A Perth teenager was so badly bullied due to her eczema that her parents decided to move her temporarily to New Zealand.
Now Alyssa Graham is back living in Australia and virtually eczema-free after a wonder-cream cleared up her skin.
The teen says she is happier than ever before and even able to wear shorts for the first time in her life, the Daily Mail Australia reported.
"The bullies would always come up to me and tease me and say things like 'you're so ugly with the skin on your legs'," Alyssa told Daily Mail.
"It was really bad all the time and I would lose all my friends."
Her mother, Elizabeth Graham, said her daughter cried every day because of the taunting.
"It was heartbreaking," Elizabeth Graham said. "She also had a lot of online bullying and a hate page was even created, which was eventually taken down."
Alyssa's skin condition covers her arms, legs, neck and stomach. She had to put up with eczema her entire life and it became worse as she got older.
"It really affected my confidence, I didn't want to go out at all and I was too afraid to show my skin," Alyssa said.
"I would wear long sleeves, jumpers, tights or pants to cover it, no matter the season."
Alyssa said the bullying started when she was in Year 2 or 3.
She often missed weeks of school due to the bullying, and eventually her parents made the drastic decision to send her to New Zealand to stay with family for two months to remove her from the situation.
"She's always been teased about her skin but it got worse in high school when she started year seven," her mother said.
"As she got older it got worse and worse but when she moved to New Zealand she learnt that high school isn't your whole life and her whole attitude changed."
The family spent thousands and thousands of dollars looking for treatments – steroids would work for a week but then the eczema would come back even worse.
Then an $18 cream made in Australia completely changed Alyssa's life.
The Australian-made eczema cream called Moogoo cleared up her condition in a few months.
"When I moved back from New Zealand we moved house and moved to a new school, which is also when I started using the cream," Alyssa said.
"When I moved to the other school I started wearing shorts for the first time because my skin was getting better and no one was commenting on my legs.
"It feels quite amazing because I can finally be myself and not hide anything, it's the first time I've been able to be myself."
Alyssa applies the cream three times a day. "It's helped me so much. I'm way more confident than I was way before and everything is so much better."
Her mother agrees.
"She's much more confident and it's getting better and better all the time," Elizabeth told Daily Mail.
"It looks like the scars are going to completely disappear and the bullying has stopped.
"She sometimes gets awful messages from people at her old school but she just blocks them."
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• The Word
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• CASPER Suicide Prevention
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.