Life Stories Archive - Irish Skin Foundation

Suzanne Moloney speaks about her HS fight

I don’t clearly remember my first experience of Hidradenitis Suppurativa, but I think I was about 12 or 13 years old. It was like a dark cloud that followed me around. I would ignore it most of the time and get on with things, but when I got home I would look at myself and […]

Emma Greaney: My skin was in crisis, but now it’s clear after getting the right support

My name is Emma and I’m 17 years old. I have suffered with psoriasis for 12 years (ages 5-17) and I’m so grateful to say my skin is now 100% clear since February 2018. At the beginning of September 2017, my skin was in crisis, nothing was working and I felt my mom and I […]

Pearl’s Story: Living with Psoriasis – ‘I found a new friend in the Irish Skin Foundation’

My Journey with Psoriasis When I was four, I’m 10 at the moment by the way, I first met psoriasis and I knew right away psoriasis would halt my play. We did not get on right from the start as the little bugger just broke my heart. I just could not like it as it […]

Paul Herriott: His battle with eczema – “I had lesions and scratch marks”

RTE radio presenter Paul Herriott believes he wouldn’t be able to do his job if it weren’t for the help of doctors to bring his eczema under control. Herriott now presents a live concert broadcast from the Dublin’s National Concert Hall featuring the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, on RTE’s Lyric FM on Friday nights. Before […]

Caroline Hill: “It took eight years to get a correct diagnosis for HS”

There is no cure but a combination of medical and surgical treatments, as well as pain management and lifestyle changes can greatly ease this invasive skin disease, says Áilín Quinlan, of the Irish Examiner. Caroline Hill was only 17 when the first abscess appeared under her arm. About the size of a kidney bean, it […]

Nikki Farrington: “I avoided getting close to people – especially boys” because of HS

It’s taken Nicola Farrington a decade to come to terms with her skin condition. But, she tells the Sunday Independent LIFE magazine’s Joy Orpen Kanter, she is now urging others who are in the same boat as her to get help, and to try to put their ailment into perspective. Nicola Farrington (26) is happiest […]

Elaine McCallig: “I used to think of myself as a flaky, red monster, but now I don’t let eczema define me”

Elaine McCallig tells Joy Orpen Kanter that no one should allow a skin problem like eczema to define who they are. Instead, she recommends that they take full control of their health and go out there to fulfill their ‘magnificent’ potential Having a chronic skin condition can cause all kinds of emotions, ranging from acute […]