Ariana Page Russell has a skin condition called dermatographia, where the skin is overly sensitive to minor injuries. Even light scratches will cause it to become red and raised.
Ever the artist, Ariana decided to use her medical condition as the basis for her art:
My own skin frequently blushes and swells. I have dermatographia, a condition in which one’s immune system exhibits hypersensitivity, via skin, that releases excessive amounts of histamine, causing capillaries to dilate and welts to appear (lasting about thirty minutes) when the skin’s surface is lightly scratched. This allows me to painlessly draw patterns and words on my skin, which I then photograph.
Some samples:
Link: Ariana's website - via It's Nice That and about:blank
neat-0
Thats all I can say.
Wait, that chick can put her nipples in her ears? That I'd like to see.
Anyways, I think I'd like to have this condition, at least for a short while. I could draw cool stuff on my face and then have the coolest facebook profile picture. If you've got this, don't be embaressed, it rules. It's a good ice breaker/party trick/attention grabber.
Plus you'd never be without a etch-a-sketch if she was your friend.
That was what I was thinking but then again I'm sure the proctors/observers would be wondering why someone is staring at their arms so frequently.
I can't say I'd like to have this condition but I'd like to have only a patch on my arm for temporary tattoos. I'm too scared to get one myself (permanently) :o
@ ska: most people that develop this condition have very fair skin that doesn't tan
but it's so creative and really...just a good outlook in general to be able to take an uncomfortable condition and turn it into something beautiful.
Mine has gotten better since I was in high school, but I've had it for at least 10 years. I wonder if it's still sensitive to make art on...I'll have to find some artistically inclined friends!
I picked up a variant of this 17 years ago in the mountains of Sulawesi (Indonesia) by swimming in the 1 star hotel pool (used to be a 5 star) and I couldn't resist the lovely open sewer pit (I mean pool). Got some in the mouth.....big moistake.
No pain, no ability to write letters (well this never occurred to me) but lots of itching. Cortisone helps but pills are bad news so lots of scrip high-cortisone cream (in Oz at least). In the last 12 months I have been going to a UV clinic (run by skin Doctor's) and they burn it out of you with high UV. Very effective.
It doesn't help my mind that two young Ozians females just died of sunbed UV exposure.
I hope my comments help somebody because until the last skin quack, none of them had any idea. They all called annular arrhythmia (which is quackian for 'no effin idea').
Gorgeous, and I love that you have that humor to play and use this GIFT so wisely. !! ;)
And just like JPS said, I found that Zyrtec kept in under control.
by the way, ska, no, she does not need to get a tan. fair skin is lovely.
it's great for keeping your arms warm if you're stuck out in the cold without a jacket. as far as sex goes, it doesn't seem to be a problem for me there, unless I'm just really rough with my skin there. shaving anywhere on my body is a bitch though. my face and elsewhere will swell up if I try to get in close, especially with a dull razor. then the itching starts.
I'm almost 35 now so I'm guessing it's here to stay.
Ariana must have some pretty good self restraint. The light scratches that cause the welting shown would have caused me some considerable itchiness, leading to a long scratchfest.
Glad to learn that this thing has a name and I'm not the only person out there with it...
The best thing about it is you have a pretty cool party trick, plus you can amuse yourself easily if you've got time to waste, the worst thing is the accidentally scratching your face and having strangers come up and exclaim 'Oh my God! What ever has happened to you???'
Antihistamines work well to reduce the effects but they only seem to control it temporarily.
It is genetic, i doubt u got it from a swimming pool...
My mates used o draw things like nazi symbols on my forearms infront of my jewish drama teacher.
or make a slit on my wrist...
funnny stuff
Those who have serious conditions, Anti-histamine pills can help temporarily but they ain't a long term solution as you must just become very reliant on it. I"ve got tanned skinned though =)
My skin's baffled me for a few years now.
Now I know, but that art thing is a bit odd...
... as for the suggestion for using it in exams...LOL... i am a medical student interested in dermatology so it may come in doubly handy!
The art is an interesting idea - i especially like the last picture - it really shows off the textural contrast of the welt without the surrounding redness.
Just looking at this made me nauseous. Where's my Zyrtec!
Although I suffer from this just last summer...
And I really hate it... people would be freaked out and always ask what happened to my skin... it's irritating both physically and socially...
sometimes when im bord and we are goin to a place thats far away and i have my cell fone i like to write on myself and then the letters get annoying so i just let it be.
having this is cool but at the same time its pertty annoying....it doesnt affect you in any way when your having sex and its just cool when they write all over you at the same.
Over the last 10 years, I have been taking Zyrtec daily... you know how the commercial says, "24 hour relief?" well... it's about 20-22 for me. When it begins to wear off, OOOOH BUDDY! WATCH OUT! I ran out one night and awoke at 2:00 am itching myself to death! I was drawn to tears... this was at the time Zyrtec was available by prescription only. So, I drove 40 miles one way to a 24-hr Walgreens for relief. It is NOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO WISH FOR YOURSELF! It is embarrassing and frustrating! Just last night, was at a bday party and was thinking I was like an old woman because we were gonna have to go so I could get home and take my medicine! Ugh! It's not cool, ya'll.
Try getting your eyebrows waxed... the girls freak out when it turns beat red in just a minute and whelps up like crazy! Just moving hair out of my face leaves a scratch mark that people think has been caused by a vicious cat! ha. It is NOT cool to have... yes, what the original poster has done is creative and that has it's interest... but you do NOT want this.
I find it annoying: when getting eyebrows arched, taking showers, my lips use to welt up, if an itch pen grazed my face, people looking at you crazy, my upper chest looked like a cat clawed me...etc..
I have been prescribed Doxepin( an anti depressant) I take it only once a week and it does the trick. Doxepin doesn't work for everyone . I also take Xyzal (allergy med, prescription only) 2 or 3 times a week. I itch just very little, but nothing embarrasing like before and hardly any welts.
I use to be able to play tic tac doe on my skin! I recently met an older gentlemen 57yrs- he has been prescribed Lyrica, he has relief after 12yrs and he was so glad to find out that he wasn't crazy that there is a whole community with this issue.