Additional treatment options

In addition to emollient and topical steroid therapy, there are a series of other treatment options available to people with eczema.¹

All care settings:
Wet wraps
Useful with topical steroid for severe eczema in young children - particularly to reduce night time itching² Parents/carers may need specialist advice on treatment application.¹
Bandaging²
Occlusive dressing increases absorption of topical preparations Bandages impregnated with theraputic substances such as tar or ichthammol may be applied over topical preparations Also offers protection from scratching Occlusive medicated dressing and dry bandages should not be used for infected eczema¹
Immunomodulator therapy
Alternative to topical steroids - may be used for long-term maintenance therapy⁹ Whilst they do not cause skin thinning potential risks and benefits should be discussed with your patients¹

Secondary care settings (for initiation or treatment):
Phototherapy²
Phototherapy is thought to involve immunosuppression, although its mode of action is not fully understood. Given either with ultraviolet A or B (UVA,UVB) or with psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) Exposure to UV rays from a course of phototherapy is thought to pose a low to negligible health risk.
Systemic therapy²
Includes treatments such as oral steroids or immunosuppressants such as azathiaprine and ciclosporin Treatment should only be initiated under specialist dermatological supervision, and after formal assessment and documentation of the severity of someone's eczema and their quality of life.

1.NICE (2007) Atopic eczema in children. Management of atopic eczema in children from birth up to the age of 12 years. Clinical Guideline 57, London, December 2007
2.National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health. Atopic eczema in children: management of atopic eczema in children from birth up to the age of 12 years. Clinical Guideline December 2007 (NICE Eczema Full Guideline) www.nice.org.uk
9.Manufacturer's SPC