Features - Skin Sensitisers: Avoiding the Emollients Merry-Go-Round

During my 40 years as a GP I've treated thousands of eczema sufferers. Skin conditions and their treatment has always been an area of interest for me. To non-sufferers the impact of skin conditions like eczema, on patients and their families quality of life are often under estimated. I know how distressing eczema can be and how much a suitable treatment can change lives.

One of the areas which I've spent much time investigating is the use of emollients within the treatment of eczema. An effective moisturising regime can have a powerful effect on sufferers, however I've often struggled to find an emollient that my patients can use long term. For many there is an emollients 'merry-go-round' which involves constantly changing the brand they use due to adverse skin reactions caused by regular usage.

When prescribing emollients for patients I've sought to avoid brands which include 'skin sensitisers' in their formulations.

For those who may not be aware 'skin sensitisers' tend to be chemicals which can cause an allergic skin reaction. For some, this reaction happens straight away, for others it may take weeks, months or even years! I've long believed that it is these skin sensitisers which have caused my patients ongoing problems.

It may seem strange that emollient creams contain chemicals which can actually irritate the skin. Whilst these common chemical skin sensitisers have no positive effect on the moisturising ability of emollient creams they are included in the formulations primarily as part of the preservative system. They help make sure the creams remain stable and don't go off before they are used.

Just over a year ago I was introduced to another GP, Dr Mark Randle, who had also spent years trying to avoid skin sensitiser containing emollients but who had been unable to find any which did not include at least one of the common skin sensitisers.

Mark had taken things further than me however. He had spent the previous 3 years with other healthcare professionals formulating a set of emollient creams which contained none of the common skin sensitisers. A feat which was hugely complex and technical as manufacturing creams without any of the traditional preservative ingredients was new ground for everyone involved.

I've recommended Mark's creams, called DermaSalve, to many people now, all with tremendous results.

It's funny how things often turn full circle, but I now have 2 young grand daughters who suffer from eczema. The older one had also been on the emollients 'merry-go-round'. Both now use DermaSalve and have stuck with it with positive results.

I wrote to Mark recently to tell him about the impact of his work on my family. He told me he's had lot's of positive feedback from eczema sufferers but is still dismayed at how little is communicated about skin sensitisers to those who need to know.

Mark is now trying to raise the profile of skin sensitisers across the whole population. With programmes like Channel 4 'How Toxic Are You' and 'How Toxic Are Your Kids' highlighting the fact that the current generation come into contact with more chemicals today than at any other time in history, Mark believes everyone should be conscious of what they're applying to their skin and the possible issues this could raise further down the line.

To my knowledge DermaSalve is still the only range of creams out there containing none of the common skin sensitisers. The challenge is out there for everyone else!

Page created: 8 February 2008