We love National Eczema Week! It’s a time for our community to come together and talk all things eczema. There aren’t enough of these opportunities and it’s important we celebrate our amazing resilience dealing with the many ups and downs of eczema. It’s wonderful to see World Atopic Eczema Day on 14 September getting bigger every year, too.
The daily challenges of caring for your skin, avoiding eczema triggers, the relentless itch and just facing the world can be so daunting. We become expert at planning to cope, but can’t do it all on our own. Most of us rely on the advice and medicines prescribed by the GP when our eczema flares up, and for ongoing preventative treatments like emollients.
That’s why we are encouraging people to ‘Be Prepared and Be Heard’ during National Eczema Week this year. You don’t have much time with the GP, and it’s useful to prepare to get the most out of these consultations. Thank you to everyone in our community who shared their experiences and tips.
I’ve been privileged to be a part of National Eczema Week for several years. It is encouraging to see more people and organisations getting involved and supporting this vital awareness-raising initiative. Working together we can amplify our voice and create a better future for everyone living with eczema. Special thanks to everyone who shared their own experiences of living with eczema, especially Chloe, Luke and Jenny. It takes courage to talk about things that are difficult and very personal. By sharing our eczema stories we help our community be heard, and help others understand how tough it can be living with this complex inflammatory skin condition.
Together, we have the opportunity of being heard and ensuring that people with eczema get the care and support they need. Thank you everyone in our wonderful eczema community for all you do.
Andrew Proctor, Chief Executive, National Eczema Society
To mark National Eczema Week, we’ve launched ‘Be Prepared, Be Heard’ — a brand new resource to help you make the most of your GP appointments.
With space to track your symptoms, write down your questions, and share the impact eczema has on your daily life, this guide helps you feel more confident and ensures your concerns are recognised.
Download it, fill it in, and take it with you to your next appointment. Be prepared and be heard during your next eczema appointment.
Download our resource and learn more about National Eczema Week.
National Eczema Society is a membership organisation and our members are invited to attend and participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), usually held in September. You get to hear about the work of the charity over the past year, including the Treasurer’s report on the Society’s annual accounts. Members are also asked to vote on any resolutions proposed by the Trustees. Member can also send their proxy votes using the form listed on the reverse side of the AGM Notice.
Our Annual General Meeting this year is on Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 2.00-2.30pm and is being held by Zoom video conference. Members are asked to email us at info@eczema.org to request the AGM joining instructions. Thank you!
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!