Tasmanian woman Cherie Alexander has battled with eczema for years. Photo / Supplied
For as long as she can remember, Cherie Alexander has had eczema on her right hand.
She is one of the millions of people across the world battling the common condition, where skin becomes red, dry, itchy and inflamed and in severe cases, may blister and bleed.
While Cherie's eczema remained manageable for years, recently it got so bad that any contact with water would leave her in immense pain, reports news.com.au.
"Over the years it just got worse and worse, to the point where I was in tears even when I was going to have a shower. For a while there, I was wearing gloves in the shower because it was so painful," Cherie, 37, a Hobart dental assistant, told news.com.au.
"It was bad at work too, because we have to wash our hands all day, it was really painful. "They were really dry and cracked. When it was bad, I would even get the little pus-filled pimples on my hand and they would pop and my skin would literally split open," Cherie said.
Her doctor recommended she apply hydrocortisone cream to her hand regularly.
"You can't use the cortisone cream every day though, you need a couple of days break from it. I'd use it for five days and rest for two days, but after the two days it would come back so bad and I just felt like I was chasing my tail," Cherie said.
At her wits end, Cherie posted a plea for help on Facebook.
"I feel like I'm going round and round in circles with this hand of mine," she wrote.
"I have cream that helps but only allowed to use it for five days straight then I have to have a couple of days break, but in those days in gets bad again. Anyone have any suggestions?"
A friend suggested a cream from Australian brand Moo Goo. Their cult $12 "udder cream", which was originally designed to be used on cows, has become popular with eczema sufferers.
The cream contains a blend of oils and is free from ingredients that can irritate eczema, such as fragrances and synthetic products.
"I bought some and used it constantly for two weeks ... every time I washed my hands I put some on," Cherie said.
"After two weeks it started clearing up and getting better and basically now I just use the cream once a day and it's kept my eczema at bay."
The Eczema Association of Australasia (EAA) wants to raise awareness about how dehabilitating this common condition can be.
The organisation is operating free eczema clinics in Australia this week to help improve the long wait times many sufferers experience.
"It's much more common that people think. We know about a third of Australians suffer from eczema at some point in their lives," EAA president Cheryl Talent told news.com.au.
"Some people can get it simply from contact with chemicals, but for the vast majority of people it's in their genetic background," Ms Talent said.
She has the common nature of eczema meant its severity was often dismissed.
"There's still a perception that it's just a rash. People say 'Stop whining and put some cream on it'. But it's not until you have a severe sufferer as a family member or loved one that you realise how severe an impact it has," she said.
"It can be quite depressing to live with. If you're a severe eczema sufferer, it can run your life.
"Many people are hospitalised because infection becomes an issue. Sometimes they take oral steroids or have light therapy. Some have even stronger treatments like immunosuppressants. but that's a last-ditch attempt because they have side effects."
Most sufferers are advised to use a topical steroid cream to treat the area, to moisturise well and use products designed for sensitive skin, without perfumes or chemicals.