Dear Moira

Can you give me some advice on how to deal with negative experiences with other people, about my child’s eczema such as staring and/or unhelpful questions?  

It can be hard for both children and their families when they are put in a position of having to explain to a stranger that their child has a medical condition and is not ‘contagious’ or that they are getting treatment, but it is a chronic condition that won’t necessarily go away. 

At EOS we can hear these issues a lot from families on our calls and know that this can being an additional challenge and impact to the child and their families. Many children struggle if they think someone is staring at them or is asking questions about their skin which they may find hard to answer. This can cause issues with self-esteem in young people and frustration for their families.  

If a young person or parent is facing this challenge, then being prepared can help. Planning a response is a useful strategy for young people and or parent/carers to try when they are in a situation like this. Thinking in advance to prepare a polite response, or learning how to shut the conversation down politely, with a person staring and/or unhelpful questions being asked. This can help reduce the frustration when in that situation and help with the impact of this on both the young person and parent/carer.  

At EOS we have worked with a Health Psychologist, Dr Ella Guest, from the Centre for Appearance Research, to produce some wellbeing resources which are on our website. There is a little animation on how to deal with negative experiences with other people and some resources that may help with this which you can view here. 

We work hard to ensure children/young people and their families feel like they are not alone and EOS are here to help them.