Page 63 - Harnett Life Winter 2020

Make Managing Eczema Easier

(Family Features) More than 30 million Americans, including sauce was causing my daughter to flare.”
nearly 10 million children, have eczema, the umbrella term for
a group of noncontagious, inflammatory and painful skin con- The app can help track nine different disease and care factors,
ditions marked by an itchy, rash-like appearance. Because one including:
of the most challenging aspects of eczema can be its unpredict- • Itch intensity on a scale of 0-10
ability, the National Eczema Association (NEA), designed an • Pain on a scale of 0-10
app to help people and parents easily track what’s important • Skin symptoms using a body map to note affected ar-
and make sense of it. eas
• Stress on a scale of 0-10
The app, called EczemaWise, aims to revolutionize how peo- • Sleep problems on a scale of 0-10
ple living with the condition manage it with a faster, more ef- • Weather, which auto-populates using your location
ficient tracking system that helps uncover trends and makes • Triggers, which track exposure to materials such as
preparing for doctors’ appointments easier. metals, chemicals, irritants and environmental allergies
• Diet with tracking of water intake and foods
People with eczema tend to have an overreactive immune sys- • Treatments logged by time of day
tem that produces inflammation on the skin when triggered by
a substance outside or inside the body, such as food or pollen, The free app, which is available for Android and iOS as well as
along with factors like stress and sleep. Experts say tracking a web app, is designed to identify trends and patterns so people
and recording symptoms and possible triggers is key to man- and their doctors can better determine the most effective treat-
aging the condition, but it can be time-consuming, and many ments. NEA recommends tracking a minimum of three times
people struggle to keep thorough notes in journals or on their each week – and ideally daily – though people can log as many
smartphones. or as few factors as they like. App users can also print their
health data to share at doctors’ appointments.
“One of the best things out there to help keep track of your
child’s eczema is EczemaWise because it’s so easy to use,” “Using EczemaWise will empower patients with eczema,” said
said Aisha Bryant, mother of a 3-year-old with eczema. “With- dermatologist Eric L. Simpson, MD. “The app allows them to
in a few days of using it, I was able to identify that tomato communicate a much broader story about their disease than we
can typically capture in a 15-minute visit.”
Harnett Life ~ Winter 2020 Page 63