For the first time ever, Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis has begun to share her experience as child advocate for eczema. After having had her own experiences walking through the journey of eczema alongside one of her children, Davis, who's also a Goodwill Ambassador, recognizes the importance of using the intimate experience as a tool for sharing advice and encouragement with other parents whose children have eczema.
While many may immediately identify Davis with her character Charlotte York or recently on Labor of Love, in real life, Davis’s main priorities are being the best parent that she can be to her two kids and making sure that her children are healthy, happy, and have beautiful experiences. Davis is using her platform and her own personal experiences with finding relief for one of her children to bring more awareness to severe atopic dermatitis.
Recently, the FDA approved a treatment for kids between the ages of 6-11 with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, that is designed to help alleviate some of the common symptoms of eczema such as itchy, oozing skin, dark-colored patches of skin, areas of swelling and very sensitive skin.
Moms.com recently had the opportunity to speak with both Kristin Davis and Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield, Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. As a result of her child's experience, Davis makes it clear that it's okay to want answers, and that it is so important to "Trust your instincts."
(Moms): The symptoms of atopic dermatitis are not necessarily finite. What were some of the symptoms that your child experienced?
(Davis): When my child was a baby, there was always this kind of itching of the ears and I didn't know what it was, and I didn't immediately think it was eczema. It was often at night, when put to bed and it would go on for a while, but overtime it began to affect the sleep of my child. It would come and go, and I would think, "Oh, dry skin. I just need to moisture the skin more."
Then, we went away to New York and I was working. It was a very, very hot New York summer. And just enough things went on to fully bring on a complete flare up where there was cracking and oozing. There were so many different symptoms that occurred, and I was kind texting pictures of the different skin flare ups to my pediatrician back in California. We didn't have these new treatments back then when this starting happening, the new types of next level treatments that are becoming available now. But that's what's so great about dupixent, this new eczema treatment and Dr. Eichenfield to speak to this a bit further.
(Moms): From a medical perspective, what are some of the most consistent symptoms of eczema that children experience, and what are some of the misconceptions that you've noticed that parents have about eczema?
(Eichenfield): I think that the biggest misconception is that when children have active eczema, that we don't have a way to control it and that you just had to live with it, and wait until kids outgrow it. Some background behind that is that 10 to 15 percent of children will have atopic dermatitis in the first three years of life. Many of them outgrow it over time, but there's a significant percentage of cases that persist into teenage years.
There's also just some people who have mild eczema, and it can be maintained with moisturizers, and the occasional topical prescription. Then there are other much more severe subsets that are what we call moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Some of those can be managed effectively with our traditional topical steroids, and so forth. But what's different now is that there are lots of diverse advancements and ways to treat eczema. So, the biggest misconception is--thinking that as a parent that you just have to deal with it.
(Moms): What are some treatments that you’ve found to be beneficial, and what products would you recommend for children experiencing eczema?
Eichenfield: So the product is called to Dupixent, and this type of medicine is the first biologic agent that's approved for atopic dermatitis in either adults or kids, and it now includes children's six to 11 years of age. We see it in the research-- traditional treatments are topical treatments where you're sharing something on the skin sort of penetrated and decrease the inflammation locally. But there's a lot of systemic inflammation that occurs, especially in our moderate to severe patients.
So, just treating topically has problems either with the need to use topical agents all the time. With most eczema, when discussing management, you have to recognize this inherent aspect of the environmental influence. Dry skin is something that gives you a higher risk of developing eczema, but it also is a manifestation of eczema. Inflammation creates dryness and dryness can lead to inflammation.
(Moms): In the context of eczema, what are some ways that you encourage your child about the appearance of their skin, breakouts, or their beauty in general?
(Davis): People can be so insensitive, and initially I too personally felt shame, because I did not know what was going on. People would come up to me and say things like, "Your child has eczema?" It felt horrible. Different people would tell me crazy things like scrubbing her really hard with a loofah and different creams. I can so relate to parents in this. I know that it's a stressful place to be in, but I think it's also very important to say to your child, "You are not your skin. You're so much more than that." We have books galore on this subject.
(Moms): For parents who find a more holistic and organic approach to medicine, what different types of natural remedies would you recommend?
(Eichenfield): My general approach is a really good skincare, and bathing often, as well as a high-quality moisturizer that is fragrance-free. Then, there's anti-inflammatory medicines that can range from non-prescription alternative and complimentary. Additionally, stress plays a role. It's not that stress is really a risk factor for the development of eczema, but like any chronic diseases, stress can exacerbate the manifestations. There are a lot of connections between the immune system and the neurologic system.
(Moms): What is one thing that you would say to encourage parents who are walking through the eczema journey with their child?
(Davis): Trust your instincts, because I think there is such a broad way that eczema can appear or disappear. It's kind of a serious disease. I think it's important as ever as parents to trust your instincts, and never feel bad searching out the answers. I know for myself, people kept telling me it was nothing, you know? So, it took a long time for me to go, wait, no, this is not just nothing. This is real, and it's having an affect on my child. I had real concerns about inflammation that I needed answered.
I wanted to research them and get to the bottom of it. And I needed to really empower myself and my own instincts to do that. While eczema may be apart of your child's life, people need to know that there are new and innovative ways to treat it now. Seeking out help to figure out what's an appropriate treatment is something I'd definitely advise people to do.
*This interview has been condensed due to length and readability.