My Journey to Feel Comfortable with My Skin with Uncontrolled Moderate Eczema
Thank you to Regeneron and Sanofi for encouraging me to share my story and for sponsoring this post.
As many of you know, I live a very public life as a content creator. I’ve been in front of the camera since age 13 when I started modeling. Fast forward nearly 10 years and now I act, have a blog, and share my life on social media. While I love what I do, it can sometimes be hard because of my eczema, or atopic dermatitis (AD).
If you didn’t know, AD is a chronic skin disease that, when moderate-to-severe, can lead to rashes covering much of the body, and can include intense, persistent itching, skin lesions, cracking and redness that can be debilitating. My journey with moderate AD has been a long and challenging one, and you can read about it HERE. While I feel like I have good control over many aspects of my health, like my nutrition, my eczema is one thing I don’t always have under control.
Over the years, my eczema has gotten in the way of a lot. When symptoms are at their worst, my face becomes inflamed, dry and scaly and I can’t control it for months. It can be really frustrating and painful.
It started to impact my job as a content creator, and I ended up avoiding taking pictures and filming because I felt physically uncomfortable and embarrassed. In the past, I always wanted to hide my eczema, so I covered up with layers of clothes, makeup and a lot of moisturizer and hoped for the best.
The one thing that really helps me is leaning on my friends and family. These are the people who have helped me feel more comfortable with my skin, even when my eczema is visible. When people understand what I’m going through, it’s easier for me to be open. I don’t feel like I have to cover up who I am around those closest to me.
That’s why I wanted to talk about my experience, so other people who live with AD can learn to feel more comfortable with their skin and talk candidly about their disease.
It’s been a journey to feel comfortable with my skin, and I still have a long way to go. Part of my journey means finding something to help manage my eczema. After a lot of trial and error, I took to the internet to try to research more treatment options that might work. That’s how I found out about a treatment option called Dupixent® (dupilumab). Although I’m not currently on Dupixent, I wanted to share what I learned.
If you suffer from uncontrolled moderate-to-severe AD, Dupixent might be a treatment option for you. Dupixent, a biologic prescription medicine that can be used with or without topical corticosteroids, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe AD (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. Dupixent works from the inside to help treat a source of underlying inflammation that contributes to AD. Dupixent should not be used in patients who are allergic to Dupixent or to any of its ingredients.
Many adults have experienced clearer skin after taking it. In two 16-week clinical trials with Dupixent when used alone compared to a placebo, almost four times as many adult patients with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis taking Dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin as compared with those not taking Dupixent (37% taking Dupixent vs. 9% not taking Dupixent). Nearly half of adult patients taking Dupixent saw at least a 75% skin improvement (48% taking Dupixent vs. 13% not taking Dupixent) and some even saw at least a 90% improvement. The most common side effects of treatment were injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, and cold sores in the mouth or on the lips. Scroll down for additional Important Safety Information and links to the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.
If you have uncontrolled moderate-to-severe AD, talk to your doctor about what treatment may work for you and visit www.dupixent.com to learn more.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION & INDICATION
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®
Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
● have eye problems
● have a parasitic (helminth) infection
● are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a “live vaccine” right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
● are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
○ A pregnancy registry for women who take DUPIXENT during pregnancy collects information about the health of you and your baby. To enroll or get more information call 1-877-311-8972 or go to https://mothertobaby.org/ongoing-study/dupixent/.
● are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or if you have atopic dermatitis and asthma and use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
● Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
● Eye problems. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision, such as blurred vision. Your healthcare provider may send you to an ophthalmologist for an eye exam if needed.
● Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.
The most common side effects in patients with atopic dermatitis include injection site reactions, eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling, and itching, sometimes with blurred vision, and cold sores in your mouth or on your lips.
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children under 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
INDICATION
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.
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