Ecz-Press Yourself Event – Raising Awareness on Eczema

Posted on Aug 17, 2018 | 0 comments

I know you must have heard about eczema. As a parent or even as a patient, eczema affects so many Americans, it is hard not to have heard about it. As a conscious beauty, I have dealt with it, but maybe not how you think.

So what is the real story?

What is Eczema?

Eczema is a non-contagious skin condition that presents in forms of red, itcy, rough patches on the skin sometimes containing blisters and weeping. They can look like small dry patches, or large red patches with welts inside, sometimes oozing puss, sometimes bleeding.

It can range anywhere from itchy and annoying to brutally painful.

How Many People are Affected by Eczema?

The sad fact is that eczema affects almost 35 million Americans. That means that 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 2 children in the United States of America suffer from some form of eczema, with over 70% of cases starting in children under the age of 5.

Even sadder is the fact that so many people are embarrassed and hurting over something that is not their fault and not contagious. Eczema is caused by several factors including environmental, stress levels, type of foods being eaten, allergies and several others.

Eczema has touched my life.

So I was excited to be included in the Ecz-Press Yourself Event hosted by the Pfizer Inflammation & Immunology department. As a mom who likes to share conscious beauty tips, I jumped at the opportunity to not only share my story, but to learn about others’.

Ecz-Press Yourself Event – Eczema Awareness

“Ecz-Press yourself using one word” we were all asked by Ellen Gerstein Director of Digital Content at Pfizer.

It was a great ice breaker because with one word we were able to communicate just how eczema had affected all of us, individually.

My word: Heartbreaking

My story: I am a caretaker of eczema. I have always had very dry skin, but have great skin care habits. So I already had a handle on treating dry skin successfully. However, when I met the father of my children, his eldest son, then 4, suffered from severe eczema.

And it was heartbreaking to see.

My step-son’s eczema was purely stress related. And his flare-ups were B-R-U-T-A-L. It Would break my heart to see him in pain, and at the time they were working with a dermatologist who kept prescribing steroid creams that would sting even more when put on.

I began researching and learning exactly what steroid creams where and what they could potentially be doing to him. We all know steroids are bad for us, using a topical steroid the side effects include stinging upon application, stretch marks, permanent discoloration, skin thinning, increased hair growth and other allergy symptoms.

I was astounded that they were being prescribed so freely. I started talking to other parents and hearing their stories. I knew the creams they had already tried with no result and I began trying some all natural ones. I quickly found a cream that seemed to work with regular use and got him off the steroid cream.

It was great.

It was also 10 years ago!

Back to today. And all of the other eczema warriors surrounding me at this event. Some were caretakers such as myself, others were patients and advocates – each with their own amazing story.

All were interested in the new steroid free eczema cream that Pfizer has just launched. Aimee Song of SongofStyle shared her story of growing up with eczema and how this new cream has been helping keep her eczema at bay for almost a year now.

It was a fantastic morning with great guest lectures, excellent breakout groups and lots of useful information sharing.

It was interesting to hear from the patient’s angle of it. When I dealt with it, it was with a child who was learning how to express himself. The adults here where able to articulate exactly how it felt growing up with that. It also was good to hear from other caregivers and to know I was not alone in my pain of watching someone you love hurting.

My step-son is now grown and his eczema is ok, but this new cream from Pfizer sounds very promising. And the best part is, is that it is steroid free! Give it a look here and be sure to ask your (or your favorite patients’) doctor about it on your next visit!

And remember. Eczema is not contagious, but can make one very self-conscious. So show some love and understanding when you see someone with a skin condition. Don’t be afraid to talk about it!

Cheers!!

Malibu Mama Loves Xx