Welcome Phoebe Duff, fellow dermatographic ;’) Phoebe posts lovely photos on Instagram, so I reached out to her for an interview:

Skin Tome (ST): Do you try to hide the fact that you have dermatographia, or do most people know you have it?

Phoebe Duff (PD): With people I have never met before I try to hide it because I never know how they will take it. But the people close to me know.

(ST): When and how did you find out you have it?

(PD): I have had dermatographia for the past six years but only found out what it was recently when a woman was in the local news paper nicknamed ‘the human etch a sketch’ and I realised what it was.

(ST): Does it embarrass you?

(PD): Yes, all the time. Especially when I have an itch and scratch it and people mistake it for scars.

(ST): Do you take antihistamines/medication for it? If not, what do you do to manage the condition?

(PD): I don’t take anything for it. The only way I manage it is when my skin becomes irritated I use a cold flannel to calm it down.

(ST): What are your symptoms?

(PD): Just itchy skin and raised welts when scratched.

(ST): Do you think dermatographia is cool? Weird? Annoying?

(PD): Dermatographia is most defiantly the coolest skin condition there is, and me and my friends find it very interesting. Especially the unknown causes.

(ST): Is there anything you’d like to know about dermatographia?

(PD): The only question I have is can people with dermatographia get tattoos? Because I have looked this up and have not gotten a straight answer.

I have attached a could of pictures of things my friends have drawn on me and I thought they were cool

– Phoebe 🙂

In response to your question Phoebe, I finally wrote a post about dermatographics getting tattoos! You are definitely not the first person to ask, and luckily I’ve already gotten a few tattoos so can vouch for it being okay (for me at least–everyone has different reactions).

So great to meet you, thanks for the interview!

Images courtesy of Phoebe Duff