Eczema and School

[Jessica O'Loughlin]

I'm 13 years old, and I have Eczema. I find that my Eczema reacts with a lot of different substances (some of which include: Latex, Clay, Paint, Dish water, Soap, Animals, Nail Polish (and the remover), and just leaving my hands in normal water of too long!).

Different people react in different ways, when they find out that I have Eczema. Though the most predominant reaction that I tend to receive is disgust. Which most often leads me to get teased.

This is hard in school. Firstly, because in subjects like Art and Science, I need to wear gloves - when doing anything practical - and it can be hard and time consuming to get gloves that are non-latex. It is also hard because friends will always ask me why I'm wearing gloves (even if they know I have Eczema). This I don't mind, but it is when some friends begin to tease me about wearing gloves, and ask me inappropriate questions, is when it becomes annoying.

My questions:
1) What do you do if someone is teasing you in class, about wearing gloves or just about having Eczema.

2) Are substances that cause your Eczema to flare up, counted as substances your allergic to. And if so, should the school know about this?

If you know the answers to any of these questions, have your own questions for me, or just want a chat, email me at jessicaoloughlin@hotmail.com

[Marcie Mom]

Hi Jessica, so sorry to hear of the teasing in school. I'm a mom to an eczema child, but she's still a preschooler and the school is very understanding and educates the class about it. You can try out putting on cream and see if it reduces the contact with irritants. I do think you can tell the school and maybe find a support group near your school and see if there's someone who can give a talk at your school?
Take care, hugs,
Mei

[Jessica O'Loughlin]

thanks mei