Ariana Artinian

Growing up with eczema I would say is quite the inconvenience. It’s annoying because you’re always resisting the urge to itch or else you will make it worse. No one else in my family had it and none of my friends had it either. I had to be careful when going out to do activities and sports because the heat and sweat could trigger the itching. Especially growing up in such a humid country, even being outside would already be irritating for my skin. It’s annoying having to buy specific body washes and different creams that suit your skin type, especially when I was really young always wanting the soap with a picture of Barbie and strawberries on it, but having to opt for the more medically suitable one instead. The itching led to rashes and then scabs and that also meant being afraid to wear something that showed them because they were embarrassing. Thankfully it’s slowly lessened in the past few years but that doesn’t mean it completely goes away. I never know when it will come back so always having to have a special cream on me was handy. But in ways waiting for the creams to work and the scabs away taught me to be patient, and resisting the temptation to scratch taught me to resist temptation to some things. Having to use doctor-prescribed products taught me that I can’t always use anything I want and that just because the packaging of a product looks attractive doesn’t mean it will be good for my eczema. And most of all I’ve learned to be more confident in myself and to not ashamed of the fact I have eczema. I’m proud to be apart of this community of strong people who are battling similar situations.