Isla's story
At 20, Isla is currently studying Sports Management and Coaching at the University of Bath, and loves the outdoors, hiking and travelling. She has experienced lived with eczema all of her life and is running the London Marathon for National Eczema Society to raise awareness of a condition she knows is so much more than dry skin.
Edit: Since this piece was written, Isla has completed the London Marathon - raising over £1,600 for the National Eczema Society. We are incredibly proud of her and so grateful for her support.
Isla’s experiences with eczema have changed with her. As she has gotten older, she has experienced more frequent allergy related flare-ups, hives and flaky skin.
Day to day, her eczema and symptoms are difficult to manage. Isla goes through significant amounts of emollient, experiences staring when she itches her skin or when it bleeds in public, and finds her eczema disrupts her sleep and that of her partner’s, too. As many reading with eczema will know, there are days where her skin is painful but there is no visible evidence, and that is hard to explain to the people around her.
Her daily life has been shaped in ways that people who haven’t experienced eczema wouldn’t expect. Her self-confidence has been impacted by her skin and symptoms:
“Many days I will not leave the house due to my skin being so flaky and red. It’s made it difficult to do the things I enjoy, like running or swimming, as that flares up my skin, as well as wearing certain clothes, perfumes, or makeups.
I find it hard explaining to people why I look the way I do, and I often get angry that my skin will never be ‘smooth’.”
Thankfully, Isla has found treatments and coping mechanisms that work for her eczema. She has found that applying creams cold provides extra relief and wears three layers of emollient on her face every day. When she is going through flare-ups, she ices her body and then applies emollient creams. She has also found that using fidget toys, or her partner gently holding her hands, helps to resist the urge to scratch. Her advice to other members of the eczema community is to understand that everyone’s skin is different, and will require different treatments.
Isla got into running about two years ago, initially just to spend more time with her best friend. After completing a half marathon last year she set her sights on the London Marathon itself!
Isla secured her place in this year’s race through the public ballot, and made the amazing decision to voluntarily use her place to run for National Eczema Society. She made this decision to raise awareness for a personal cause that mattered to her and generate more support for eczema patients.
If you’ve been lucky enough to secure a ballot place in a marathon and are looking for a cause to run for, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about fundraising for us, here.
As you might expect, training for a marathon with eczema presents its own unique challenges that Isla has had to overcome. She finds sweating is incredibly painful on her skin, so she wears minimal layers, showers as soon as she gets home, drinks lots of water, and applies thick moisturisers before every run. She also takes up to 5 antihistamines a day to help manage her reactions. Please discuss your eczema management plan with your healthcare professional if you wish to try any of Isla’s recommendations above.
As we near race day, Isla hopes her story will reach others who are struggling and help them feel less alone, especially in the age of social media and ‘perfect’ skin.
“I want people to understand that the skin they see online is often edited, making it look smoother than it is. People are beautiful no matter if their skin is flaring up or they are flaking. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise or feel embarrassed to leave the house.”
We would like to thank Isla for sharing her story, and we wish her the very best of luck on race day!