If youve hadeczemayour entire lifeas I haveyou know how to manage pain.
It felt like I was allergic to everything around me.
When I was in middle school, I was finally prescribed a high-dosetopical steroid creamto help manage my symptoms.
Courtesy of Chi Villines / Design by Julie Bang / Verywell
Initially, I applied it three times a day, and it worked.
However, I was utterly dependent on this medication.
I couldnt do anything without ensuring that I had enough on hand in case I had a flare.
It ruled my life.
Chi Villines
It felt like 10,000 needles were pricking me.
My body was in shock.
Topical steroids are generally only meant for two weeks, and I used them for 22 years.
I thought maybe it was good that I ran out of medication.
I got welts on my skin.
Still, I could handle that.
I flew home, had a welcome home party, and my skin ripped initiate the next day.
It felt like first-degree burns all over my body.
Im darker skinned, but my legs were bright red.
The back of my knees were oozing, and I had a cut open on my arms and elbows.
There were open wounds, and I felt like I was on fire.
This was happening to me.
I could either get a higher steroid dosage or detox and heal myself naturally.
At first, I wasnt sleeping.
I could barely even lay down naked.
Whenever my skin touched something, it felt like 10,000 needles were pricking me.
My body was in shock.
I couldnt walk or stretch my legs fully for the first three months.
I had a quarantine before the COVID quarantine.
Oftentimes, Id have to rush home, rip off my clothes, and just lay on the floor.
By the fourth month, I started doing yoga every day.
Thats when I got my second breath.
It took five months until I started sweating again.
It was about a year of repairing myself as I weaned off of topical steroids.
During TSW, a lot is going on internally.
It would have been so helpful to have had a clinic help me manage my addiction.
But TSW is not yet widely recognized by general practitioners and dermatologists.
In fact, topical steroids are the most commontreatmentthat a dermatologist prescribes for eczema.
I felt very betrayed.
I may have even grown out of my eczema by now had I not been on the medication.
One thing is dietIve been vegan for seven years.
The cleaner I eat, the stronger my skin feels.
Yoga and breathwork have also helped me calm my central nervous system.
The sun is another blessing, which I get plenty of in Florida, where I live.
When I do flare, I avoid water.
Instead, I take little birdbaths and let my skin learn how to moisturize itself again.
I also give my skin pep talks like come on, youre healing.
We wanted them to understand how eczema affects people of color.
There arent a lot of places showing eczema on darker skin.
I never even saw a Black dermatologist growing up.
But things are changing.
Ive been working with Aveeno to develop new products and help them reach communities of color.
Companies have to learn how to talk effectively to communities of color.
Its cool that they are going directly to the community for guidance.
Eczema changed my life, but it gave me a platform to help other women of color.
The last few years have been a time for healing and pivoting, but Im ready to move forward.
2023;48(9):1007-1011. doi:10.1093/ced/llad161
