To help educate people on the emotional and physical impact of living with a skin condition, QV Skincare is asking people to reach out their hand in support, as a part of its ‘A Hand to Hold’ campaign.

For small children, holding hands with a friend in the school playground engenders feelings of solidarity and belonging, but what happens when a child doesn’t have a hand to hold? Sadly, for some children with skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis, it is an everyday reality with many left feeling isolated due to a belief their condition is contagious.

A survey by QV found that the impact of those childhood experiences can have a lasting impact, with 30% affected by a comment about their skin condition:

“People didn't want to hold my hand when I was younger.”

“I was called names at school and have had strangers give me a wide berth and ask me if they can catch my eczema.”

“Don't remember much of my teen years, went around with my head down covering my face, shopkeepers reluctant to hand my change into my hands, recoiling back afraid it was contagious. Lacking confidence because of nasty comments. No one wanted to hold my hand in the school yard.”

And it’s not just children who show a lack of understanding, the stigma attached to skin conditions can have an effect at all stages of life:

“I am a nurse and my eczema is on my hands, in the winter when it is at worst, I notice my patients staring. I have been asked if I should be working and I have had patients ask me to put gloves on for simple tasks like passing them their newspaper.”

According to QV’s research, 54% of people don’t believe that there’s enough information available to educate society on skin conditions and 30% of parents haven't had the conversation with their child about why some people have a different appearance to others.

QV has launched the ‘A Hand to Hold’ campaign to highlight the physical and emotional impact of sensitive skin conditions and is asking parents and children to join them by sharing a handprint on social media with #HappyHands, as a way reaching out to those affected and showing support. 

QV Skincare comments: “Every parent wants their child to be happy and the thought of them being lonely or isolated is stressful and upsetting. The survey results are hard to read and show us just how hard growing up with a skin condition can be, for children and their parents. We also know that it doesn’t get any easier as adults and we hope that this campaign will show people that they are not alone - there are lots of hands out there to hold.

“There’s something special about holding hands with someone. It communicates something in a way that words can’t and gives rise to a variety of feelings, from love, friendship and kindness. We hope that wider education will help others to gain a better understanding of sensitive skin conditions and that as a result avoid unintentional but hurtful comments.”

As well as the emotional impact of eczema, the campaign will look to support people with managing conditions on a day-to-day basis. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, so over the course of the ‘A Hand to Hold’ campaign, QV will be providing advice and support for a variety conditions to help people improve their all-round health and wellbeing.

So share your #HappyHands in support today and keep your eyes peeled on our social media platforms @QVSkincare_UK and for updates.