The National Eczema Association

Announces

Eczema And Sensitive-Skin Education (EASE)

Program

 

Purpose

 

The mission of The National Eczema Association (NEA) is to improve the health and quality of life for individuals with eczema and severe sensitive skin conditions through support, education and research.  In furtherance of this mission, NEA has established the Eczema And Sensitive-Skin Education (EASE) Program and the NEA Seal of Acceptance.

The Eczema And Sensitive-Skin Education (EASE) Program is a patient empowerment program that is intended to improve the quality of life for millions of persons who suffer from eczema and severe sensitive skin conditions.   By providing educational tools and resources relating to the care and treatment of eczema and sensitive skin, The EASE Program makes it easier for consumers to navigate the complexity of information directed at eczema and sensitive skin patients and to evaluate the myriad of personal care and household products on the market.

A Work In Progress

 

The EASE Program is a work in progress.  As such, we appreciate your patience while we construct the EASE website and continue to improve and develop the Program.   In the meantime, we hope that you will provide your contact information so that we can update you about our progress.  Please provide your contact information to Julie Block at julie@naaf.org or info@nationaleczema.org.

Program Components

 

Educational Library

Ø       Provides information relating to the care and treatment of eczema and sensitive skin conditions.  Product ingredients that should be avoided by persons with eczema or severe sensitive skin conditions are included.

Ø       Brochures, medical updates, references, research, tips, articles, and fact sheets are included in the educational component.

Products Directory

Ø       The products directory contains a listing of products which have received the NEA Seal of Acceptance, as well as other products that may be suitable for persons with eczema and sensitive skin.

Ø       Products eligible for the NEA Seal of Acceptance are those that have been created or intended for use by persons with eczema or severe sensitive skin conditions and that have satisfied the NEA Seal of Acceptance criteria.  The Seal of Acceptance criteria include review of testing data on sensitivity, safety and toxicity as well as ingredient and formulation data.  The Seal of Acceptance criteria also include a list of ingredients that should be avoided because they contain known irritants and allergens.

Ø       Product Categories:

Personal Care Products

Household Products

Fabrics

Devices

Marketplace

Ø       The marketplace component is an electronic consumer environment in which access to accepted products is provided.

Ø       This component contains links to the websites of products that have received the NEA Seal of Acceptance and supplier websites.

Ø       Subscriber information is included in this component.

EASE Program Is Only A Beginning

The information offered by the EASE Program is intended to provide a broad consumer understanding and knowledge of eczema and sensitive skin health care topics and should not be considered exhaustive. The information is compiled from a variety of sources.  NEA makes no warranty as to the reliability, accuracy, timeliness, usefulness or completeness of the information.  Patients should regard the information obtained through the EASE Program as a starting point for their own decision making process regarding the suitability of a particular product or treatment.  In addition, NEA does not recommend the self-management of health problems.  Health care related questions should be referred to a physician or other health care provider.

Acceptance of a specific product does not represent an endorsement of that product.  Acceptance of a product means that the product has been evaluated to determine that it does not contain ingredients that are known to be unsuitable for use by persons with eczema or sensitive skin conditions. NEA makes no representation or warranty regarding any of the accepted products, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.

NEA SEAL OF ACCEPTANCE

 

Products eligible for the NEA Seal of Acceptance are those that have been created or intended for use by persons with eczema or severe sensitive skin conditions and that have satisfied the NEA Seal of Acceptance criteria.  The Seal of Acceptance criteria include review of testing data on sensitivity, safety and toxicity as well as ingredient and formulation data.  The Seal of Acceptance criteria also include a list of ingredients that should be avoided because they contain known irritants and allergens

The following product categories are included: Personal Care Products, Household Products, Fabrics, and Devices.  The presence of the NEA Seal of Acceptance on products will help empower the consumer to make informed purchase decisions. 

 

The NEA Seal of Acceptance Panel consists of experts in the fields of Dermatology, Allergy, Pediatrics, Pediatric Dermatology, Pediatric Allergy and other medical disciplines.  The NEA Seal of Acceptance Panel members are required to disclose all conflicts of interests and submit a confidentiality agreement.  Should a panel member have a conflict of interest, such as stock ownership, consulting agreements, honorariums, or any other relationship with an applicant, the panel member is excluded from that product Seal of Acceptance application review.

 

Personal Care Products

The NEA Seal of Acceptance offers an additional independent evaluation of topical cleansers and moisturizers that have been submitted for evaluation.  The evaluation is not able to determine future sensitization or reaction to a particular product and caution should always be considered.  Some individuals, due to their specific skin condition, may still have difficulty with a particular product which should be reported to a physician immediately.

 

Accepted products are not intended for use by persons with severe atopic dermatitis without prior medical consultation.  The NEA acceptability standards are not intended to guarantee that persons with severe atopic dermatitis will not experience adverse reactions after using an accepted product.  In particular, individuals with severe atopic (allergic) dermatitis may have specific sensitizations that may induce food allergies in the future.  There are few long term studies to clarify this potential and caution should be maintained with these products in this patient population.  This is especially true with large body surface area involvement in younger children.

For More Information

 

            Consumers:  For more information regarding eczema support, education, research, the EASE Program and the NEA Seal of Acceptance, please contact Julie Block, Program Director, National Eczema Association at julie@naaf.org or info@nationaleczema.org

 

Businesses:  For more information regarding the EASE Program, including sponsorship opportunities and the NEA Seal of Acceptance, please contact Julie Block, Program Director, National Eczema Association at 415.499.3474 or julie@naaf.org

 

 

 

AVEENO®

Eczema Care Body Wash and Eczema Care Moisturizing Cream

Awarded the first NEA Seal of Acceptance

  

 

Johnson and Johnson Consumer Products Company, which is a Charter Sponsor of the EASE Program, has introduced AVEENO® Eczema Care Body Wash and AVEENO® Eczema Care Moisturizing Cream.  These products are the first to be awarded the NEA Seal of Acceptance.

 

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