Lloydspharmacy.com Health - Eczema and school

Reviewed by Dr Victoria Lewis, specialist registrar in dermatology

General

Eczema is more common in children and therefore can impact on schooling in many ways.

Active (acute) eczema causing constant itching and scratching can mean sleepless nights and daytime drowsiness or lack of attention. Peer group teasing in the playground, classroom or gym can make life miserable for the obviously eczematous child.

Especially in junior school, some easily spread skin infections such as impetigo can potentially be much more trouble to a child with eczema.

Although steroid or other anti-inflammatory treatments only need to be applied twice a day and don’t need to be taken to school, a child with active eczema needs to have access to emollients as often as required. Younger children may need help or encouragement to apply them.

Avoiding trigger factors

Most of the trigger factors that are likely to be relevant to a child with eczema will be common to both the home and school environment. If there are known specific trigger substances, this information needs to be shared with the school. Similarly, teachers should check whether there are potentially problematic materials in art or technical classes.

Diet is not a common trigger for eczema, so generally school meals can be disregarded as a cause for concern.

The itchy child

Every class is likely to have at least one child with eczema, so many teachers will have experience of what it means to have a pupil who can’t stop scratching. Scratching is impossible to resist if the skin is itchy enough, so admonishment of the child is inappropriate and ineffective. Arrangement may need to be made to let the child out of class to apply more emollient or other creams as required.

Eczema that is bad enough to disrupt attention in class needs to be suppressed more effectively and is a good reason for the parents to take the child back to the GP.

Eczema may influence a child’s ability or desire to take part in school activities, sports and trips. For example, swimming may inflame the skin if the child is sensitive to chlorine or may be embarrassing for a child whose skin is visibly inflamed. However, in the vast majority of children, even the most acute eczema can be damped down considerably and the effect on schooling minimised.

Based on a text by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP

Last updated 15.09.2005