The piano player and the cold sores

Good morning, Mrs. Maria Luísa!

Silk scarf with violet and pink dots tied in a knot close to the neck. She wears her silver hair stuck behind the ears, and her fringe falls over the eyebrows drawn in silver. She always wears rice powder, and she collects little old boxes.

On her jacket lapel she wears a beautiful mother-of-pearl brooch

“I love this brooch, it belonged to my mother, it was one of the few memories she managed to bring to Lisbon.”.

Mrs. Maria Luisa was born in Germany, but her parents escaped to Portugal during WW2. As she was a baby, her childhood memories belong to our country.

She attended the German school and like a girl of that time, she learnt everything about handy work, and it was her passion for music and the piano that saved her from “sewing and cross stitching.’

For three decades, she was a piano teacher in a boarding school for girls, until she retired and dedicated herself exclusively to crochet and private piano lessons.

When she comes to the pharmacy, she always tells funny episodes of life in the boarding school, they remind me of my childhood books, Mallory Tower e The twins at St. Clare’s.

– How can I help you, Mrs. Maria Luísa?

– I have swollen hands, very itchy, and they hurt when I play the piano.

She takes off the crochet gloves and shows me her pianist hands.

Apart from being swollen, they are also red, and when I gently press them, the skin forms white spots.

“These are cold sores, Mrs. Maria Luísa, it’s a skin inflammation due to cold and temperature variation”.

What are the cold sores symptoms?

• Itching and burning sensation,
• Pain and swelling,
• Color alteration – it can go from red to dark blue,
• Open sores, in the worse cases.

The body areas most affected are the most exposed to cold, hands, feet, nose and ears.

Action to relief discomfort and help skin regeneration

• Keep dry and warm the areas affected by cold sores,

• Do not scratch or rub,

• Avoid cold, and touching aggressive products, such as detergents.

Apply a specific cream for cold sores, because this will help regenerating the skin, moisturize, relieve inflammation and minimizes the discomfort. It also strengthens skin resistance to cold.

But the secret is… to protect

Protect from cold, have always handy: gloves, woolen socks, warm and comfortable footwear, woolen hats, and a scarf to protect the face.

When you enter a warm space, take off your warm clothes and allow the skin to adapt to room temperature.

Do not expose yourself to sources of intense heat, such as radiators, fires and hot water, because they will worsen the symptoms.

*The music sheets and the rice powder box were gently provided by the leading lady 😉