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Mum finds miracle cure to eczema nightmare thanks to farmyard ingredient

Brittany Parr swears by the new treatmen

Molly Powell
Friday 12 January 2024 06:55 EST
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Brittany Parr, 26, said her condition was ā€˜too much to bearā€™
Brittany Parr, 26, said her condition was ā€˜too much to bearā€™ (PA)

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A mother riddled with eczema has been able to wear a skirt for the first time in 15 years thanks to her discovery of a ā€œmiracle cureā€ with a farmyard secret.

Brittany Parr, 26, who works at McDonaldā€™s, developed eczema when she was around 11 years old, and became self-conscious about it when she was a teenager, avoiding wearing skirts and dresses as she did not want anyone to see her legs.

The mother-of-two, who lives in Norwich with her husband and daughters Amelia, 4, and Aurora, five months, had her worst eczema flare-ups after giving birth, which saw her skin become itchy, raw and red.

But just as her condition became ā€œtoo much to bearā€, in September 2023, she came across Skin Shop and their Hydrosil turmeric butter and milk salve, which contains donkey milk.

(PA)

She said the treatment completely transformed her skin ā€“ the soreness and redness completely died down within a month of use.

Since then, she has worn a skirt outside in public, which is something she ā€œnever thoughtā€ sheā€™d be able to do and made her ā€œso happyā€.

Brittany told PA Real Life: ā€œWhen I put the skirt on, it felt like a big moment and donā€™t get me wrong, I was cold because it was in the winter, but it made me so happy.

ā€œI never thought Iā€™d be able to wear a skirt ā€“ it was amazing.ā€

Brittany first encountered eczema when she was around 11 years old
Brittany first encountered eczema when she was around 11 years old (PA)

She added: ā€œIt was minimal, I could deal with it at that stage. I had it on my legs and I started to get self-conscious about it when I was a teenager.

ā€œI never wore skirts or dresses, only trousers because I was so embarrassed of my eczema ā€“ it was always quite red.

ā€œI donā€™t have eczema in my family that I know of but going through puberty seemed to be the thing that triggered it, so I obviously have a genetic link to it as most kids donā€™t get eczema in puberty.ā€

Over the years, Brittany tried anything she could get her hands on to try to improve her skin.

Brittany had lost faith with medicated products
Brittany had lost faith with medicated products (PA)

She said: ā€œIā€™ve been in and out of the doctors and prescribed various creams and medications for my eczema for most of my teens and 20s.

ā€œI only go to the doctor when I get a really bad flare-up as I am always hoping there will be some new treatment offered that will actually work.

ā€œIā€™ve been prescribed different steroids several times and they work at first and then they stop working and then the eczema comes back worse than before.

ā€œThey also began to harm my skin and discolour it, so I decided to stop using them eventually.ā€

But, Brittanyā€™s eczema got even worse after both her pregnancies ā€“ within weeks of giving birth, her skin flared up in ā€œred vicious rashesā€ all over her legs and elbows.

She said: ā€œAfter having my first daughter I had eczema really badly for three months, and with my second daughter, it was so much worse.

ā€œItā€™s really horrible having eczema flares when you have young babies ā€“ itā€™s stressful enough with the lack of sleep and being constantly on your feet but with your skin itching and raw all the time itā€™s awful. I felt constantly stressed as my skin was so painful.

ā€œYour body is already in the wars after pregnancy but adding raw itchy skin to the other damage to your body is almost too much to bear.ā€

As well as making it hard to sleep, Brittanyā€™s eczema has also affected her confidence.

She said: ā€œItā€™s also just really high maintenance to keep up with moisturising two or three times a day, especially with two children but I try to keep up with it to make my skin better.

ā€œMy priority was looking after them.

ā€œI felt so self-conscious and constantly covered up.

ā€œBecause of my eczema, I avoided wearing skirts because of how bad my legs looked ā€“ I couldnā€™t remember the last time I wore a skirt.ā€

Whenever Brittany got any free time, she researched new products after running out of patience with medicated products.

Skin Shop and their Hydrosil turmeric butter and milk salve, which contains donkey milk was the treatment that stuck.

She said: ā€œI read several reviews of the salve and a lot of people seemed to be in a similar position as me in that they had tried the steroid route, and it hadnā€™t really worked out for them.

ā€œThere were a lot of mums with hand eczema and young kids who had said it was a life saver.

ā€œSo, I was convinced enough to try the new salve. It was reasonably priced too which makes a big difference for me as money is not easy with two young kids, so I have to be careful how much I spend on my skin.ā€

After a month of using the salve, Brittanyā€™s eczema was no longer sore, and the redness and dryness almost disappeared.

Mum embarrassed of ā€˜viciousā€™ eczema wears skirt for first time in 15 years after finding miracle donkey milk cure
Mum embarrassed of ā€˜viciousā€™ eczema wears skirt for first time in 15 years after finding miracle donkey milk cure (PA)

She said: ā€œMy confidence has improved so much.

ā€œWhen I wore a skirt, I was just so proud of myself and canā€™t believe the day finally came.

ā€œI felt a bit uncomfortable at first, especially because your confidence goes down after having a baby anyway ā€“ Iā€™ve worn a skirt twice, the first time was a few weeks ago.

ā€œIā€™ve mainly worn midi-skirts but hopefully my skin will improve even more by the summer so I can wear a proper summer dress.ā€

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