More than itchy skin: A mother's journey to relieving her daughter's painful condition
Posted: July 29, 2025 | Word Count: 1,256
Parents and caregivers understand the difficulty of seeing their loved ones in pain. For Leontwanette, this challenge began the moment her now 7-year-old daughter, KayCee, was born.
Right away, Leontwanette noticed something unusual about her daughter's skin, which appeared red, dry, and flaky. Concerned, the new mom consulted a pediatrician, who assured her it was normal and recommended moisturizing.
But over-the-counter and home remedies weren't helping her enough. KayCee's skin became so thin that even brushing against something, including contact from clothing, caused pain and discomfort.
Leontwanette and her husband were advised to minimize KayCee's contact with others, including her family and other children, which proved to be especially challenging. KayCee's time outdoors also had to be limited due to outdoor triggers.
"When her skin flared, we had to be careful about everything we did," said Leontwanette. "KayCee couldn't go outside without being fully covered. Her skin was so fragile it would break and bleed at the slightest touch."
Because KayCee was too young to communicate her own needs, Leontwanette dedicated her time to advocating for her daughter, starting with getting an accurate diagnosis from a healthcare provider.
After multiple doctors' appointments with no answers, a dermatologist finally diagnosed KayCee with eczema, and in her case, with the most common type—atopic dermatitis. By then, her skin had become incredibly delicate and painful.
What is eczema?
Atopic dermatitis is the most common form of eczema, affecting more than 9.6 million children under the age of 18 and about 16.5 million adults in the US.[1],[2],[3] A common symptom of eczema is itching. Persistent itching may lead to severe skin irritation and inflammation.[2] While eczema affects people of all skin colors and ethnicities, studies show Non-Hispanic Black children (14.2%) were more likely to have eczema than non-Hispanic White (10.2%), Hispanic (9.5%), and non-Hispanic Asian (9.0%) children.[4]
Treatment options for eczema
Leontwanette had a hard time finding a treatment option that would be effective for KayCee's eczema. A lack of research and resources representing KayCee's darker skin tone made it take longer for her to get an accurate diagnosis.[5] Some topical treatment options KayCee tried didn't offer long-term relief, due to the suggested duration of use or limitations on where they could be used on the body. Leontwanette longed for a day when her daughter would not be preoccupied by itchy skin.
"When KayCee's skin was flaring, there was nothing my husband or I could do," said Leontwanette. "We took turns trying to soothe her."
When KayCee was 4 years old, Leontwanette enrolled her in a clinical trial for VTAMA® (tapinarof) cream, 1%, the first and only steroid-free prescription topical medication in its class approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of eczema (atopic dermatitis) in adults and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older.
After applying VTAMA cream every night during the clinical trial, they achieved the disease clearance they had been hoping for. In clinical studies, up to 46% of patients with eczema using VTAMA cream (374 out of 813) achieved clear or almost clear skin in just 8 weeks compared to 18% of patients using a cream with no active ingredient.*[6]
"The first change I noticed was that her skin appeared less inflamed. What felt more significant was that her itch improved, and she felt relief," said Leontwanette. Itch relief was reported as early as Day 2 in the pivotal studies by some patients.[6]
Once KayCee achieved clear skin, she was able to stop treatment for a period of time and still maintain her results. For patients in the trial that achieved completely clear skin while on VTAMA cream were able to stop treatment and, on average, maintained clear or almost clear skin for about 2.5 months.[7]
For eczema clinical trials, the most common side effects were upper respiratory tract infection, red raised bumps around the hair pores, lower respiratory tract infection, headache, asthma, vomiting, ear infection, pain in extremity, and stomach-area pain. Please see below for full important safety information.[8]
Patients in the trial who achieved completely clear skin while on VTAMA cream were able to stop treatment and, on average, maintained clear or almost clear skin for about 2.5 months.[7]
"I was so pleased with the progress we saw in KayCee's skin," said Leontwanette. "It's hard not to get emotional when I think about our eczema journey. A feeling of overwhelming gratitude consumes me now that I know she has an option that can provide relief."
If you or a loved one are impacted by eczema, talk to your doctor about treatment options, including whether VTAMA cream is right for you or your loved one. For more information, visit VTAMA.com.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Indication: VTAMA® (tapinarof) cream, 1% is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist indicated for the topical treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older.
Adverse Events: In atopic dermatitis, the most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥1%) were: upper respiratory tract infection, red raised bumps around the hair pores (folliculitis), lower respiratory tract infection, headache, asthma, vomiting, ear infection, pain in extremity, and stomach-area (abdominal) pain.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please read the Prescribing and Patient Information for VTAMA cream and discuss it with your doctor.
© 2025 Organon group of companies. All rights reserved. vIGA-AD is the trademark of Eli Lilly and Co. US-VTA-112766 07/25
* Patients also achieved a ≥2-grade improvement from baseline in Validated Investigator Global Assessment for Atopic Dermatitis™ (vIGA-AD™) score in 8 weeks.
[1] Chiesa Fuxench ZC, Block JK, Boguniewicz M, et al. Atopic dermatitis in America study: a cross-sectional study examining the prevalence and disease burden of atopic dermatitis in the US adult population. J Invest Dermatol. 2019;139(3):583-590. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2018.08.028
[2] Rea CJ, Tran KD, Jorina M, Wenren LM, Hawryluk EB, Toomey SL. A randomized controlled trial of an eczema care plan. Acad Pediatr. 2018;18(7):789-796. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2018.02.015
[3] Shaw TE, Currie GP, Koudelka CW, Simpson EL. Eczema prevalence in the United States: data from the 2003 national survey of children's health. J Invest Dermatol. 2011;131(1):67-73. doi:10.1038/jid.2010.251
[4] Zablotsky B, Black LI, Akinbami LJ. Diagnosed allergic conditions in children aged 0-17 years: United States, 2021. NCHS Data Brief. 2023;(459):1-8.
[5] Croce E, Levy ML, Adamson AS, et al. Reframing racial and ethnic disparities in atopic dermatitis in Black and Latinx populations. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021;148(5):1104-1111. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.09.015
[6] Silverberg JI, Eichenfield LF, Hebert AA, et al. Tapinarof cream 1% once daily: significant efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adults and children down to 2 years of age in the pivotal phase 3 ADORING trials. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;91(3):457-465. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2024.05.023
[7] Bissonnette R, Stein Gold L, Kircik L, et al. Skin clearance, treatment response off-therapy, and safety of tapinarof cream 1% once daily: results from ADORING 3, a 48-week phase 3 trial in adults and children down to 2 years of age with atopic dermatitis. Poster presented at: Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference; October 24-27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV.
[8] VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1%. Prescribing Information. Dermavant; 2025.
