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 As well as buying cotton clothing, special washing powders and being careful of what she eats we’ve also taken up the carpet in her bedroom and replaced it with wooden flooring, as dust is a particular problem for her. We also know that exposure to the sun is beneficial but we have to be careful with sun creams and try to avoid grass and tree pollen.
Sophie is also a really good swimmer and we’ve found that, as long as the pool is chlorine free and she creams herself afterwards, it doesn’t seem to affect her skin at all. The exception to this is seawater, which stings her very badly. We discovered this when she was about 5 years old and we went to Kephalonia.
As soon as we put her in the hotel pool she screamed the place down, as we hadn’t realised it was a salt-water pool. In the end we had to find a fresh-water pool down the road. Even now, although we live by the sea, she will only go in if her eczema is relatively good as otherwise the discomfort is too great.
Having just turned 14, we’re now however facing a new set of challenges. For example, she’s regularly invited to sleepovers and, as home furnishings can generate a reaction due to the allergens trapped inside them, we always send her with her own bed linen and have to weigh up the risk involved if the host family has a pet. She’s also growing more and more conscious of her appearance and wants to be able to use make-up and perfume like her friends.
Thankfully, the little she wears has so far not generated any sort of reaction but we are careful only to let her use a modest amount. We also still battle with her over her nails, as she bites them constantly. While this means they are short, which is what we want, they are also ragged and can really tear the skin when an itch sets them to work.
Despite her condition, Sophie has always been an active child. At infant school she’d come first in all the running events on Sports Day by a significant distance. But it wasn’t until she was 9 and we went to a local fun day that we realised just how talented a runner she was. Up against boys and girls of 12 and 13, she finished in first place, way ahead of the competition.
As a result, we encouraged her to join our local athletics club, Worthing Harriers, and we’re extremely glad we did. Not only has Sophie shown incredible potential but she’s made some really good friends and absolutely loves training and racing.
Obviously there are downsides to competitive sport when you have eczema. Sophie trains three times a week and can become hot, sticky and sweaty so she always has to go straight home for a shower afterwards and to apply her creams. She is also reticent to wear shorts like the other runners, as they show the eczema on her legs or marks from where it’s been, so she prefers to wear leggings.
There can also be a lot of waiting around during competitions and in the summer months it’s easy for her to overheat and get really itchy even before she’s run her first race.
Last year was Sophie’s most successful year to date as she was picked to run for her county (Sussex), became the Sussex U13 champion in both the 100-m and 200-m sprint and was part of the winning relay team. She was also ranked 6th in the country last year for her sprints and number 1 in the south east.
This year she was selected to run in the English Schools’ Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, where she and three of her fellow club members won the gold relay medal and became the first Sussex girl’s team to win an English Schools Relay title – with the achievement captured by Sky Sports.
One day Sophie hopes to go from representing her county to representing her country and we’re extremely proud of her enthusiasm and dedication and the fact that she doesn’t let her eczema prevent her from doing what she loves.
I’d like to think my own experience of eczema has helped me to show Sophie that you have to take control of your condition rather than it controlling you. For example, my hobby is coarse fishing as, after a week in the office, I enjoy being out in the countryside. Unfortunately though, I’m allergic to fish slime so when I do catch a big carp I can only handle it if I’m wearing polythene food gloves! I don’t let it stop my enjoyment of the activity though, even if people find it a little strange.
I also think it helps that I can sympathise with Sophie as I know exactly how she’s feeling at all times. Obviously I’d give my right arm for her not to have eczema at all but at least I can offer her guidance on how to protect her skin and share her highs and lows.
Even now, I’m still learning to deal with new aspects of my condition. While my eczema has travelled over the years from body part to body part – sometimes focusing on my face, sometimes on a particular limb or my torso – there have always been certain givens. For example, winter will always see me endure at least one bad flare-up as the cold weather and central heating cause my skin to become very dry and to crack and fissures develop on my fingers.
In recent years I’ve had to contend with a new problem though in the shape of alopecia. Having suffered with scalp eczema for years and used a variety of different treatments, I wasn’t surprised when my barber identified some hair loss. A visit to my GP confirmed there was a problem but it was a dermatologist who informed me that, along with my eczema, asthma and allergies, this was just another example of my autoimmune disorder.
At present I am completely bald but I can think of far worse things in life. In fact, ever since my hair fell out I’ve no longer had a flaky scalp although I do have to be careful not to scratch it as you can now see the marks I leave!
Hopefully our stories may inspire others with eczema to challenge themselves with new activities and interests that they may previously have discounted because of their condition and encourage other youngsters to take part in competitive sport as Sophie is proof of the benefits this can bring.
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