My wife's skin has always been irritable.

She's had bouts of eczema since she was a young girl and there's an endless amount

of things that seems to set it off.

She explained her struggles to me early on in our relationships, why understood why she

took pills in the morning and was constantly slavering on medicated cream.

I barely even noticed when spots popped up unless she pointed it out to me.

Just dry red patches, at most the size of a dime.

She'd seen a few scattered highs and lows, sometimes when she's self-conscious because

she's scratched a spot a little too much, but nothing even remotely comes close to what's

been happening for the past few weeks.

See it started small.

She always gets worse at night.

She told me that it's difficult for her to stop in the evenings.

When she left her own devices in the dark and she can't see the damage she's doing to herself.

I'd hear her scratching the bed and she'd get up that she normally would attract to the bathroom

and put some cream on whatever spots were bothering her.

She got up for a second time that first night and I started paying more attention.

I heard her pacing back and forth in the bathroom for a while before she returned.

Feel right?

I'd say quietly, she made her way back to the bed.

Yeah, she muttered, clearly irritated.

My arms are bothering me.

...