A young woman whose “constant battle” with lifelong extreme eczema has cost her a job and prevented her from seeing friends for months at a time has found confidence and purpose by sharing images of her aggravated and flaky skin on social media. Courtney Celine Bray, 26, told PA Real Life she has been suffering from eczema across her whole body since childhood, with the skin condition causing “intense” flaking she constantly has to clean up, bright red and raised rashes, open wounds and sores, and severe itching that causes her skin to bleed. At age 23, Courtney, based in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, said she lost her job as a dental receptionist because her eczema worsened and was severely impacting her mental health, leading her to be late frequently because of poor sleep.
Courtney has been on sick leave for the past month from her position at a call centre because her skin has been “the worst it’s ever been”, leading her to worry about paying her mortgage if she is forced to remain off work. The severe eczema led her to seek therapy for depression and she finds it “quite isolating” as it prevents her from dating and meeting up with friends. Courtney suspects she may be suffering from topical steroid withdrawal and is testing different treatments while documenting her struggles online – where she has found sharing images of the aggravated skin on her face and body has boosted her confidence.
“When I was having a down day, I’d gone searching for (ecze.