90% rule for your mental state as well. That being said, from a patient’s point of view, switching your way of thinking is not as easy as it sounds.

In addition, forget your thoughts of starting your job, going to school, or falling in love after you treat AD. Think of it as paying your loans; if you say you’re going to pay it off once you get enough money, you will never be debt-free. Similarly, if you are planning to start your life after you treat AD, you will never do anything. You need to learn how to live with AD so you won’t throw your life away. Young patients, in particular, should be fearless and continue on with their life. I don’t want to come across as preachy, but this applies to any disease. It all depends on how you live with your disease; if you move along without being too concerned, your disease will eventually go away.

Also, abandon the thought that your life will change once your AD gets cured. I’ve seen a patient, who struggled with AD from her childhood, who finally got rid of AD through my treatment. She said, “I though I was going to be significantly happier once my AD got treated. However, now that I’m almost cured of AD, I’ve noticed that my life hasn’t changed at all”. She realized how her sickness and her happiness were two separate things. At the risk of sounding preachy, these are words of wisdom. This person actually lived with AD for decades and her words carry a lot of weight.