Little Harry and mum Rachel walk for eczema charity

Little Harry Smith was only a few weeks old when he was diagnosed with eczema.

The condition makes the 9-month-old intensely itchy, affects his sleep and has even put him in hospital.

His mum Rachel was at her wits end trying to access help when she discovered Eczema Outreach Support, a charity for children and young people with eczema and their carers.

Now Rachel is taking on a walking challenge to raise money for the charity.

Rachel, from Cannock, is even going to be getting the steps in while the family are on holiday in Lanzarote.

She said: "When Harry was just weeks old, his skin had a bad rash. He had just had his jags so we thought he maybe had a reaction but it just got worse and worse.

"His eyes all puffed up and he looked painful so we took him to A&E when he was about 10 weeks old and eventually he was diagnosed with eczema.

"I don't have eczema and neither does my partner so we didn't have a clue where to go to get help. The waiting list for dermatology was months long but luckily my friend told me about Eczema Outreach Support."

The family joined EOS for free and received a welcome pack full of information and goodies and attended a webinar with a dermatologist to find out how to best care for Harry's skin.

Rachel is taking part in Move 5 for EOS, a ten day long challenge to raise money for the charity. She will put Harry in the baby carrier and walk 5km every day - even while on holiday.

Rachel said: "EOS were such a good source of support when we felt so alone. We didn't know how to best apply creams, or what we should be asking the GP for and EOS made me feel more confident in asking for treatments and caring for my baby.

"I want to give back so we are doing Move 5, even on holiday, because the work they do is so important. I want to make sure other families can access the support."

Today Harry is in a good routine with skin care and his eczema isn't as bad as when he was a newborn.

CEO of Eczema Outreach Support, Suzi Holland said the charity was grateful for Rachel and the other families taking part in Move 5.

"A huge thank you to Rachel for putting in the effort and taking part in Move 5, even while on holiday. We are so grateful for our members and supporters that fundraise for EOS.

"Funding is becoming increasingly difficult to secure and we rely on fundraisers more and more so we can continue to help over 4000 families across the UK."

You can sponsor Rachel and Harry here.

For more information on EOS and how to join for free, visit here.

By Kirsty Mitchell – contributor