Hautstigma

Sobre nosotros

Skin stigma is an initiative launched in 2013 to support children and adolescents with skin problems. The skin stigma initiative is led by a multidisciplinary team consisting of specialists from the Children's Skin Centre at the Zurich Children's Hospital. The Children's Skin Centre is unique in Switzerland. The Department of Dermatology, the Centre for Burn-Injured Children, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as Skin and Wound Care have joined forces at the Zurich Children's Hospital and offer a unique care network for children and adolescents with skin diseases and injuries through a very close multidisciplinary cooperation. The aim is to offer comprehensive, patient-oriented care for children and young people with complex illnesses and their families, and to expand cooperation with other specialists and patient organizations.

Mission & Vision of the Skin Stigma Initiative
The external appearance of a person is of increasing importance in our society. There is a risk that people with physical abnormalities will be disadvantaged. Children and adolescents with visible skin lesions often experience unpleasant social reactions in their everyday lives: they are stared at, harassed and not infrequently avoided. This can affect their quality of life and development opportunities. Faced with the experiences of those affected and based on scientific findings, we feel compelled to give affected families the best possible support and to sensitize large sections of society to this topic and to prevent stigmatization of affected people. This is to ensure that affected children and adolescents can develop as optimally as possible in the medium and long term.

Under the motto “Ick pack’s” (I can do it) we provide advice and support for affected children and young people and their families. We also promote networking among those affected.
Under the motto "Sich(t) verändern” (change yourself and your attitude), we are committed to informing large sections of society about skin problems and preventing the stigmatization of those affected.

What does the skin stigma initiative do?
• We accompany and support: Complex skin injuries, such as severe burns, often require long hospital stays and many years of rehabilitation, which can be a burden for the whole family. We accompany and support affected families.
• We advise and strengthen: Skin diseases or the consequences of accidents can go hand in hand with a variety of physical, psychological and social burdens for the affected child and his family. We offer individual psychological counselling sessions to those affected.
• We network: Unfortunately, there are very few organizations in Switzerland that work for the needs of children and adolescents with skin diseases. Affected families often feel alone with their situation. We want to change this by promoting networking among those affected.
• We train: Medical camouflage: In certain situations it can be helpful to conceal a skin problem with the help of special make-up products. Two specially trained nurses offer individual camouflage make-up courses at the Zurich Children's Hospital.
• We are committed to prevention: scalding and burns are among the most common accidents in childhood. That is why prevention work is important
• We provide information and raise awareness: Through a skin stigma initiative, we are committed to the needs of children and adolescents with skin problems. This means that we not only support those directly affected, but also work to inform the public about skin diseases and to prevent the stigmatization of those affected.

Ornella Masnari is the project manager of the Skin Stigma Initiative.

On request we can offer other net participants advice, give a presentation, and provide up-to-date information and contacts in the field of our work.