Diary of an Eczema Sufferer
Since I was a baby, I was diagnosed with eczema and it was extreme. My mum suffered alongside me as a parent, always feeling helpless for the baby she felt she couldn't help. There were many nights she would stay awake in order to watch me whilst I slept to make sure I didn’t scratch myself, leading to raw wounds. This meant she would often fan me (to cool down my skin) and apply cream whenever it needed reapplying to prevent scarring.
Mum would take me to the doctors and try every possible safe treatment available, with none seeming to provide a solution. One day, she took me to a Chinese herbal doctor, who prescribed herbal tea for me to drink at home. It was very bitter and I hated drinking it, but my mum would always be stern making sure I drank my daily dose. Although I initially resented it, after a few months, there was definitely an improvement with my eczema and inflammation of skin. The Chinese have a belief that whatever is going on inside your body, very much has an impact on the outside of your body; something I still believe in today.
Though the herbal tea helped, it didn’t entirely alleviate the problem and I therefore had to use it in conjunction with a prescribed steroid cream for times when my skin was particularly bad and needed a quick relief. After using the cream for years, it caused pigmentation on areas of my hand where I had frequently applied it; my skin had lightened due to the strong medication. I used this cream, alongside E45 when my eczema wasn’t as aggressive.
Growing up, I was told that eczema could clear up as a teenager or adult and I clung onto this hope. For a few lucky souls, this was true but atopic eczema is normally a lifelong condition and at the (not so tender) age of 32, I am still an eczema sufferer. When I was at school, suffering from eczema really knocked my confidence. As you know, children at school are neither subtle or nice when it comes to matters of these kind. In middle school, I remember some kids pointing to my skin and asking “ugh, what is that?!”.
Not many people realise, that eczema is an extremely difficult condition to live with. Though it doesn’t necessarily psychically debilitate you, it is a lifelong condition that is extremely damaging, not only physically because of how your skin looks and feels but more importantly, psychologically. Many people with skincare issues, suffer from really low self-esteem and this can affect you day to day, as well as any relationships you may enter into.
One misconception is that eczema is contagious but it is certainly not. With some eczema sufferers, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to know they have this condition as it is hidden behind clothes. With others, it is visible on their face and in the worst case scenarios, it is red, textured and can look raw.
When I was a child, I used to pray that I would wake up without eczema. I would wake up in the morning and before opening my eyes, I would say a little mantra to myself that my eczema was gone, but when I finally opened my eyes…I’d feel completely deflated to find that it was still there.
Though I’m now an adult, that psychological trauma has carried into my adulthood and developed into peculiar habits. For example when I am walking in the street, I often feel paranoid that people are looking at my hand and years of feeling like this, has led to a habit of me always scrunching up my right hand or keeping it in my pocket, so that it’s less visible. I know this sounds ridiculous and people probably couldn’t care less but my brain has been programmed in such a way.
Since my left hand is less scarred from eczema, I often hold my phone with my left hand covering my right, especially if I am on public transportation (like the tube) when you often have to sit across strangers. Again, I know no-one would really be interested or stare at my hands but it is psychological. What you eat (diet), the humidity or extreme weathers (like cold and hot climates) and stress can heavily impact on your skin. I guess this could be true of anyone’s skin but particularly with eczema sufferers.
To be honest, I really look after my skin but it has been the history of issues that has led to me to try lots of different brands and buy endless skincare products, spending a lot of money. I have tried everything from luxury, to drugstore brands and therefore have a fairly good idea of which creams work on particularly dry and eczema prone skins. It therefore hugely pisses me off when some brands claim and aim their products at people in this category, when in fact it’s just one big con.
The main difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin is that dehydrated skin mainly lacks water and feels dry, but the skin might not necessarily be texturised or flaky. Dry skin is also lacking in water but also oils. This skin is likely to be prone to texturised skin and will be flaky if the wrong skincare and foundation products are used. In order to alleviate, not cure (curing is quite impossible to guarantee), you need to drink lots of water to keep the body and skin hydrated, make sure you include a lot of food in your diet that is also good for your skin like oily fish and veggies and apply the correct skincare products.
When I used to work in the beauty industry, it would greatly frustrate me when people refused to spend money on good skincare and foundation products or follow a dedicated skincare routine. They would be the ones to claim the product is too expensive but wouldn’t hesitate to spend money on drinks on a night out. They would also be the kind to want results fast, without putting any effort into it. I often get complimented on my skin but believe me, I do not wake up like this and it’s unfortunately not what my mama gave me. I have done a lot of research into skincare over the years, testing and trialling many products/. brands, spending a lot of money, experiencing many different types of skin types, and following a dedicated morning and evening skincare routine.
For those who have eczema and would like more information or advice, I found the following useful sites:
https://www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk/eczema
My next blog will be on some tried and tested products that I can personally vouch for and recommend to fellow dry skin and eczema sufferers. Until then Xo
