One patient’s story
Following treatment, Alyssa Hansen of Miramichi, New Brunswick, (pictured with boyfriend Logan Hartlen), says she’s pleased that she no longer has to base her life around atopic dermatitis. supplied
At its worst, Alyssa Hansen’s eczema led her to isolate herself and feel hopeless. A new treatment has transformed her life.
Alyssa Hansen had her first experience with atopic dermatitis (AD) when she was 12 years old, in grade 7. It wasn’t too bad that first year, she says.
“It started off as red, itchy dry spots on the insides of my elbows. It definitely made me self-conscious – not great when you’re in middle school, already an awkward time for many of us. It was embarrassing more than anything. I felt the need to dress to conceal it, but since it was winter, that was quite easy to do.”
That year, she received the AD diagnosis from her family doctor, and so began her journey with a series of treatments, various non-prescription and prescription ointments and medications that either did nothing to alleviate the AD or helped for only short periods of time.
Atopic dermatitis, commonly called eczema, is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by intense uncontrolled itching and dry skin, which becomes cracked, hardened, oozing and painful.
Alyssa is now 28 years old and lives in the city where she grew up, Miramichi in northern New Brunswick. Looking back, she describes how the condition steadily worsened throughout her high school years.
“It was usually at its worst in the winter months, when the air was drier and my skin wouldn’t hold any moisture at all,” says Alyssa. “Every year that it came back, it would spread to more parts of my body, including inside my knees and my hands.”
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When my condition was clearing up, my friends told me it was great to see my personality return to what it should be. I’m feeling positive and happy. I also feel I can accomplish more, now that I don’t have to base my life around my AD anymore.
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The pattern of “toughing it out” through the winters became routine. Her skin condition was still embarrassing, uncomfortable and often painful, but Alyssa coped with it by wearing sweaters and long sleeves and waiting for the relief that spring would bring.
But then the came the winter and spring of 2018-19, when her AD became “an uncontrollable wildfire,” she says.
“From the neck down, I was just covered. My hands were terrible; the skin would crack and my knuckles looked split open. I would get patches on my eyelids sometimes, and I couldn’t wear makeup when that happened.
“My father is a police officer, and he said I looked like a burn victim. That’s how bad it was. It was the hardest time of my life.”
The severe flare-up exacted a significant toll on Alyssa’s physical and mental health, her relationships and her overall quality of life. She was in the final year of university at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, where she was acquiring a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology and psychology and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in criminal justice.
When she reluctantly attended her graduation ceremony in May 2019, her AD was as out of control as it had been in the winter. “People were asking me what happened to make my hands look so bad, and I remember having panic attacks. I was supposed to be enjoying my graduation and I couldn’t wait to get out of there,” Alyssa says.
The physical symptoms were debilitating, Alyssa explains. She describes scratching her skin throughout the night, which led to very poor sleep and near-constant pain. She couldn’t use any scented bath or hair products because of the extra irritation, but even then, a shower often brought her to tears because it felt like her skin was burning.
“When it was at its worst, my entire personality changed,” says Alyssa. “I was depressed and irritable, and I would isolate myself all the time.” After graduation, she had moved back in with her parents while searching for work, and even at home, she found herself cutting herself off from her family, including her two young nephews whom she adored.
“I was worried I would lose my patience with them and they wouldn’t understand. It’s hard to be happy and positive when you’re in constant pain,” she says.
Later in 2019, Alyssa was referred to a dermatologist and was soon enrolled in a clinical trial for a new oral medication for AD in the class of drugs known as JAK inhibitors. She quickly saw the benefits of this treatment.
“Within two weeks, my skin was about 85 per cent clear. It was one of the most incredible outcomes I could imagine,” she says. “Shortly after I began taking the medication, I got a job interview, which then led to me being hired. If my skin had been as bad as before, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do that interview.”
Alyssa has been on the medication for two years now, and her life has been transformed. Her AD symptoms are well controlled and she is no longer getting flare-ups.
She’s fully interacting with her friends and family members again, has a boyfriend and is working, while also pursuing another employment opportunity she is very excited about.
“When my condition was clearing up, my friends told me it was great to see my personality return to what it should be. I’m feeling positive and happy. I also feel I can accomplish more, now that I don’t have to base my life around my AD anymore.”
To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition: Eczema Awareness