Dealing Skin Asthma and Derma-Worthy Tips I Paid for (but You Get for Free)

It is a known fact that, between my brother and I, I got the nastier sets of genes. Sure, my Grammar is better than his and I am confident to say that I am more creative in wielding the written words, but he got the Math genes from my father's side of the family, while I struggled with it all throughout high school. The only thing that makes us genetically equal, really, is that we both have our father's dark skin. The trait is so damn powerful that the natural fair skin of 1/2 of our bloodline has perished completely. So much for being half Chinese. 

Both my brother and I have dark skin, which is okay, but only I inherited the skin asthma. 

I do. When April came and the hellish heat made us suffer for two months, I suffered more than the ordinary person because, unfortunately for me, my skin asthma trigger is the heat. To make the long story short, I was about as inflamed as I can get. 

Example of irritated skin. Dryness and redness are apparent.
This condition is not communicable but is a recurring annoyance. Itchiness occurs especially  in folds of skin where sweat is usually deposited. 

I'm not really vain (I mean, just recently, I got told off my the boss for not wearing make-up at work so now I have to wear lipstick so I don't look like death), but the condition was getting preposterous and it does absolutely nothing for my withering self confidence. Sometimes, when I go temporarily gaga, I forget the fact that I'm smart and talented just because I can't wear a particular dress. Conditions like skin asthma can really mess with the head and bring insecurity.

Thus, when I finally had the money, I ran to the nearest dermatologist to find out how I can get rid of this condition, lest I go mad and consider something bloody and drastic, like skin transplant. The entire ordeal, including the stuff I had to get if I wanted salvation from discomfort and embarrassment, cost me a whopping PHP1,700. 

Let me save you 400 bucks by sharing what the good doctor told me. The tips are pretty general and are also applicable to those with or without the condition. Here they are.:

1. Moisturize. Moisturize. Moisturize.  Dry skin is usually the cause of itching and irritation. The best way to prevent this is to drink lots of water, pack up on lotion and cream, and avoid long luxurious warm showers. If you're like me, the last one is a bit of sacrifice, but there you have it - arm water actually dries the skin. 

So how do you apply lotion properly? After taking a shower, pat your skin dry. Pat. Do NOT drag the towel against your skin, as the friction may cause more irritation. When the skin is still damp, slather lotion all over your face. Show the torso and the back some love too. 

The face need some attention too, of course. Moisturizers for the face are best in cream form. 

2. Choosing the right product. Products that are best for sensitive, "I-will-revolt-upon-use-of-the-slightest-harsh-chemical" skin are expensive, but trust me, it's worth the money. When looking for moisturizers and soaps for delicate skin, stick to colorless products. Stuff with coloring also means it has a lot of preservatives which can irritate skin. Also, stay away from perfumed lotions and soaps. 

My arsenal against skin allergies: Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15, Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion, Cetaphil  Cleanser, Physiogel Lotion, and Oilatum Soap.

I love Cetaphil products, because they work really well. They don't come cheap though, but that's quality for you. The lotion is around 700 bucks up, but it really packs in the moisture. The skin cleanser is so gentle you can use it on babies. Physiogel lotion is around 700 bucks, and if you can believe it, that's now cheap. A few years ago, one bottle of that baby would cost you 900 pesos. The Oilatum bar soap is roughly PHP150 pesos. Other products you might want to look into are urea lotion (Nutraderm)a which is a bit cheaper than Physiogel, and Dove Extra Sensitive soap, which is only about PHP50. 

3. On the Issue of Skin Whitening. I love my beautiful Filipino coloring, but because of the onslaught of allergies, I now have some hyperpigmentation - dark spots. When I asked regarding treatments for whitening (just to have an even complexion - who wants to look like a dalmatian but dalmatians?) the doc said it's a no-no. Apparently, whitening treatments like bleaching and whitening products like kojic soap makes the skin dry and thus may exacerbate conditions such as mine. 

It's not as if people with sensitive skin can never get treatment for my dalmatian-skin, though. It'll just take a while. The first step is to rejuvenate the skin then gentler products can be used to lighten the dark areas. 

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The skin, as a part of the body, does not only serve aesthetic purposes but also physiologic ones, like protecting you from external conditions, pathogens, and injury.  Also, being able to feel comfortable in one's own skin (to not want a skin transplant, in other words), is a definite boost one's confidence.

And if you have skin asthma like me, I just have one piece of advice:

Don't forget the lotion. 

The Ugly Side of Advocacy

"Advocacy is like the Bates Motel - once you check, you don't check out. Unless you're dead."

That line was conceived yesterday with my fellow advocates Sir Alvin Dakis, Erick Bernardo, and Joey Dela Cruz while we walked along Ayala. We just came from a meeting with Dr. Pura Wee of the Asian Institute of Management - Dr. Stephen Zuellig Center Center for Asian Business Transformation. The adrenalin was pretty high and all four of us were very excited about the project we were going to venture on together. 

Advocacy is a passion I only discovered a few years ago, and until lately, I only did it during my free time. Now that I am working as a full-time advocate for reproductive and sexual health, I feel as if I've finally found my place in the world, my soul mate (yes, bite me, I'm in love with giving out condoms and convincing people there's nothing wrong with saying vagina). Here's the story of how that happened. Before going full-time, though, I was already a member of several NGOs: I'm founding member of the Alliance of Young Health Advocates and an officer of the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates. I am also the current president of Philippine Health Bloggers Society. And to think I just started out as a regular commentator in a Facebook page called RH Bill-I Support. 

Above: Oh-so-young me (3rd girl from the right) with the other more experienced and more relevant RH Bill advocates at Carlos Celdran's The Living Room. I remember being the earliest to arrive, bringing lots of Coke, texting Sir Alvin to come already, and some vague scene involving Lays and the simulation of birth. This was so long ago that the shirt Sir A was wearing is now in tatters and is a certified pambahay outfit.

Below: My first ever rally as an RH Advocate. Here I am going against the Ayala Alabang Condom Ordinance.

Being in the advocacy is really one of the most enriching experiences of my life. The learning experiences are exquisite and the fact that I am working for more than myself is a reward in itself. But like everything else, it's not all fun and games and sunshine and kisses. To be an advocate means to work your arse off and be rewarded by knowledge, experience, new friends and allies, and the ability to help more people. However, it also means you have to deal with several unpleasant situations.

Divide and conquer.

Image from divorce-rights.co.uk

It's a given: people advocating for the same cause are working toward a common goal, whatever that is. But different groups have different ideologies in terms of the how to go about fighting for their cause. Some groups may be conservative and others revolutionary. A difference in ideology can create conflicts between groups and people, if a compromise cannot be decided. 

"We are allies, but not friends," my mentor once said. And this is true. In fact, when I started in the advocacy, I was sure I was tight with this one person I considered to be a sibling. Eventually, though, I was dropped like a hot potato, not because that person suddenly had an epiphany that giving condoms is no longer in the list of "good stuff to do", but probably because we chose different paths on how to fight for what we believe in (and other such reasons I really don't want to explore). Common goal, different methods. We both had to take sides. In these things, you sometimes have no choice. Sometimes, you lose friends too. 

If no compromise is made, one faction may eventually try and undermine the other - a show of power, a coup d'etat of  some sort. This is especially true if factions are created within one organization. One faction - usually a dominant one, but not always- may cease power and run things the way they want it. Either the losing faction submits to the ruling administration, or the organization disintegrates into chaos and the losing faction cuts itself from the rest.

Internal conflict within organizations and inter-organizations is one of the ugly aspects of being an advocate. 

Profiting from the non-profit.

Advocacy is a word thrown around by several businesses that are in dire need of a cool marketing strategy. After all, what would be a better image than a selfless entity which dedicates profit to helping "better the lives of people," "improve the image if insert-name-of-profession-here", and "show the world the potential of insert-marginalized/potential-target-clients-here". I should know - I used to belong to the corporate scene and actually helped craft these kinds of advocacy campaigns that were just meant to bring in money. 

The reasons why people and organization slip into advocacy are sometimes questionable. If it's not the money, then it's power. Being an advocate means you can have access to people in position, other organizations, and government bodies that the ordinary Pinoy has to get in line for. 

Mental pains and mental problems.

Advocacy work has no concept of time. There are many instances that we had to do all-nighters just to be able to finish our deliverables, prepare for an event, or finish paperwork. If 11 mothers die everyday then you and your work might just be the only thing standing between the mothers and the possibility of more death. And for many people, such toxicity and demand are not only profit-less, it is thankless.

Each aspect of advocacy work - planning, implementation of programs, monitoring and evaluation, and sustaining - will demand as much juice from your brain cells as it can extract. If you're not willing to learn and work hard, then advocacy isn't for you. But that's a given already, actually.

The ugly part comes in when you already have a few well-executed projects under your belt and when you've met the bigwigs in your niche - legislators, UN officials, government officers, and other leaders. Mental problems revolve mostly on delusions of grandeur. Delusion of grandeur is defined as "delusional conviction of one's own importance, power, or knowledge or that one is, or has a special relationship with, a deity or a famous person."Many advocates become disillusioned by the influence they can assert toward these people and others and by the power that they can inevitably achieve, that they forget the main point of advocacy in the first place: not to put themselves above others, but to elevate the situation of the voiceless and the less fortunate.

The metaphorically (and sometimes figuratively) bloody struggle against the trolls, the non-believers, and the apathetic. 

They are all over the internet, they have penetrated partners you go to for funding, they are in government offices, in your own organizations, and, worse, they are in your circle of friends and loved ones. These people will doubt you, will bash your ideologies, will laugh at you, will ask you to do something better with your life than wasting it - and sometimes risking it - for the sake of nameless and faceless men, women, and child. The ugly thing about advocacy is that it sometimes alienate you from people who can't appreciate the work you do. 

There will also be oppositions to the work you do. In the RH advocacy, several of my colleagues are being called less-than-pleasant names - abortionist, spawn of Satan, promiscuous. My favorite so far is puta. It happens, and it's ugly because fighting for what you believe in means stepping on some toes, and pissing off a lot of people. The verbal biatch slap wars are not the end of it. Somethings things get physical. It's a sad, sad thing. We always hope that rational discussions would suffice and fist fights would be kept out of the advocacy arena, but not every advocate is a smart one. 

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The question, though, is whether or not you should choose to continue with being an advocate (or pursue it in the first place) now that you know there is an ugly side to it. Like I said: not all fun and games and sunshine and kisses. There will always be greed, selfishness, narcissism, and the constant struggle for power. 

My answer is this: yes. The pros of being an advocate will always outweigh its ugly side. The opportunity to speak out about your beliefs, to work toward what you believe to be good, and to serve the people are in the forefront of priorities. Also, if we are to examine closely, the ugly face of advocacy are the challenges that are worth conquering. 

I say bring it. 

Tunay nga bang Malaya ang mga Pilipino

Sa mga marketing strategies nang gobyeryo at ilang lathalain, isang Mukha nang Kalayaan ang Pilipinas. Ngunit tunay nga ba tayong malaya? (Ang litrato ay mula sa Inquirer.net)

Ika-12 ng Hunyo ngayon - ang ating Araw ng Kalayaan. Base ang petsang ito sa pagkalas ng mga Pilipino sa mapang-alipin na banyagang gumapos sa atin ng napakatagal na panahon. Ang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas ay babad sa pagka-alipin – mula sa mga Espanyol na nagtago nagtago sa misyong ipakalat ang Kristiyanismo hanggang sa mg Hapones na na kumaladkad sa atin sa Pangalawang Pangdigmaang Pandaigdig dahil kolonya tayo ng kanilang kalaban na Estados Unidos. 

Sabi nang marami, nang matapos daw ang rehimeng Marcos at maibagsak ang Martial Law ni Cory Aquino at ng kanyang Hukbong Dilaw, naputol narin raw ang mahaba at madugong kasaysayan ng pagka-alipin ng mga Pilipino. Demokatikong bayan rw ang Pilipinas. Tayo ang nagpapatakbo nan gating gibyerno, at pinahahalagahan aw nan gating mga pinuno at nan gating lipunan an gating Kalayaan nang Pananalita at Ekspresyon. 

Ngunit ano nga ba ang pagka-alipin? Ang gapos ba ng isang alipin ay pisikal at nakikita? At ano nga ba ang kalayaan?

Tunay nga ba tayong malaya?

Kung tunay na malaya ang Pilipino, bakit libo-libong Pilipino ang umaalis ng Pilipinas upang magtrabaho sa ibang bansa at magsilbi sa mga dayuhan? Bakit maram sa mga pinaka-magagaling na Pilipino ang nagsisilbi sa ibang bayan at doon bumubuo ng kanilang mga pamilya?

Kung tunay na Malaya ang Pilipino, bakit natatakot tayong umuwi nang dis-oras ng gabi? Bakit tuwing naglalakad tayo sa kalye ng ating mga siyudad, hindi nawawala ang kaba nating maaari tayong maagawan ng pag-mamayari, ng puri, o ng buhay?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit nakagapos parin sa Korter Suprema ang batas na magliligta sa labing-isang nanay na namamatay araw-araw dahil sa komplikasyon nang pagbubuntis?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit iniiputan natin ang sarili nating batas? Bakit talamak padin ang daynastiyang pampulitikal sa bansa? Bakit hindi man lang natin masunod an gating konstitusyon at tuluyang ipaghiwalay ang estado at ang simbahan?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit kalunos-lunos ang estado ng edukasyon sa bansa?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit may ipinasang batas na igagapos ang Kalayaan sa Pagsasalita at Ekspresyon sa internet?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit ibinabase natin an gating mga desisyon sa mga walang-basehang pamahiin at hindi tinitimbang ang tunay na nagaganap sa lipunan?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit naiisang-tabi natin ang mga akda at sining na gawang Pilipino, at ang mga tao sa likod nang mga ito, kahit pa sila’y nabigyang parangal na sa ibang bayan? Bakit pinipily nang karamihan na tangkilikin ang sining-dayuhan kaysa sa sining Pilipino?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit madumi at mabaho an gating mga siyudad? Bakit puno ng tagpi-tagping bahay, nang mga lasengero sa kanto na walang hanapbuhay at ayaw maghanap ng hanapbuhay? Bakit may mga batang palaboy at pinababayaan ng magulang o walang mga magulang at pinababayaan ng lipunan? Bakit may mga lalaki, babae, at batang nagpu-puta at pinapag-puta? 

Kung tunay tayong malaya, kung tunay na labas na sa impluwensya nang dayuhan ang Pilipinas, bakit may mga polisiya tayo na nakakagaan at pabor sa ibang bayan at hindi sa ating mamamayan? Bakit hindi tayo maipagtanggol nan gating gobyerno mula sa mga taga-labas na iniihian ang integridad at halaga nang ating bayan? Bakit pumapayag tayong duru-duruin ng mga nakapaligid sa atin? Bakit kailangan nating ipag-puta ang ating bansa, ibuka ang hita nito, at pabayaang gahasain ng banyaga?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit nagagalit tayo sa mga banyagang nagbibigay nang tunay at makatotohanang na kritisismo sa mga hindi kanais-nais na aspeto nan gating kultura, gobyerno, at lipunan? Bakit kahit galit tayo ay wala tayong ginagawa para baguhin ang mga ito?

Kung tunay tayong malaya, bakit, habang binabasa mo ang ma tanung na ito at nag-iisip nang mga sagot, nang mga dahilan,  ay in-aalis at ini-lalayo mo ang sarili mo sa ekweysyon nang pagbabago?

Ngayon, sagutin mo ako: Tunay nga bang malaya ang mga Pilipino?

Leap of Faith: Going Full-time for Safe and Satisfying Sex

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I have finally pursued my calling. I have shed my teacher-y facade and gone into a world where vaginas, condoms, and penises dominate. I am now a full time sex worker... and I work with kids! Yum.

Don't worry, I haven't gone into pedophile prostitution, but I have to admit the situation now is quite orgasmic. Last week, I submitted my application to the Foundation for Adolescent Development. I applied for the position of Program Manager (yes, makapal ang mukha ko) hoping against hope that I'll be called in for an interview despite the overwhelming number of people who I believe are more qualified for the job. Imagine my utter bewilderment when I was called in for an interview a few days letter. Imagine, again, how stupefied I was upon learning that I got the position.

So here I am, finally, after months of saying it but never quite meaning it: I am officially a full time advocate of sexual and reproductive health and right. What's more, I work for and with the young ones - adolescents to be exact -, which is an absolute privilege. I am also quite lucky to be working with one of the most prominent names in reproductive and sexual health and rights advocacy, my boss Alvin Dakis, and my oh-so-awesome partner Erick Bernardo. My baptism of fire started on the last week of May and my first official brush with the wonderful world of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights came last Tuesday. 

I represented the Foundation for Adolescent Development in a forum called Defining the Best Interest of the Child and the RH Law which was held at the Quezon City Hall last Tuesday. It was organized by the NAPC Youth and Children Sectoral Council, WomanHealth Philippines, Save the Children, Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights and the Office of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. I was privileged enough to be able to sit down with some  the members of the Active Youth Participation (AYP) members and talked about the Reproductive Health Law. Several interesting points came up. 

One of the issue that discussed heatedly was the limitations of reproductive and sexual health services offered by the government to minors. The RH Law specifies that minors cannot receive RH services from  health centers, unless they are given explicit consent by their parents and guardian. The kids thought this would hinder rather than better the access of the young people to better reproductive health. They can always go to a clinic, but really, which kid has that much money these days?

The kids believe that the written consent requirement is difficult to achieve because a significant percentage of parents do not want their children to know or to talk about sex even if it is with a professional health worker. Understandable. After all, if you're 15 and you come up to a parent and say, "Hey mom/dad, can you like write me a consent letter? Coz I really wanna know how a condom works", you'd probably get a slap on the face plus at least three hours of lecture on the immorality of sex for your troubles. 

It's sad that a majority of the Filipino people still don't want to admit that if kids can't get straight answers from their parents (and proper authorities) then the next big step is looking through the Internet and pornography, which are great for techniques and positions, but not quality instructional material for safe sex. And their boyfriends and girlfriends aren't exactly resource speakers on the matter.

I don't know much about private high schools (as I'm a legit government-educated kid during my HS days), but in public highs you'd be lucky if your teacher in Health is not very squeamish, hypocritical, and the overly-conservative. You might actually get some decent sex ed, even if it's just a minuscule part of the class. One of the girls I got to speak with, Ma-Rose, related a story of one such lesson. Her Health teacher had allowed them to speak and ask about sex, and despite laughing about the topic, she said the class actually learned about it. When their adviser found out about the oh-so-energetic lesson, the class got a metaphorical whip on the butt for being more active when it comes to sex ed than Math class. 

Algebra is important, I know, but I'm pretty sure that learning to prevent unwanted pregnancy, keeping oneself safe from HIV/AIDS and other STIs, and simply learning about the changes our bodies undergo during puberty and no less important. The teacher got pissed because the students liked and enjoyed talking about sex. This is as hypocritical as Sotto saying that the Filipino culture is conservative when half-naked women gyrate to novelty songs in that overly-reincarnated noontime show that really needs to die already. But I digress. The point: many parents don't want their kids to learn about sex, even from legit sources like teachers and health care professionals, probably because of some irrational ideology that is akin to Sotto's myopic perceptions of the Filipino culture. 

This is why upon asking for suggestions, the group recommended that parents also be educated in the realities of reproductive and sexual health and rights. 

And that is, of course, another issue - education. The earlier sharing of one of the AYP members brings to light how sex ed was touched in Health class before the mandate on sex ed. Ma-Rose said that sometimes, they would be tested on things that were not even discussed inside the classroom. She felt that the teachers failed to give ample information on the topic. Thank goodness for the RH Law - at least sex ed won't just be about the novelty of saying puke and titi. Also, the young people added that although it is fun to laugh at sex talk, it is also not that helpful because of too much joking around. Content AND delivery matters.

Which brings us back to HOW the Filipino people talk about sex. I can rant about this all day that I'd start to sound like another Philippine Health Bloggers Society member Raimskie. We have lived for so long in a society that either cringes upon hearing about what's between a human person's legs and as a result we shut up about everything related to it. Which is utterly codswallop given that we sexualize almost everything - from kids' toys like Bratz to TV ads for liquor and roof leak seals. 

The young ones have spoken: They WANT to know what's going on with their body. They BELIEVE the importance of knowing about sexual health and rights. They NEED comprehensive adolescent reproductive and sexual health services.

Now what? 

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On a side note, I'd like to invite everyone to be a member of the Foundation for Adolescent Development's Junior Board program. Train under the best board of trustees of FAD, get the latest know-how on adolescent reproductive and sexual health, have opportunities for scholarships to conferences here and abroad, and advocate for your peers.

The Foundation for Adolescent Development (FAD) is a not-for-profit, non-government organization established in 1988 catering to a very specific clientele: Filipino adolescents and young adults aged 13-24 years old who may be in school, in the community, in the workplace, including difficult situations such as the street.

Be the present of today's reproductive and sexual health and rights advocacy! Join the Foundation for Adolescent Development's Junior Board. See details below. Good luck, leaders and advocates!