Holly's Story Living with Eczema

October is Eczema Awareness month. I used to think that hiding my skin and trying to repair it to normalcy was the key to being happy with it. As I’ve grown up and met more people with the same skin condition, I realized that talking about eczema and educating people is the real key to loving my skin exactly as it is.
I was so confused about eczema when I was younger. My skin was always red and itchy—it was miserable. I didn’t understand why I had to do treatments every day, or why I couldn’t play certain sports that triggered it. All I knew was I had a brother with perfectly normal skin who could do anything, and I felt limited. This all changed when I met Dr. Alanna Bree and found out about Camp Discovery (then called Camp Dermadillo).
I attended camp in second grade and met hundreds of other children who had all kinds of beautifully different skin. It was here that I met people who had eczema like me for the first time. Camp is the first place I remember feeling totally at ease with my skin. I could focus on doing a ropes course, or spending time with my new friends, and I rarely thought about my eczema outside of doing my daily medicine routine.
I wish absolutely everyone could attend camp whether they have a skin condition or not. Since everyone cannot, I thought about what I would want to tell the world about eczema and those who live with it for Eczema Awareness Month.
First on my list is simply explaining what eczema is. I found having a rehearsed explanation to tell new people about my skin was helpful. When people ask about my skin, or simply look at me confused because I am flaking everywhere, I get the opportunity to educate them and make my skin something that they can learn from and not just wonder about from afar.
My favorite approach to these moments is simply to say “Hi, I’m Holly and I have a skin condition called eczema. It is not contagious. My skin has a disrupted barrier, so it’s a little drier and itchier than most people’s skin.” This short blurb has opened so many doors and helped me build my confidence through the years.
The next thing I would want people to understand is that eczema does not simply affect my skin. It affects my sleep, the foods I eat, the products I can use, and my daily routine. Those with eczema must constantly plan their days to avoid triggers and have management options, and this is an aspect of eczema that I figure out more the longer I live with my condition.
The most important thing that I want people with and without eczema to know is having eczema changes you for the better. I am currently in school to be a doctor, and eczema has given me a window into the patient world that I never would have obtained without it. I know what it’s like to have a visible condition that can make me not want to leave my house. I understand the struggles that patients undergo with insurance and obtaining treatments. I also know that people with skin conditions or any medical condition are not their condition. They are people WITH a medical condition–it’s only one aspect of who they are.
To anyone who has eczema this month, especially those who may be in a rough season with it, you are not alone. Finding ways to meet friends who have skin like you is important. It makes life sweeter when you can share the highs and lows with someone who understands fully. Ways that I have found friends to share life with through amazing programs like Made a Masterpiece and Camp Discovery. For those who are a little older and looking for ways to be involved in eczema advocacy, I suggest looking into the National Eczema Association. I am an ambassador for them, and I’ve been able to grow my eczema community with this organization. They have everything from advocacy opportunities to patient perspective panels, and they are making big changes in the eczema world.
All in all, eczema is just an extra part of life that I am most grateful for. It’s allowed me to make friends I never would have had otherwise, given me a strong sense of who I am, and it is a constant motivation in life to be kind and give back. Not all days with eczema are fun, and that’s just reality. But having eczema in general makes you a more compassionate, understanding, and driven person. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would trade my skin for another’s, I probably would have said yes. Today, I would say absolutely not. My eczema can feel like a setback at times, but at the end of the day it has brought me so much life, and I am blessed to be growing to love the skin I am in.