Triggers for Eczema

Pets

Avoid contact with cats, dogs, small furry animals e.g. rabbits and birds as this may aggravate eczema (and asthma and hay fever). Those with eczema should not keep such pets at home.

House-dust mites

These are tiny creatures that live on human skin scales found in dust e.g. in bedding, carpets and upholstery and can aggravate eczema (and asthma).

At home keep dust to a minimum.
Air the house frequently; use a damp cloth instead of a dry one to clean dusty surfaces.
Vacuum carpets often reduce house-dust mite droppings.
Use protective coverings for pillows and mattresses and wash bedclothes frequently in hot water.
To reduce house-dust mites in soft toys, place the soft toy in a plastic bag in a freezer for 24 hours once a week and then wash thoroughly in hot water.
Some patients find it helps to remove carpets from their home.

Smoking

This should be banned! In an enclosed room, tobacco smoke may irritate the skin and also aggravate asthma.

SUPPORTED BY

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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