Treatments for Eczema

How is eczema treated?

Although eczema still cannot be cured permanently, modern treatment should provide good control. Most patients use medical treatments as well as self-help measures to keep it under control.

Apart from moisturisers, you will probably also be prescribed steroid creams and ointments. Steroids are effective and, if used properly, are very helpful however, if overused, they can cause skin thinning and other problems. If you are prescribed steroids ask your doctor or dermatologist how to apply them. You will probably be prescribed weaker preparations to use on more delicate areas e.g. the face. In recent years new non-steroid medications that avoid many steroid side-effects have become available. They are particularly suited for treating delicate areas like the face and for young children.

Antihistamines (tablets or syrup) may help reduce the itching of eczema. Eczema may become infected with germs and when this happens it tends to worsen. In such cases antibiotics are required and these may need to be repeated periodically, particularly in children. If infection happens frequently, it may help to use creams or ointments containing a combination of antibiotic and steroid.

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Helping you since 2001

The Malta Eczema Society was set up in 2001 to help those with eczema and their families. The need for such a group in Malta, as found in other countries, had been felt for a long time. The society aims to help by providing support, information and practical advice via public talks and other activities and to increase awareness about eczema and the problems it may cause.

The Malta Eczema Society has also repeatedly lobbied the Maltese Health Authorities regarding entitlement for free medication for eczema sufferers. Until recently, patients with eczema, unlike those with other chronic conditions, were not eligible for any free medication for their condition no matter how severe and chronic it was because eczema was not included in the Schedule V list of chronic diseases. This was very unfair and discriminatory.

We are pleased to note that in 2021 the Schedule V list was amended to include patients with severe chronic forms of eczema. This was a big step in the right direction. However it is disappointing that new effective medications for severe eczema such as dupilumab and JAK inhibitors, which have been used in other countries for several years, are still not available in Malta. It is hoped that these will now become available here too. The MES will continue to insist that available funds should be utilised according to patients’ needs and that patients should not be discriminated according to which chronic disease they are unlucky enough to have. Eczema sufferers pay taxes like everyone else and should be given the assistance they deserve like other patients.

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