Dermatology campaign to focus on eczema prevention

A genetically-induced skin disease, commonest in boys and women shall be the centre piece campaign of dermatologists in the UAE and a Saudi-Arabia-headquartered pharmaceutical firm, this academic year until July 2026.

- Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The partnership between the Emirates Dermatology Society (EDS) and the Jamjoom Pharma, which has branches in Dubai and Cairo, Egypt, was formalised with the July 4 signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the capital, way ahead of the "ECZPLORE" September launch.

It is "ECZPLORE" because the campaign is about eczema.

EDS president Dr. Ayman Al Naeem told Gulf Today on Friday: "Eczema has become one of the most pressing skin health issues in the UAE. It affects one in five children and often gets worse, because of the heat, the humidity and the air-conditioning; generally our climate."

Referring to the EDS data, when enquired regarding the youngest and oldest patients, the gender ratio, and the prevalence in the country's multiracial landscape, Al Naeem said: "The condition can appear as early as the first few weeks of life, although such an early onset is rare."

Rare too, it is, among septuagenarians and octogenarians who have been found to also be suffering from the disease, which counts "environmental factors" namely "allergens, climate, stress and irritants," particularly those with "family history and mutations in skin barrier genes like filaggrin," a protein - a as a cause.