Whilst often dismissed as “just a skin condition” people who suffer from eczema experience physical and emotional consequences that can seriously impact their quality of life.
Children in particular, don’t sleep well at night because of the itchiness and discomfort caused by eczema, and therefore may not focus optimally at school and get the most out of their days. The rash and subsequent skin infections from eczema can often impact a person’s physical appearance, and children with visible eczema are frequently teased, bullied and excluded from social groups.
Patients with this disease spend most of their lives requiring comprehensive daily care and management. Caring for a child with atopic eczema can affect personal relationships, decrease psychosocial functioning, bring sleep loss for family members and a feeling of helplessness in dealing with the child’s daily suffering.

The 14th of September is World Atopic Eczema Day – an annual event that raises awareness around a common skin disease that can massively impact sufferers – both physically and psychologically.

Atopic eczema, which is an inflammatory skin condition that causes chronic itchiness, dry skin, rashes, scaly patches, blisters and skin infections, is one of the most prevalent skin disorders – globally, it affects up to 20% of all children and 10% of adults.

“We urge eczema patients and their families and carers to join us on the 14th at this live event when we’ll be chatting with a mom, Claudene, and her son, Matthew, who has been suffering from severe atopic eczema his whole life. He’ll be sharing his experience and Claudene will be sharing her experience as a caregiver,” concludes Dr Kannenberg.

For more information: https://www.allergyfoundation.co.za