As a child, Melissa Zarb was scared of waking up in the morning to the pain of peeling off bed sheets that often stuck to her itchy, bleeding skin.

My skin got so dry it felt as though my limbs turned to wood, like Pinocchio

Sometimes her eczema was so bad her mother would wrap her in bandages or run her an ice-cold bath in the middle of the night to relieve the unbearable discomfort.

“My skin got so dry it felt as though my limbs turned to wood, like Pinocchio… When it itches, you feel as though you have many ants crawling over you,” the 35-year-old said.

Having lived with eczema since she was a baby, Ms Zarb learnt to accept her condition after experiencing all the discomforts and social stigmas it brings.

She was bullied by children who did not understand what eczema was and still incurs extra expense to treat the chronic, non-contagious skin condition.

Dermatologist Michael Boffa said studies showed eczema could disrupt a family as much as serious chronic diseases.

“The itching can disturb sleep and make it more difficult to concentrate during the day at work or school. Parents get distressed as they see their children constantly scratching...

“There is also the fear of the next flare-up, which makes it difficult to plan your life,” said Dr Boffa, a founder of the Malta Eczema Society.

The society has been campaigning to include chronic eczema in the Schedule V list of free medication for years.

In 2008, a petition signed by 7,437 people was given to the Prime Minister but, so far, eczema has not been included, even though psoriasis, a condition with similar symptoms and treatment, is listed.

As a baby, Ms Zarb suffered from eczema all over her body except her face. Smearing creams and ointments on her wounded skin was part of daily life.

In early primary school, she started being bullied by children who were disgusted by her condition. “They would say: ‘Yuk, what do you have there?’” she recalled.

She grew up to be a very reserved child. For her, school was about learning, not making friends, and she looked forward to going home to play with her younger sister.

As she entered her teens she became more aware of her looks and felt more embarrassed by her condition. But that was a time when many girls had insecurities and she made some friends.

By the time she turned 16, her skin cleared a little. She got pregnant at 17 and the pregnancy “was torture” because she could not use her strong creams as they could harm the baby.

After the pregnancy, her skin was not irritating her as much. She met her husband and they got married six years ago and have a three-year-old girl.

But a few weeks before her wedding the eczema returned – this time around her eyes, rekindling a childhood fear.

“I go through times when I’m scared of waking up because I fear that I’ll open my eyes and not see,” she said.

Her experience taught her how important it is for eczema sufferers to have access to psychologists to share their experience.

Even though the eczema has calmed down, she still has to go to the dermatologist once a month and apply creams and balms. This costs her about €100 a month.

“Living with eczema is expensive. But the worst thing is the worry and fear of the next flare-up,” she said.

What is eczema?

Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a chronic condition in which the skin becomes inflamed, itchy, dry and scaly and may weep, bleed and crust over. It usually comes and goes on different parts of the body. It may affect people of all ages but is most common in children.

Eczema is not contagious, however, the appearance of the skin can make those who have the condition feel embarrassed and isolated.

Although the cause of eczema remains unknown, research has shown that several factors, including genetics and the environment, are involved. Many children with eczema eventually grow out of it. Stress, intense emotions and certain environments, like dust, can make it flare up.

There is no permanent cure for eczema though many people need to use creams and ointments to keep it under control.

For more information visit the Malta Eczema Society’s website http://mes.madv.org.mt .

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.