Atopic Dermatitis – It’s more common than you think!!

Well, when I posted on my Instragram account, Connor’s severe #AtopicDermatitis – the response was overwhelming.  I think that particular IG post garnered the MOST private messages I received EVER.  I had friend and strangers offer advice, refer doctors, moral support and etc.  It was so overwhelming that I felt I needed to make a blogpost on it. Atopic Dermatitis is more common than you think.  There are so many people who have this and understood what my son is/was going through at that time.  They sympathized with him with the scratching, the rashes, the bloodied wounds and the trying to get better.

One thing I learned in all of this is – THERE ARE WONDERFUL FRIENDS AND STRANGERS who are willing to support you and help you.  I AM THANKFUL TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU WHO SENT ME A MESSAGE.  Thank you for making me feel ‘human’ in all of this.  I mostly get blamed when elders see the rashes on Connor’s skin and it’s quite hard to explain because they have already pre-judged me already (in my capacity to take care of my kid’s skin condition)  People, myself included remind Connor to STOP scratching to no avail.  One friend told me ‘it’s really really itchy, you can’t control it’ Our pedia derma Dra. Rowena Romero-Francisco has told us that we will never know what it feels like unless we have that condition.  One thing is for sure – we can try to MANAGE it with the help of medicine.  I am not anti steroid, I am all for it (because it was created of a reason) – but I am against self medication when it comes to steroids.  I only apply when the doctor tells me to.  I do not want the skin to be used to the steroid because one day, I know it’ll stop working – and I don’t want that to happen. It’s really frustrating dealing with Atopic Dermatitis.  It comes and goes.  There are times when the rashes and itching can be managed with just lotions and creams.  But this time, I think the cooler weather aggravated the skin condition.  I must say, this it the MOST severe Connor’s had on is inner elbow. DISCLAIMER – the image you’ll see next is quite – sensitive, please do not judge!  I am posting the picture because I want to share with you what our reality is with #AtopicDermatiis:

Yes, it’s that severe.  This is the first time I am posting it ever here or on social media.  What I posted before was the other arm which was less scary looking. The good news is that after seeing our pedia derma and following her prescription to a T, it doesn’t look that bad anymore.  Well, it’s still bad but it looks so much better.

This is what 7 days of putting steroid cream twice a day does.  It really helps.  Connor is less irritated and is less conscious of how it looks. So what did I learn from this? 1)  Keep a tube of Cutivate always – it’s the MILDEST steroid cream that can help manage the rashes 2)  Apply Cutivate as soon as you see red rashes forming, do not wait anymore for it to go bad. 3)  Do breathing exercises and count 1 to 30 (and repeat as needed) when people judge you immediately for what they see 4)  Be grateful that you are not experiencing this because it’s really really hard to control ATOPIC DERMATITIS IS REAL – it’s hard and people with Atopic Dermatitis NEED UNDERSTANDING of what they are going through. Thank you to friends, family and strangers who have sent their well wishes and have followed up on Connor’s condition.  I am grateful for you guys.  THANK YOU!!