![]() “I was very isolated as a child, I always wore long sleeve shirts and long pants,” she said. Being a self-professed “girly-girl,” she felt like she had to walk away from some things that she loved.Ī common feeling among those with eczema is the need to hide or cover up. “You keep saying maybe it didn’t work this time because I was stressed out.” She described feeling like she was hitting a wall at times when it came to trying to find different fabrics or metals for jewelry that weren’t irritating to her skin. “Over time you get what I refer to as the junk drawer of lotions and products,” she said. She was told the ointments should work, but they didn’t work for her as well as she had hoped. While trying to find relief, Alison tried topical steroid ointments that left her skin feeling greasy. Trying to identify her triggers, such as laundry detergents, household cleaners, beauty products, and even jewelry, has been a large part of her day-to-day life with AD. The itch was so overwhelming that she would continue furiously scratching even after her legs had begun bleeding. Growing up playing soccer, Alison used to run to her parents’ car so she could rip off her shin guards to scratch her legs. “Sweat is a major trigger for me,” she said. Some of her earliest memories of having eczema are being very sensitive to heat and sweat. “You know that Egyptian cotton sheet set that you want? Why get it, so you can scratch in the middle of the night and destroy it?” “When you can’t stop scratching due to the intense itching, you’re creating scratch marks that bleed which can ruin your clothing.”Įven at night, there were times when she would scratch while she was sleeping to the point of bleeding. She struggled to find relief from the itchiness. “I just itched like crazy, and I moisturized like crazy,” she said. Growing up in the 1990s, doctors told her that her condition was caused by dry skin, and she should take extra care to moisturize. “It can affect a person entirely - everything from their relationships to their activities and work,” said Alison. At times, it can feel like an ever-present itch, the discomfort of which can be so intense that it can be hard to concentrate on anything else. In moderate-to-severe AD, symptoms can include intense itching, inflamed skin that looks red or discolored depending on skin tone, oozing skin, thickening of the skin, and scaly skin caused by an abnormal immune response. However, despite the challenges, they have found what works best for them in managing their symptoms.Ītopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is a chronic disease associated with skin inflammation. They have both had times when AD impacted their work and social lives. 80% of those diagnosed with AD as a child experience symptoms before the age of 6. ![]() Like many people with moderate-to-severe AD, both Alison and Patricia were diagnosed early in life. Thankfully though, the conversation around eczema has become a lot more open as people like Alison Piluso and Patricia Cervini share their real-life experiences to raise awareness about the condition and reach others in the eczema community. ![]() To avoid feeling judged by others, individuals with eczema often go to great lengths to hide their skin or symptoms under baggy clothing or might feel hesitant to talk about what they’re going through. There have been many misconceptions surrounding moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema - that it’s just a rash or that it’s contagious. DISCLOSURE NOTICE: Insights for this article have been provided via interview by Patricia Cervini and Alison Piluso, who live with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and treat their condition with a non-Pfizer medication, and were paid as consultants of Pfizer.
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