I’ve had eczema since birth and it’s moved all over my body – there hasn’t been an inch of my skin that hasn’t had eczema at some point! Stress, dust and pollen are really big triggers for me. I have a nickel allergy too, so I can’t wear any watches or jewelry - I even ended up getting a reaction to my platinum wedding ring! But sometimes it can come from nowhere. When I was a schoolgirl, I had it on my hands and feet…. now, it’s positioned firmly on my face. Dealing with eczema is incredibly difficult, and incredibly challenging. My skin was so red, itchy and sore that I really didn’t want to care for it; I just wanted it to go away.
Rebecca Marriage, blogger at beczema.com
I turned the corner in my mid-thirties, when my son started to show the symptoms of eczema. I found myself applying emollients to his skin, researching dry skin treatments and explaining to him that he had to care for himself. I remember thinking, ‘Why can’t I show myself this amount of love, care and attention?’ So the writing of my blog was a real crystallization of that process. I’d come to a moment in my life where I was comfortable in my own skin – even though my skin wasn’t comfortable! – and realized that it wasn’t my fault, so I felt strongly that I needed to communicate that. Feeling anxious and helpless about your skin aggravates your condition. All skin needs care and love… eczema skin just needs a little more.
Read more from Rebecca Marriage about living with sensitive and extremely dry skin at www.beczema.co.uk and facebook.com/beczema.
