As much as I wanted to listen, cooperate, and heed my dermatologist's advice, I did the exact opposite: I covered it all up. When I really wanted to wear that short sundress that my mom got me, I opted for black jeans and a light, black sweater, and when I wore a spaghetti-strapped maxi-dress, I would top if off with a denim jacket. Showing skin was never an option. Yes, I had been told that sunlight can clear up eczema, but I didn’t want anyone to see my skin in the first place, so I didn't let it see the sun. But all this covering up made me sweaty, which made me itch, which made me scratch, which made it all worse. It was my catch-22: I wanted to hide the condition of my skin under clothing, but the clothing itself was preventing my skin from healing.