Dermatology

The Dermatology team helps patients with the treatment and management of a range of skin conditions including eczema, acne, psoriasis and many more.

We see patients in outpatient clinics, on hospital wards and in the community. Our nursing staff also work with other healthcare professionals to promote education about dermatology.

A minor operations service runs once a month where children over five years old can have skin biopsies or moles removed under local anaesthetic without the need for a general anaesthetic or hospital bed.

We also run a cosmetic camouflage service twice a month. This helps patients to take control over the visible effects of conditions, injuries or scars left by surgery.

There are very few dedicated services for paediatric dermatology in the region and families come to us from across the country to see our consultants.

Research

Our Consultant Dermatologists Professor Mike Cork and Dr Ruth Murphy are carrying out research into systemic drugs to treat eczema in the research centre at Sheffield Children’s.

These drugs have the potential to transform the lives of severe eczema sufferers and results so far have been encouraging.

Alternative treatments

We are working with the Infection Control team and Pharmacy to look at alternative antimicrobial treatments for bathing eczema patients to try and reduce the amount of oral and topical antibiotics prescribed.

We are also developing our practice to include holistic therapies such as clinical hypnosis and habit reversal which could help eczema sufferers who experience itching/scratching and anxiety related to eczema.

Guided imagery / relaxation

Relaxation can be a really helpful way for patients to deal with the symptoms and side effects of their skin condition. It can also be beneficial for parents as they manage the challenges of having a child with a chronic condition.

To support this our Dermatology team are creating a series of relaxation recordings for parents and patients. They are being recorded by Julie Carr who is the Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Dermatology Service and a qualified hypnotherapist.

For parents and young people the recording can be used at times where you need to unwind and take time out of your busy routine (but please don’t listen before driving or operating heavy machinery). For patients, some can be used at night or some others for quiet times in the day.

The recordings can be streamed or downloaded below and more will be added soon. We hope you enjoy them and find them useful.

Parents and young adults

7-11 year olds

Facebook group

Sheffield has a Facebook support group – Eczema Parents in Sheffield – where parents and carers can ask questions and share tips. The group was organised by the mum of a child with eczema and our Clinical Nurse Specialist provides additional support.

Self-management

For advice and information on managing skin conditions, please visit the Sheffield NHS CCG website.

Feedback

If you’d like to share any comments about the Dermatology service or the relaxation recordings, please use the form below.