- Diagnosed with severe eczema as a baby, Faye endured relentless pain, bullying and extreme allergies that ruled out everyday activities.
- Her symptoms eased dramatically whenever she left Australia, leading her to believe she was “allergic” to her home country.
- Repeated hospitalisations, moves overseas and worsening mental health took a heavy toll on her family life.
- In 2024, a breakthrough interleukin-blocking treatment transformed her skin, allowing her to finally live pain-free and reclaim lost experiences.
Here Faye Haines, 55, Newcastle, NSW tells her own story in her own words.
Sitting on a school bench, I tried to ignore the bullies taunting me.
‘You look like a leper,’ kids would sneer.
I’d been diagnosed with severe eczema at four months old, and now, aged seven, my appearance was noticeably different from my peers.
My body and face were covered in angry red blisters.
At night, my parents, Bev and Kevin, would douse me in olive oil and bandage me in cling film to stop me scratching.
Still, I’d often wake covered in blood, my wounds stuck to sheets.
My raw skin felt like I had third degree burns and the itchiness was unbearable.
Thankfully, high school welcomed a reprieve from the bullying.
But desperate to be normal, I’d grin and bear the pain and participate in school sports only to notice my dry, flaky skin shedding off my face.
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With allergies and asthma, too, I couldn’t do half the things other teens took for granted.
Intolerances to everything from dust mites, fragrances, materials, plastics, food, detergents, textiles, pollen and grass, would cause a dangerous reaction and trigger my eczema.
It was so debilitating that I often felt like a prisoner in my own home.
‘You’re allergic to life,’ doctors said.
No amount of creams or antihistamines remedied my condition, so quintessential Aussie activities such as ocean swimming, camping, surfing, and bushwalking were ruled out.
To soothe my reptilian skin, I wore only cotton clothes and only white as I was allergic to dye, plus I couldn’t wash with soap or shampoo my hair.
I also couldn’t sleep over at other people’s houses as I’d react violently to the detergent, linen and towels.
After an alarming flare-up aged 19, I was hospitalised in the burns’ unit for six weeks, where doctors wrapped me up like a mummy to protect my raw skin.
Once healed, I developed an obsession for travel.
Aged 22, I journeyed to Asia, Europe and the UK.
There, the grass, pollen, and everything else was different to Australia.
My allergies dissipated and my eczema completely healed within a week.
It was incredible to live a life free of pain.
But within days of returning home, all my ailments would return with a vengeance.
Summers were the worst. Walking outside in the blistering heat with bloody, open wounds, flies would swarm me in their hundreds.
Aged 28, after being in and out of hospital 10 times in 10 years, I was at breaking point and moved to London. It didn’t take long to be relieved from pain once again.
It was incredible to live a life free of pain.
Meeting David, then 39, he was loving, funny and kind. And visiting Australia to meet my family, he was undeterred by witnessing my eczema flaring up at its worst.
‘It looks so painful,’ he said, full of sympathy.
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Head over heels in love, we married and, after welcoming our son Sam into the world in 2016, we decided to move back to Australia to be closer to my family.
Only being allergic to my own country meant my health once again took a nosedive…
My mental health plummeted as my allergies intensified, and I was unable to even change Sam’s nappies or give him a bath as the products made me so sick.
‘You can’t carry on like this,’ David said.
We moved overseas again, this time to Prague. Then Covid hit.
The severity of my conditions meant that if I caught the virus I wouldn’t survive, so we adjusted our lives to keep me safe, including running our own travel business, Delve Into Europe, so we could work from home.
Unfortunately, a reaction to a vaccine brought me to my knees and I was bedridden for two years.
Missing out on making memories and milestones with my husband and son, for support I turned to eczema and allergy Facebook groups.
One day a member mentioned a type of drug which inhibits specific proteins, called interleukins, that drive immune responses.
After we moved back to my home country in July 2024, I had my first treatment.
Soon my body began to heal before my eyes – the red blotchy skin turning a porcelain white.
‘It’s wonderful,’ I cried, hugging David.
Incredibly, the intolerable itch I’d been feeling all my life reduced to nothing and within days, my cracked, scaly skin was becoming softer, and more supple.
The real test was doing those things I’d longed to do but never could.
They say if you dream big, miracles happen, and I believe that now more than ever.
Nervously stepping under the shower, I winced, bracing myself for the stinging pain as hot water cascaded over my skin, but it didn’t come.
‘I love showering,’ I yelled, happily shampooing my hair – another first.
Now 55, I’m learning to embrace things I’ve avoided my whole life. Being able to pet and cuddle our friend’s beagle, Don, and go for a hike without being swarmed by flies are treasured times I’ll never take for
granted.
And going for a swim in the ocean with Sam, now 11, is something I never thought possible.
They say if you dream big, miracles happen, and I believe that now more than ever.
I might have been allergic to Australia for half a century, but I plan to spend the next half making up for lost time.
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