THE IMPACT OF SEVERE ECZEMA ON OUR FAMILY

You all know what it feels like having an itchy bite. Now imagine itchy bites over your entire body that don't heal up. Just when you think think they are, they come back with a vengeance, sometimes getting infected making your body even itchier! This is Oscar's life every day. 24/7 He barely sleeps as he's so itchy. Adding heat to his wee body makes this worse. He sleeps in nearly every morning which makes for a mad rush to get us out the door in time for school...I don't have time to clean as I go as I make sure 3 wee boys are dressed, and myself! Adding to this the breakfast routine along with lunch boxes. Oscar has one crazy diet which I will write about at some stage so cooking fish or sausages first thing, making smoothies, along with all his medicines he has to have before getting out the door AND applying moisturisers to his body-This is the most time consuming part of the morning. Sounds simple right? Slap on some cream and your done. Nope, it doesn't work like that in our house. Firstly you have to wash your hands then dry them completely. We have to put a towel in front of the fire and I wait as I watch Oscar meticulously takes off his pyjamas and dressing gown..but wait there is now a knot in the dressing gown so the cream I already have on my fingers ready to apply has to be wiped away and then we are ready to start, 
carefully applying cream on starting with the face to the feet....then we have to wait until it
fully absorbs before clothes can go on, in the mean time the clock is ticking. No wonder the 
house looks like it has been burgled when I get back from school drop off! As soon as Oscar 
gets home from school he strips off as he is more comfortable being a wee nudist!
- The lack of sleep in our house makes it hard to function on a daily basis but somehow we survive, only just!        
- An eczema child becomes public property! Everyone has a solution to eczema.. although 
no one has found one for us!!'
- People stare! This is the most heart breaking thing for us 
- Random strangers stop us in the supermarket or out in other public places asking "Does he have eczema? Have you tried.... 
- I'm pretty sure I'm getting R.S.I in my hands!
- Our 2 other wee boys often miss out on the cuddles and time they deserve as sometimes Oscar is one on one
- Financially the cost of trying all the 'Solutions' we have been informed about by the general public and also things we have researched, along with Oscar's diet have been a massive hit to the bank account!
Oh crap, I could write a whole book on the impact of eczema but will finish it off with some 
quotes from our wee man that are sadly etched in my head forever

"People will think I am silly when we go on holiday because I have eczema all over me"
"I wish I was Pinocchio because he is a wooden boy and doesn't get itchy"
Looking at the mirror at the hairdressers Oscar inspected his face and said "I have lots of eczema on my face Mum". I asked him what it feels like and he replied "It just feels normal"
"I feel sad because I have eczema"
"Why doesn't Charlie and Harry have eczema like me?"(his little brothers)
"I don't want to be itchy anymore"
"How can we fix me Mum?"