Helen’s story

A face cannot be hidden. People are shocked, confused and made uncomfortable by a flared-up face – all feelings you don’t want to trigger when walking into a room. Facial eczema is especially challenging because eczema is misunderstood by the general population. Most people don’t realize the extent to which eczema affects one’s skin.

So how do you run meetings, present to an audience or walk by the CEO if your face looks unpresentable? By balancing a fine line between being antisocial, honest and indifferent. On my bad days, I avoid seeing my coworkers by working from home. That’s not always an option, though, which is where honesty comes in.

When my skin is not well, I am open about my eczema with my peers and answer their questions, basically getting past the skin barrier to get back to business. You can’t constantly be talking about your skin with everyone you come across though. So, there’s a point where you have to stop caring what someone thinks when they see you. That is really hard to do, and I’ve not mastered it yet, but I understand its significance.

Reprinted with permission from the National Eczema Association. To read the full personal account visit: https://nationaleczema.org/corporate-ladder/