A mother has opened up about her young daughter’s debilitating skin condition and allergy to her tears and sweat.
Summah Williams, 11, was recently hospitalized in Brisbane after developing a painful rash that her mother Karyn Zimny thought was just a sunburn.
After being given antibiotics for a staph infection, Summah’s skin from her head to her toes sloughed off “like a snake.”
The dancer was diagnosed with an extreme case of eczema, which left her skin dry, itchy, easily irritated and allergic to her tears and sweat.
Although eczema can usually be treated with regular moisturizers and steroid creams, Summah’s case is so severe that she is receiving experimental treatment.
A young girl diagnosed with extreme eczema, Summah Williams, has also been dealt a devastating blow after being told she is allergic to her own tears and sweat (pictured)
Ms Zimny said her daughter’s condition led to people staring at her on the street during a flare-up.
“People look at Summah when we go to the shops, and during this outburst, everywhere we went people thought she had been burned,” Ms Zimny said. 7News.
Summah’s rare allergy causes her to get swollen ‘panda eyes’ when she cries.
It also seriously affects her love of dancing because when she sweats, her skin flares up and becomes irritated.
“When she looks at all her other dancing friends, she gets upset and asks, ‘Why can’t I have the same skin as them?’ It’s heartbreaking,” Ms. Zimny said.
There is no known cure for eczema, which mainly affects children between the ages of six and twelve.
There is also no known cause of the skin condition, but it is believed that it can be passed on genetically.
The 11-year-old (pictured) battles the debilitating condition of pursuing her love of dancing, with her sweat causing her eczema to flare up and worsen
According to Eczema Support Australia, eczema affects up to 30 percent of children and 10 percent of adults across Australia.
Although the condition causes near-constant irritation and pain, patients have also been shown to suffer from more far-reaching consequences.
“Compared to the general public, people with eczema are 44 percent more likely to experience insomnia, 41 percent more likely to experience anxiety and 79 percent more likely to experience depression,” according to the Eczema Support Australia website.
Melanie Funk, the organization’s director, said the combination of discomfort and social isolation was extremely damaging.
“Being socially ostracized due to a lack of awareness and judgment about appearance, plus the long-term, severe sleep deprivation and persistent discomfort, all take their toll,” Ms. Funk said.