World Eczema Day is September 14th and raises awareness of the chronic skin condition that affects one in five children in the UK.
While for many children eczema is mild and easily controlled, for others it can be severe – sometimes causing hot, painful rashes and covering their entire body.
Sisters Ishani (11) and Leeya (8) were both were diagnosed with eczema as toddlers and deal with painful inflamed skin, itching and flare ups.
Ishani’s skin can become so dry and irritated that she needs to apply cream throughout the school day and Leeya can scratch so much to satisfy the itch that she bleeds. The condition has impacted their – and their parents’ – mental health and so they are backing a campaign from charity Eczema Outreach Support (EOS).
EOS are a UK-wide charity for children and young people with eczema and their carers. They host events, provide tailored support and advocate for the rights of youngsters with this chronic condition.
‘Eczema – It Gets Under Your Skin’ coincides with World Eczema Day and aims to shine a light on the impact the condition can have on mental health as well as physical health.
Dad Karneet said eczema has played a huge part in their lives.
He said: “I don’t have eczema and neither does my wife so we didn’t have a clue what to do or how to treat it. We found it hard to access information or know how to best care for the girls’ skin. There is so much information online – a lot of it conflicting – that we didn’t know where to start or what to try.”
The family found EOS online and joined up for free. The sisters have come along to events to meet and chat with other children with eczema and Karneet learned a lot from the family team who provide tailored support.
Ishani said the worst part about having eczema is missing out on things like swimming because the chlorine aggravates her skin.
Ishani said: “I try not to get too down about my eczema but I don’t like missing out. Sometimes I have had hurtful things said to me. My friend didn’t want to touch something after I had because I had a flare on my hand.
“I told her it wasn’t contagious, but it still hurt my feelings.”
The family are backing ‘Eczema – It Gets Under Your Skin’ and want more people to be aware of the impact eczema can have on mental health.
Karneet said: “Both girls are quite resilient and don’t let their skin get them down, but of course as parents we worry that they might get nasty comments or feel self conscious. We encourage them to talk about their feelings because it’s all we can do. I wish I had a way to take it from them. We have tried everything – from making my own kombucha to very expensive specialist pajamas but nothing has worked. You feel helpless.”
CEO of Eczema Outreach Support, Suzi Holland, welcomes World Eczema Day and hopes it shines a light on the mental impact eczema can have.
“Eczema – It Gets Under Your Skin is such an important campaign. Eczema can have a huge effect on both the person with the condition and their carers.
“For children and young people with eczema, it can affect confidence, anxiety and mood while carers often feel helpless, alone and overwhelmed. Our campaign for World Eczema Day hopes to shine a light on the impact eczema can have on mental health and make people feel less alone.”
EOS is hosting several events on eczema and mental health to mark World Eczema Day. It is free to join EOS if you are a parent or carer of a child with eczema aged 0-17 and the workshops and events are also free. You can join here.
