An itch that just won't go away

Often seen as a relatively harmless childhood ailment, eczema can have a debilitating effect on children and their families.

One in five New Zealand children suffer from atopic eczema, the most common form of the disease. While for most it's a mere nuisance, for others the effects can be severe and long-lasting.

The disease causes the skin to become itchy, red, dry and cracked. The itchiness can be unbearable but the resultant scratching often leads to infection.

President of the New Zealand Dermatological Society Dr Amanda Oakley says eczema could have a huge effect on sufferers.

"When severe, child and parents have sleepless nights. Scratching constantly is very distressing," she says.

Dr Oakley says although most children grow out of the disease eventually, there is no cure.

"The disease is chronic so the need for treatment is endless and currently available therapies are often relatively ineffective."

Doctors prescribe emollients to keep the skin moisturised and in some cases steroid creams to reduce inflammation. However, Dr Oakley admits available medications are less than ideal.

"Medicines are costly, messy, inconvenient and sometimes require monitoring" she says.

Catherine Manning, of support group Itchy Kids, agrees the disease is an ongoing battle for children and their parents.

"You have to constantly think about their care," she says. "It never goes away."

She says one of the most frustrating things is there is often no obvious pattern.

"You have your management plan and you think you are doing everything right and then there's a flare-up."

Manning's 9-year-old son has severe eczema. She says he was regularly bullied and had to deal with "well-meaning" strangers making remarks daily.

"People think it's okay to comment on it - on how good or bad it's looking," she says. "It's made him resilient as he had to face adversity."

Manning says Itchy Kids is a group set up "by mums for mums" that enables parents to share experiences, advice and tips. She says although doctors do their best, parents should trust their instinct about what treatments worked best for their child.

"We are the ones dealing with bloody sheets in the morning and the ones up three times a night because the child has woken up scratching."

She says the impact on family life can be significant.

"Siblings have to learn that he will get more care and time," she says. "We have to think about everything we do as a family - he often can't swim in the sea, we have to avoid hot temperatures and camping trips are a problem because of the lack of bathing facilities."

Manning says she hopes her son's condition will improve over time. In the meantime, for her son and thousands of others like him, the cycle of moisturising, wet wrapping and scratching looks set to continue.