A BACKPACKER has revealed her agony after an eczema flare-up while abroad left her face feeling “ripped apart”.
Beatrice Gauca, 22, was travelling in Brussels, Belgium, when the attack started, causing her skin to become red raw.
Kennedy Newsand MediaBeatrice Gauca, 22, from Carlow in the Republic of Ireland, suffered an eczema attack that left her feeling like her face was “ripped apart”[/caption]
Kennedy Newsand MediaThe gymnastics instructor was travelling in Brussels, Belgium, when the attack occurred[/caption]
The gymnastics instructor, from Carlow in the Republic of Ireland, said the flare-up has made her “too scared to travel” again.
She said: “I went to bed and I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed that my eye was swollen.
“There wasn’t much I could do. I thought it would go away, but then I started getting spots that looked like chicken pox on my face.
“When I got home, it started drying up and turning a yellow colour with a crust around the eye. It all happened so quickly, and I had to go to hospital.
“On the second day my eye sealed shut. It was very painful — I couldn’t open my eye for a day or two.
“Once I opened it , the swelling was still there and my vision was blurred.
“It was really scary. At that moment, I thought I was going to remain this way for life. And even when it did start to go away, I thought I was going to be left full of scars.
“I am a bit traumatised from travelling at the moment. It’s left me scared that it will happen again.”
The flare-up happened on March 15 and initially thought that her eyes had been irritated by the draft coming in through her open bedroom window.
But swelling continued to worsen and she became increasingly “terrified” as her skin began turning yellow and crust began to form around her eye.
She returned to Ireland that day and said her skin started to drop off like a “chemical peel” and that her burning, itchy face was coloured “red like blood”.
Clips shared on TikTok shows Beatrice’s face transform from ‘glowing’ clear skin to be red raw and bleeding as the skin ‘ripped apart’ in just three days.
When should I seek medical advice with eczema?
See a GP if you have symptoms of atopic eczema.
They’ll usually be able to diagnose atopic eczema by looking at your skin and asking questions, such as:
whether the rash is itchy and where it appears
when the symptoms first began
whether it comes and goes over time
whether there’s a history of atopic eczema in your family
whether you have any other conditions, such as allergies or asthma
whether something in your diet or lifestyle may be contributing to your symptoms
Source: The NHS
She went to University Hospital Waterford, County Waterford, Ireland, the day after returning home from her trip.
Beatrice was hospitalised for two weeks as her condition worsened, where baffled doctors hooked the patient up to an IV drip
They took several biopsies and blood tests that confirmed her eczema had become infected.
She said that it took a week before her skin started to heal, and she was eventually discharged.
Beatrice was relieved to be left without any scars, and credits her quick bounce back to a skin-friendly diet of vegetables, healthy oils and collagen shots.
Although she hopes that the horrifying infection was a one-time incident, she said she will be more careful to protect her face next time she flies.
Beatrice said: “Since last year, I started taking different supplements, omega-3 oils, fish oils, one collagen shot a day.
“I’ve changed my diet as well. I’ve tried to put more hydrating vegetables and fruits in my meals.
“I think it’s definitely helped my skin, because otherwise I don’t think I would have bounced back so well.
“When people saw me in person, they couldn’t believe it. It’s like it never happened. There’s actually no scarring at all. It’s amazing.
“I think it comes down to the environment, the travelling, the air.
“I already had cracked skin, so maybe the air got in and I was in an environment with a plane and the airports and everything, and that’s when the swelling came about.
“I think it was an isolated incident. And I’ll definitely learn to be more cautious next time round – maybe when I travel, I could wear some glasses or a mask to cover my face.
“I took videos and pictures during the hospital stay to [try and] stay positive that I would get better and I’m glad I did.
“This situation bought me the confidence to not be ashamed of what I have but to use it to help others.”