From Overwhelmed and Exhausted to Feeling in Control
For almost two decades, Lauren had been navigating eczema care within her family.
Her son had experienced eczema, allergies and asthma since he was only a few months old. Years later, her daughter also developed eczema during babyhood. By the time Lauren found Rebecca, she wasn’t simply looking for another cream or another list of things to try. She was exhausted by appointments, contradictory information and the pressure of trying to make the right decisions for her children.
What changed wasn’t only her daughter’s skin. Lauren gained an organised way to understand what she was seeing, a calmer form of support and the confidence to make informed choices for her family.
As she later explained:
“It has not only changed her life and mine, but the lives of everyone in my family.”
Nineteen Years of Searching for Answers
At the time Lauren shared her story, her son was 19 and her daughter was four.
Her son had been living with eczema, allergies and asthma since infancy, alongside some newer symptoms that had appeared as he grew older. Lauren had spent what she described as “19 long years” going to doctors and specialists, as well as paying for special creams and prescriptions.
When her daughter also developed eczema at only a few months old, Lauren found herself starting that difficult journey again.
This time, however, she was also carrying everything she had experienced during the previous 19 years: the appointments, the searching, the expense and the worry that she still did not have a clear understanding of what her children’s bodies might need.
When Support Became Overwhelming
Like many parents, Lauren turned to online eczema support groups hoping to find information and reassurance.
Instead, she found that seeing distressing photographs and reading story after story was affecting her emotionally. Although the groups offered support, the volume of information and other families’ experiences left her feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and increasingly low.
“Although those groups offered support, they were so overwhelming and exhausting.”
Eventually, Lauren decided to leave. Before doing so, she asked one final question. Rebecca was one of only a small number of people who responded.
Lauren described that response as “a total godsend”.
Rebecca was preparing to pilot a newly developed eczema coaching programme and offered Lauren the final family place. They arranged an initial consultation, where Lauren was struck by Rebecca’s passion and the depth of her knowledge about eczema.
For Lauren, this was the beginning of a very different type of support.
Finding Time When You Are Already Exhausted
Lauren’s first concerns about participating were practical ones: money and time.
After years of appointments, specialist consultations, creams and prescriptions, the family had already invested heavily in trying to manage eczema. Lauren was also a tired mother who needed enough time and energy to watch the programme videos and absorb new information.
Rather than waiting for large stretches of uninterrupted time, she found ways to fit the education around ordinary family life. She watched videos while washing dishes or folding laundry. At other times, she listened through a Bluetooth earpiece while the children played or had their bath.
Looking back, Lauren felt that the ability to revisit the content was particularly valuable. The material remained available to her, allowing her to return to individual subjects whenever she wanted to refresh her understanding.
The programme did not demand that family life stop while she studied. Lauren found a way to learn within the life she was already living.
Replacing Contradictory Searches With Structured Learning
One of the things Lauren valued most was the way the information had been organised.
She compared it to a college course: relevant information about the body and its processes gathered together in one place, rather than scattered across contradictory internet searches.
“It was organized like a college course: everything you need to know about how the body works and heals, all in one place.”
This structure helped Lauren move away from constantly searching for isolated answers. She felt better equipped to understand her family’s experiences and more confident about when she could draw upon what she had learned and when appropriate professional medical support was needed.
“Honestly, this is the best gift I could ever give them.”
The community surrounding the programme also felt very different from the large support groups she had left. The separate members’ group gave Lauren access to other families going through the learning process, but she found the support encouraging rather than overwhelming.
She was no longer surrounded by endless, conflicting suggestions. She had structured education and a smaller network of people learning alongside her.
Progress Took Time
Lauren’s daughter did not change overnight.
It was around the five-month point that Lauren began to notice meaningful differences. By the time she recorded her story at month ten, she described her daughter’s skin as the clearest and smoothest it had ever been, with the itching gone.
Night-time had changed too.
Her daughter had not been itchy at night for some time, but climbing into her parents’ bed had become an established habit. During the week before Lauren recorded her testimonial, her daughter had begun sleeping in her own bed throughout the night.
For a family that had been living with disturbed nights and the effects of eczema since babyhood, this was a meaningful step towards greater independence and calmer sleep for everyone.
Lauren also felt that her daughter was becoming more resilient when everyday illnesses arose. This was Lauren’s personal observation of her child rather than a promise of what another family should expect, but it formed an important part of the wider change she was witnessing.
“We’re Not Completely Out of the Woods”
Lauren was careful not to describe their progress as perfection.
She could still see some spots returning, together with occasional itching, if her daughter ate poorly for several days. The difference was that these changes no longer left Lauren feeling powerless or sent her back into exhausting searches for answers.
“We’re not completely out of the woods, but we are in control.”
Her daughter was also beginning to take part in her own wellbeing. At only four years old, she would ask whether something contained sugar and was learning that the choices she made could influence how she felt.
Lauren found it remarkable to watch her develop that awareness so young. The knowledge was no longer Lauren’s responsibility alone; it was gradually becoming something her daughter could understand and carry forward for herself.
Knowledge That Reached the Whole Family
Although Lauren originally joined the programme for her daughter, what she learned influenced the way she thought about the health of her entire family.
Her older son was at a different stage. As a young adult, the decision to explore changes for himself had to be his. Lauren understood that she could not make that choice on his behalf, but she could remain available, pass on what she had learned and support him if he decided to begin his own journey.
That distinction reflects how much Lauren’s perspective had changed. Supporting her family no longer meant trying to control every outcome. It meant having knowledge available, recognising each person’s autonomy and feeling able to respond without panic.
By the time Lauren recorded her testimonial, she had chosen to begin working with Rebecca and openly acknowledged that this might make her sound biased. For Lauren, however, that decision had grown out of her experience of the programme and the value she believed it had brought to her family.
The clearest measure of that value was not a claim that every symptom had disappeared forever. It was the difference in daily life: smoother skin, far less itching, calmer nights, a child beginning to understand her own body and a mother who no longer felt lost among contradictory advice.
From Searching to Understanding
Lauren’s family had not reached a perfect finish line. Her daughter could still show signs that something was affecting her, and her son’s decisions remained his own.
But after 19 years of searching, Lauren finally felt that she had a framework she could return to.
She had learned how to make education fit around a busy family, how to recognise patterns without becoming consumed by them and how to use support without being overwhelmed by it.
Most importantly, eczema no longer felt like something happening to the family without explanation.
They were learning, adapting and moving forward with far more confidence — not completely out of the woods, but no longer lost in them.
Begin Understanding Your Child’s Eczema
If Lauren’s experience feels familiar, you do not need to learn everything at once.
The free Eczema Expert app contains short, practical lessons designed to help you begin understanding what your child’s skin may be communicating and identify manageable first steps for your family.
Begin with the Start Here section and take it one lesson at a time.
Privacy Disclaimer
To protect each family’s privacy, the images accompanying our Real Parent Stories are illustrative and do not depict the people featured in the story.
Medical Disclaimer
Lauren’s story describes her family’s personal experience. It is not intended to replace individual medical advice. Speak to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional before changing prescribed medication or treatment.
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