As a blogger, I’ve researched eczema for many years, but never once came across an article of an autistic person having eczema. To be honest, I didn’t even know that it was possible. Which seems very ignorant on my part, but truthful. Dealing with eczema is about communication which makes it extremely difficult when infants are diagnosed, let alone someone suffering from a developmental disorder.
Although this article highlights a cream, I was more intrigued by how one deals with the two conditions at hand.
Angelo is a 26-year-old from Uxbridge (UK) who’s suffered from eczema throughout his life. Due to his autism, he continuously struggles with verbal skills to communicate the discomfort and extreme pain eczema has caused him.
For Angelo, it started with cradle cap, his mother was encouraged to use olive oil, which led to his hair falling out. In his youth, Angelo’s tags need to be cut out of his clothing. Additionally, he’d layer up in thick socks to alleviate itching the back of his knees. Sometimes he’d wear up to seven pairs.
His eczema continued into adulthood which has been difficult as nothing but the creamed they mentioned helped.
Overall, this article was eye-opening and makes me realize that eczema is clearly not one dimensional. As it affects people from all different walks of life. My heart goes out to this young man and anyone that deals with the catch-22 of eczema and autism.