Focus on Lisa

Ecz-motto: I have eczema. What about you?
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I’m terrible at remembering names and can now conveniently blame my age for my forgetfulness.

After a 25-year career in biotech, I became a volunteer enthusiast for whatever my kids were into. They are now adults and I am still busy as ever. I fill my time working part-time, volunteering for various non-profit organizations, hiking and traveling as much as possible.

Owning my eczema gave me the power to manage it.

For most of my life, I rarely spoke to anyone about my eczema no matter how severe it became. Embracing this disease gave me the power to be more comfortable in my itchy skin and more open to learn about causes, therapies and management. I now have a skincare regime that for the most part is keeping my eczema under control. The regime changes from time to time as I learn more about this disease.

I downplayed my eczema for decades, which meant minimal treatment, lots of scratching and feeling very alone.

Besides being Saran-wrapped at bedtime around my elbows and knees at a young age, I remember begging my mom to skip the upcoming middle school gym classes for swimming. My embarrassing red rashes were easy to cover up but not in a swim suit. I had buried that memory so deep I almost forgot it ever happened. Once I realized this is a common story among eczema patients, I found I was not alone. I found my voice: I have a disease called eczema. Let me tell you all about it.