The Girl in the Plastic Bubble

LONDON, February 28, 2008— -- Like John Travolta in "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble," 13-year-old Laura Weaver of Hereford, England, is allergic to almost everything.

She is allergic to soap, perfume and animals. She is even allergic to the medicines she takes to treat her allergies.

Laura suffers from severe eczema, a nasty condition that prevents her from living the life of a regular teenager.

She can only sleep two hours at a time because she needs to put on cream almost constantly.

In the morning, before she can do anything else, she has to put on cream and bathe for hours, then apply more cream and bandages.

She cannot attend school like a normal teenager because she is allergic to certain chemical products inside classrooms. Instead, for half of her classes she has to sit in a separate room equipped with a computer which she uses to send her work to her teachers.

Often, she cannot stay at school for the entire day, because she hurts and itches so badly.

"Laura pretty much lives with open sores," Laura's mom, Lisa Weaver, told ABC News. "It's like having sunburn all the time."

Eczema causes intense itching that worsens when a sensitive area is scratched.

"It's one of those neverending things. She just never stop scratching," said Lisa. "And that causes bleeding, swelling and very inflamed skin."

Her parents do everything to prevent her from scratching, a nearly hopeless mission.

"She knows she should not scratch," her mother said. "We try to distract her, to keep her occupied. We make sure she has very short nails, but she would use anything to scratch: her teeth, a nail cutter, a hair brush."

Scratching the itch brings tremendous relief to the patients and it can often seem worth the agony and soreness that follows, according to the British National Eczema Society, a charity that provides support and information to people with eczema.

Remedies for the itching include moisturizers and warm baths, according to the National Eczema Society.