We brought the largest team yet to our stand at the National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore this year. We met over 800 people, offering information and support about a range of skin conditions. Of the more than 1,500 exhibitor stands in Tullamore, we were thrilled to be profiled as one of only nine ‘Top picks’ by the Irish Farmers Journal.
While it’s always a pleasure to meet so many hundreds of people and to be able to provide information about psoriasis, eczema, acne, rosacea and sun damaged skin, it’s quite disappointing to hear from so many people visiting us of long delays in accessing dermatology services, high out-of-pocket expenses and general difficulty in getting to the bottom of troublesome skin complaints.
As usual, a high percentage of visitors to the ISF Helpline Stand had queries about psoriasis and eczema. We were delighted to be able to provide copies of our new information booklets with up-to-date information to take away. The most common inquiries, from people with eczema, concerned emollient therapy, steroid cream use and steriod phobia. For people with psoriasis, our nurses provided a top-up on basic management and information about the many new treatment options available.
We were very fortunate to have had access to an ultra violet (UV) camera, which revealed sun damaged areas on the face that are invisible to the naked eye. Revealing the full extent of sun damage under a UV light shocked many visitors who didn’t realise that they were accumulating UV damage on a day-to-day basis whilst working outdoors (many were surprised to learn that the windscreen of a tractor didn’t protect them from harmful UVA rays!). Visitors who weren’t adequately protected from UV rays got a good dose of sun-safety advice!!
Listen back to our Health Promotion Manager, Michelle Dolan chatting about farmer’s tan to Nicky and Jenny on 2fm’s Nicky Byrne show, which was broadcast live from the Championships.
We would like to thank the many dermatology nurses, Board members and other team members for volunteering their time.
We are looking forward to next year already!
Our attendance was partly sponsored by LEO Pharma
