A woman in Hong Kong got so distressed by her skin condition that she killed her parents and then herself on Father’s day last Sunday.
Pang Ching-Yu, a 23-year-old nursing student, stabbed both of her parents with a knife and apparently killed herself thereafter.
The woman reportedly stabbed her father and mother in the chest with a foot-long knife.
Authorities reported that they found a suicide letter in Pang’s bedroom that expressed how bothered she was by her eczema, an itchy skin inflammation.
Pang also wrote in a forum online and blamed her parents for her skin condition.
“People with eczema giving birth to kids are worse than poor people giving birth to kids,” she reportedly wrote. “If you’re poor, you can rely on your own hard work. With eczema, sorry, you have to suffer (your whole life) with no change.”
She also expressed that the side effects from the steroids she used to treat them were affecting her life and that having eczema means, “there’s nothing you can do except to wait and die,” adding that her “social life (was) all gone.”
Research shows that there is a definite link between patients experiencing eczema and mental health issues.
In a survey done by the National Eczema Association, it has been found that 30 percent of people with the condition were also diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety. Doctors also say that some medications for eczema have corticosteroids which can cause depression.
Experts also suggest that if a child is experiencing and struggling with a serious skin condition, they should encourage the child to focus on other aspects of their being to further supplement their healing. A child’s self-esteem can suffer from having this condition, therefore opening the discussion about their mental health is vital for their overall well-being.