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!