“Sometimes I hate my skin”

Eczema and other dry skin problems can be horrible to live with. Your skin can be flaky and red, and feel itchy. You might feel different from other kids and get fed up about this.

But remember that you’re not alone. Lots of other children suffer with it, too, and there are things that can be done to make your skin feel better.

Be a non-scratcher

The first thing to do is get really good at not scratching. This is hard to do, but really important. The more you scratch, the more your skin will itch, and you could also damage your skin and make it bleed and get infected. So try to be the world’s greatest non-scratcher.

How a diary can help

You’ll have noticed that your skin gets worse when you go to certain places or eat certain foods. It’s probably worse in hot weather, too, when you get sweaty, or maybe when you stroke a cat, dog or other pet. If you get a diary and make a list of the things that make your skin worse, you’ll be able to avoid them in the future. You could show your diary to a parent or a teacher and they’ll help to get different clothes, or change the places you go, or the things you do, or what you eat.

Eczema at school

Your eczema can make you feel left out and sad; and children in your class might tease you because they think your skin looks different. This could be because they don’t know you have eczema and think it is something they can catch.

Explain to your classmates that they can’t catch eczema from you. Your teacher may help you explain to the rest of the class about your eczema, if you want to, so they know what you have to put up with.

If some children are very unkind and bully you because of your skin, don’t put up with it. Tell your parents, teacher or a responsible adult and they will help sort it out.

Growing out of it

As you get older, you may find your eczema goes away or becomes less of a problem. For now, though, remember there are things that can be done to help ease your eczema and make your skin feel less itchy.