Eczema flare-ups sealed 22-year-old's eyes and mouth shut

A 22-year-old says her eczema got so bad it sealed her eyes and lips shut and turned her into a recluse.

Megan Jones said she would not leave the house for weeks at a time because of her condition.

The opera student, from Cardiff, recalled her face "melting" whenever she tried to hide her skin problems with makeup.

But Megan said she got her confidence back after finding a "miracle" cure and changing her makeup routine.

Having dealt with sore skin since being a baby, Megan would have painful skin flare-ups every several years.

Megan, who studies at at Cardiff's Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, recalled the worst happening just before her 20th birthday in 2021.

Unable even to open her eyes and mouth, it reached a point where through desperation she left her halls of residence and moved back with her parents.

She said she did not attend classes or her part-time job for a month as she felt too self-conscious about her appearance. "I just felt like everyone was staring at my skin all the time," she said. "Friends were nice, but people I didn't know weren't even trying to hide the fact they were staring at me."

Prescribed creams would ease the problem for a while, but never get rid of it completely.

Megan said she was born with "really awful skin" and had other skin issues like jaundice."It was just horrendous, and my mum sometimes described it as being like burns all over my face and body."

One recent winter saw things get so bad that the eczema crusted over her face, sealing her eyes and mouth shut.

"I was in so much pain I couldn't talk, only mumble," she added.

Since then Megan has discovered a moisturiser that has finally helped clear her skin.

She also has an app on her phone that allows her to scan the ingredients of cosmetic products, thereby avoiding future flare-ups. "My skin had gone from being absolutely awful - red, sore, dry and flaky - to almost clear," she said.

"My forehead didn't look like it was peeling off and my arms, the back of my knees and my ears all look normal.

"I can talk and open my eyes again and I am feeling a bit more full of life.

"But, for me, it was being able to go outside that felt like a miracle.

Despite now having clear skin, Megan said she is still wary of using other products on her face and no longer wears foundation for her skin.

She said: "I just don't like that full coverage anymore because I'm really conscious that something might trigger a reaction in my skin like that.

"I tend to focus on eyebrow and mascara products instead, that's literally all I'll use now.

"My skin is so great at the moment that I don't feel like I need it anyway. For me, I've got the confidence of my skin back."