Simone Biles was 'bleeding' from her scalp due to brutal skin condition
Simone Biles has opened up about being diagnosed with skin conditions which left her "itching and flaking".
Simone Biles has revealed the skin condition which caused her to itch so much she "would bleed".
The 29-year-old Olympic gymnast has been diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis and eczema after dealing with the conditions for years but mistaking them for dandruff.
She told PEOPLE magazine: “I was itching and flaking. I would itch so hard and use a comb that I would bleed.
"I was just like, ‘I can’t live like this. I’m itching. I’m miserable. I feel uncomfortable. I need to see someone who can give me relief'.
Simone, who has teamed up with Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. on a new Skin to Believe In campaign, explained that she started "itching all the time" while training before the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Simone, who now uses ZORYVE foam to manage her symptoms, as well as ZORYVE cream on her arms, had noticed itching and flaking around her crown at the time.
She explained: “I was kind of in denial, so I did a lot of over-the-counter stuff...
“Then I had some spots on my arms... I thought it was going to let up, and then some of my symptoms got a lot worse.”
She didn't book in to see a dermatologist right away, putting the blame on her hectic schedule.
Simone said: "I was always in the gym, I was always traveling, so I didn’t take that step, but it finally got so bad.
"At the Olympics, I was flaking everywhere, so I was afraid that someone would see it on the TV... that’s why I finally went.”
Dr. Angela J. Lamb, who is a board-certified dermatologist, joined Simone for the interview, and urged people to seek treatment before it's too late.
She said: "The delay in diagnosis only makes things worse. Simone should not have been having her scalp bleeding. Luckily she didn’t get any infections from that, but sometimes that can lead to infection.
“You really want to get on top of your skin conditions. If left untreated, these conditions can have some long-term consequences.
"People who are not managing their seborrheic dermatitis can have hair loss... so you really want to go relatively quickly.”
