Young dancer’s eczema creates reaction to own sweat and tears

An 11-year-old Australian dancer has developed a painful skin condition that makes her allergic to her own sweat and tears, turning her favourite sport into a source of excruciating* pain.

Summah Williams was hospitalised at the end of 2022 after her skin dried out into cracks and became red and inflamed* beneath a layer of shedding skin.

At first, her mother Karyn Zimny, 47, thought Summah had a bad sunburn but Ms Zimny grew increasingly concerned when she noticed her normally healthy daughter shivering in the heat and scratching her skin through the night.

“When we went to hospital, she had a staph infection* and when she was on antibiotics*, her whole face and body shed like a snake from head to toe, the bath would be full of skin,” Ms Zimny said.

Summah was diagnosed* with eczema* and has developed an allergy of sorts to her own tears and sweat.

“(It’s) heartbreaking as she loves dancing,” Ms Zimny said.

“When she looks at all her other dance friends, she gets upset and asks, ‘Why can’t I have skin like them?’ It’s heartbreaking.”

Summah is currently trialling a new injection treatment called Dupixent*, but is still getting terribly painful facial flares*.

Australian children have one of the highest incidences of eczema in the world and the extreme heat of this summer is putting more children at risk.

Australian-made skincare brand MooGoo’s chief executive Melody Livingstone said the company has been inundated* by worried parents asking what they can do to ease their children’s skin complaints.

“We can hardly keep up with demand,” she said.

“(Our) eczema cream has seen over 70 per cent sales growth since last year, and orders are double what they were this time last year.”

The Eczema Association of Australia said eczema was impacting up to 30 per cent of children and 10 per cent of adults to varying degrees, with many regarding weather as a main cause of flare-ups.

There is currently no cure for eczema, psoriasis* or dermatitis*, so keeping the symptoms under control is critical for those living with the disease.

How to help manage eczema and skin irritation

• Avoid harsh soaps, foaming agents, fragrances and preservatives in skincare
• Keep skin moist and apply fragrance-free products straight after bathing
• Check your family’s washing detergent for sulfates* and other skin irritants
• Reduce water temperature of showers and baths, as heat can strip natural oils from skin and further irritate it
• Reduce or avoid sugar and yeast and eat oily fish, vitamin A and E rich foods and omega-3 rich foods like flaxseeds and walnuts
• Use a probiotic* that contains the lactobacillus rhamnosus* strain
• Keep a food diary and note when flare-ups occur
• Ask your parents to consult with a healthcare professional to identify any environmental, dietary or other allergens that may be contributing to your skin problem

POLL

GLOSSARY

• excruciating: agonising, intense, extremely painful
• inflamed: irritated, swollen, puffed up, sore and itchy
• staph infection: infection caused by bacteria commonly found on the skin or in the nose
• antibiotics: medicines that fight bacterial infections in people and animals
• diagnosed: when a disease, illness or issue is medically identified by symptoms or tests
• eczema: condition that causes your skin to become dry, itchy and bumpy
• Dupixent: prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 months of age and older with moderate-to-severe eczema
• flares: significantly worse and acute periods of irritation and inflammation
• inundated: overwhelmed, overrun, swamped
• psoriasis: condition in which skin cells build up and form scales and itchy, dry patches
• dermatitis: group of itchy, inflammatory skin conditions that may include blisters
• sulfate: a salt formed when sulfuric acid reacts with another chemical element.
• probiotic: food or supplement containing live microorganisms intended to maintain or improve the “good” bacteria in the body

EXTRA READING

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Sick of living in Australia’s stinkiest city

QUICK QUIZ

1. Why has a very physically demanding sport like dancing become painful for Summah?
2. When Summah was on antibiotics, her mum likened the condition of her skin to what natural process that happens to which animal?
3. What new treatment is Summah trialling for her condition?
4. What seasonal factor has recently put more Australian kids at risk of developing eczema?
5. The Eczema Association of Australia estimates what percentage of kids are affected by eczema?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Summah sports
Work with a partner and brainstorm some ideas that might help Summah be able to continue some form of dancing or other sport while battling her skin condition. Think of ways that might not flare up her eczema, as well as sports that may not involve a lot of sweat causing her allergies to react.

Write five ideas below:

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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Why do you think the skin condition eczema has seen an increase in recent years and why does Australia have one of the highest rates of eczema in the world?

Is it something you can prevent?

What are the worst conditions for eczema to flare up?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.