Control with a click

Bodil Stormo and her son Vebjørn send photographs of Vebjørn's eczema outbreaks to the specialists at the University Hospital of North Norway. So they do not have to wait for an appointment with their local GP.

About one in four Norwegian children suffer from atopic eczema. The Stormo family in Gratangen has been especially hard hit. All of the six children have had eczema of varying severity.

The two youngest children have been the worst affected. Atopic eczema can be a great burden for both children and adults. The treatment is complicated, and the distance to the nearest dermatologist is often great.

Far away from specialists

"We live in a small place, with a high turnover of doctors. As a rule, GPs have less experience in this type of eczema, and it is often necessary to go to a specialist."

"Our nearest dermatologist is in Tromsø, a return trip of about 600 km. Over the years we have done that trip many times, and it is tiring for a small child – tiring for the whole family," says Bodil Stormo.

But life became much easier for the Gratangen family five years ago, when they were included in a project run by the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine in Tromsø together with the Department of Dermatology and the Department of Paediatrics at UNN.

The parents, Bodil and Fred-Arne, were equipped with a digital camera and were given access to a secure Web site where they could upload pictures of the children's eczema outbreaks along with questions about treatment. At the other end, a specialist at UNN replied to the enquiries.

Many questions

"When the eczema flares up, as parents we have many questions. Often, you feel at a loss, and often you have to wait a long time for treatment. With this system, we could quickly get a reply about what we should do, which cream we should use, etc. For us, this project was incredibly good," says Bodil Stormo.

To illustrate the complexity: parents of children with atopic eczema often alternate between 10-12 different creams, ointments, and oils, which must be applied during the different phases of the eczema outbreaks.

(Excerpt from the article "Control with a click" published in Norwegian in the daily newspaper Nordlys on Monday 19 February 2007. Reproduced with the permission of journalist Thor Harald Henriksen. The photograph has been used with the permission of the Stormo family.)

More information about eczema counselling

If you want to know more about this project you can also read the article "Faster help for eczema patients" or contact project manager Terje Solvoll, mobile telephone (+47) 909 32 183.