Book your own appointment for habit reversal!

Dr Peter Norén says....

"Make your own appointment for habit reversal: it's your skin, it's your choice"

Not everyone with chronic atopic eczema does well with  The Combined Approach. In our clinic 20% of patients referred do not succeed, at least the first time they try. We have looked at why this seems to happen.

Attitude is one of the important factors - both attitude of the person with chronic eczema, and attitude of others. Some clues as to how attitude may be involved comes from discovering who has instigated treatment. Knowing this can explain a failure to succeed. Significant others, often family members, and often the mother of the patient, may have discovered The Combined Approach - perhaps in conversation with others who have benefited from the programme, or through having heard of someone who has. They then have been instrumental in getting the patient seen. 

This process behind getting treatment is understandable. Many with chronic eczema who have suffered with it for years have lost interest in finding a way out of living with it. However someone else, who wants to help and who spends time finding out about the approach and realizes its relevance for the eczema sufferer, may be able to raise a glimmer of interest in the person concerned.

However important this positive help from others is, even more fundamental is that The Combined Approach is an exercise in self-help. Sufficient understanding, acceptance and commitment needs to be in place from the start - enough to get going, and enough to get going on the right foot - the programme can achieve the rest.

When it comes to setting things up, we recommend if you are the one who has the eczema, it's best if you organise your own appointments.

As Dr Norén says - "It's your skin: it's your choice".