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SINGAPORE — Whenever 33-year-old Tu Deyuan tells someone he was hospitalised because of eczema, the question he invariably gets is: “What for?”
“People would tell me they have eczema too, and wonder why I had to be admitted for a skin condition. They don’t understand how bad it can get because they’ve not seen the severe version,” Mr Tu, who works as an auditor, said.
Eczema is a group of conditions that cause inflammation of the skin, the most common type being atopic dermatitis.
Symptoms often appear as an itchy rash on the skin. In more severe cases, the inflamed and dry skin may crack, bleed and even become infected.
Since Mr Tu started getting severe flare-ups at the age of 25, he has been hospitalised three times. Each hospital stay lasted five days to a week.
With every flare-up, more than 80 per cent of his body would be covered in itchy, red rashes and dry, cracked skin which is prone to tearing, bleeding and infection.
His face and scalp are not spared.
“By then, my skin had become very thin from prolonged steroid treatment (for eczema). It was so dry that just turning my head would cause the skin on my neck to tear and bleed.
“The doctor admitted me because he didn’t think (outpatient) home treatment would help,” Mr Tu said.
He has since gone off steroid treatment and now tries to manage his condition by modifying his diet.
More at https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...t-sleep-blood-clothes-mental-health-struggles
