National Eczema Week is fast approaching!
From September 13 to 19, this years theme will : “Be Prepared, Be Heard.” Our goal is to empower the eczema community by providing the tools and knowledge needed to manage their condition effectively and advocate for their own health.
Throughout the week, we will be sharing valuable resources, featuring inspiring case studies, and offering practical advice. We also invite you to join the conversation and engage with us as we work to amplify the voices of those living with eczema.
Be sure to stay connected with us on our website and social media for daily updates and opportunities to get involved. Let’s make this year’s campaign a powerful and impactful one.
Catch up on our 2024 campaign.
Help Shape the Future of Eczema Care: We’re Looking for New Trustees!
Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of the millions of people in the UK living with eczema? We’re looking for new Trustees to join our Board and help us shape a better future for everyone affected by this condition.
This is a fantastic opportunity to use your skills and experience to guide our strategy, strengthen our voice, and improve the support we provide. As a Trustee, you’ll play a vital role in helping us achieve our mission.
We’re particularly interested in hearing from individuals with professional expertise in income generation, health policy, or legal/HR. If you have skills in one of these areas and are ready to use them for a great cause, we’d love to hear from you.
If you are a passionate, strategic leader, consider joining our team and helping us make a lasting impact.
Apply by September 30th.
Thanks to your support, clearer topical steroid strength labelling is here.
Until now, steroid creams and ointments used in the UK didn’t clearly show their strength on the tube or box. Some showed the percentage of active ingredient, but that’s not the same as strength.
We conducted an online survey in December 2022, to find out more about people’s knowledge and understanding of steroid potency. We received 943 responses, from both adults with eczema and parents of children with eczema.
Your input showed how confusing the old system was and why clearer strength labelling was essential. 98% of respondents knew steroid creams and ointments come in different strengths. However, almost half said they didn’t know how many different strengths there were, and only 17% correctly answered ‘4’. 95% of respondents said they would like to see clear strength labelling on all steroid creams and ointments.
A report on the findings from this survey, and a further survey we conducted in Jan-Feb 2023 investigating awareness of specific topical steroid products, was published in the Clinical and Experimental Dermatology Journal. The research highlighted a worrying lack of understanding of steroid potency among patients. 1 in 5 respondents underestimated the potency of their topical steroid and almost a quarter overestimated this.
National Eczema Society gathered and led a coalition of medical organisations and charities, calling on the UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, to introduce consistent and clear potency labelling on topical steroid (TCS) tubes, packaging and patient information leaflets. We argued strength labelling is needed to support people to use steroid creams and ointments confidently and safely to treat eczema flare-ups.
Our Chief Executive Andrew Proctor attended meetings at the MHRA to push for this change. Healthcare professionals from dermatology advocated for implementation too. We recommended the MHRA use the words ‘mild steroid’, ‘moderate steroid’, ‘strong steroid’ or ‘very strong steroid’ on the labels, rather than saying ‘potency’ which not everyone understands.
The MHRA was reviewing its advice on topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) around the time it was considering changes to topical steroid strength labelling. We contributed to the TSW advice review as well.
We did it! They announced the introduction of clearer strength labelling of steroid creams and ointments in May 2024, in a routine update to MHRA stakeholders called a Drug Safety Update. The MHRA also highlighted its updated TSW advice at the same time. All topical steroid products should now clearly show strength levels on the packaging, tube and patient leaflet.
When announcing the change back in May 2024, the MHRA confirmed:
“Over the coming year, topical steroids will be labelled with their potencies to aid correct selection and to simplify the advice to patients requiring multiple steroid products of differing potencies. These will be labelled ‘mild steroid’, ‘moderate steroid’, ‘strong steroid’, and ‘very strong steroid’.”
Reflecting their announcement, the MHRA gave manufacturers 12 months to implement the new strength labelling, starting from late May 2024. Our community can now expect to see strength labelling on the packaging and tube of steroid creams and ointments, and this is also explained in the accompanying patient information leaflet.
What this means for you:
- Easier to understand the treatment you’ve been prescribed
- Clearer conversations with your doctor or other healthcare professionals
- More confident, informed decision-making using topical steroids, which so many in our community rely on to treat eczema flare-ups
This change is for you, our wonderful eczema community.
Thank you for your support. It took us three years to build the evidence and campaign for this important change and we did it! We believe this is a huge step forward in supporting people to use these medicines safely and effectively. And we think it’s a world first too!
Let us know if you’ve spotted the new labels on your steroid creams and ointments, we’d love to see photos of the strength labelling, too!
We were proud to recently host the National Eczema Society’s Annual Medical Advisory Board (MAB) meeting, an important opportunity to bring together expert voices from across dermatology to guide our work.
Since its founding in 2021, the MAB has played a vital role in shaping our organisational strategy, research priorities, and campaigning, and we’re deeply grateful for the continued insight and commitment of its members.
This year’s meeting was an energising and collaborative session, allowing us to:
- Share updates on the eczema research projects we’re funding through our growing grants programme
- Explore emerging developments in the medical and research landscape
- Reflect on the reach and impact of the trusted health information we provide for people living with eczema
We’re also marking an important moment in the MAB’s leadership. After four years as inaugural Chair, Professor Celia Moss OBE is stepping down from the role, we’re delighted she will remain on the Board as an active member. Celia has helped to shape the MAB from the start, ensuring it reflects the needs of both clinicians and the eczema community. We are incredibly grateful for her guidance, experience and unwavering support.
We’re equally pleased to announce that Professor Carsten Flohr will now take on the role of Chair. A leading figure in eczema research and clinical care, Carsten is currently in the second year of his second three-year term on the MAB. He brings extensive academic and strategic leadership, and as head of a severe eczema clinic, he sees first-hand how devastating this condition can be.
We are hugely thankful to Professor Flohr for stepping into this important role and for the expertise he continues to share with the Society.
On this International Nurses Day, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Julie Van Onselen, our esteemed Dermatology Nurse Advisor, who has been a vital part of the NES community for over 25 years.
Julie’s dedication, expertise, and passion have made an immeasurable impact on our work and the lives of those we support. Most recently, she has led our Exploring Eczema series with insight and compassion, sharing her knowledge in ways that truly empower and educate. Her regular contributions to our members-only magazine, Exchange, continue to inform and inspire, and her guidance as a member of our Medical Advisory Board helps to shape our approach and priorities.
Julie exemplifies the very best of nursing, skilled, empathetic, collaborative, and driven by a genuine desire to improve care. We are incredibly lucky to have her as part of our team, and we thank her deeply for her tireless work and longstanding commitment to NES.
Thank you, Julie, for everything you do.
On Saturday 1 March, we’re thrilled to host a talk by Dr Ella Guest on the Psycho-Social Impact of Eczema. Attend in person in Guildford, or join us virtually via our live-stream on Facebook – both are completely free!