A Dalmeny man is celebrating success after years of trialling different drugs for his severe eczema.
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The government will now subsidise the cost of a life-changing treatment, after hearing its effect on Mr Rowley and others who campaigned with a similar story.
John Rowley has suffered with eczema since he was five months old.
He met with different dermatologists and trialled new medications throughout his childhood. Most were topical treatments such as creams or immunosuppressant drugs that couldn't be used long-term.
He learned to live with the relentless itching and painful rashes.
"When staying overnight at friends I would take sheets for their beds; I couldn't wear white shirts because I would scratch and bleed," Mr Rowley said.
"Friends would see me scratching my back against brick walls."
In his adult years, Mr Rowley signed up to undergo clinical trials with dermatologists at St George Hospital, Sydney.
"I decided I had to do something; If people didn't do trials, a cure wouldn't come to light for people who had eczema," he said.
"I learned to live with it after all these years, but didn't want other kids to go through what I did."
He spent years travelling to Sydney to trial treatments. He then heard about a doctor in Canberra.
Mr Rowley began treatments with doctor Diana Rubel at Woden Dermatology.
He said Dr Rubel was the driving force to do skin trials with a biologic therapy known as Dupixent.
Over the past two years, Mr Rowley has been injecting himself with Dupixent fortnightly.
I learned to live with it after all these years, but didn't want other kids to go through what I did.
- John Rowley
He said it has been the most successful, however the cost was more than $20,000 per year.
"It's not a cure but a prevention, it has put it [eczema] to sleep," he said.
"But it has been so expensive to get."
Last year, Mr Rowley joined other eczema patients in a campaign to pressure the Federal Government to take eczema seriously and fund the new medicine.
On March 1, came life-changing news for thousands as the government added Dupixent to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
This means the annual cost of the treatment will be subsidised from $22,800 to just $41.30 or $6.60 for concession card holders per prescription.
Mr Rowley thanked the work of Melanie Funk, who is managing director of Eczema Support Australia, and driver of the SOS - Save Our Skin campaign.
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Aged 71, Mr Rowley is now able to enjoy life to the fullest as a grey nomad with his wife.
"My caring wife Jane has put up with a lot," he said.
"The medication has improved our lives a lot - I couldn't have done it without her."
He was thrilled by the government's support of Dupixent and was proud of his input.
"There's hope out there; I have done what I wanted to do and hope I have helped other kids."
While Dupixent is only subsidised for severe eczema patients aged 12 years or more, clinical trials are underway to investigate the use in children.
If you have severe eczema, consult your dermatologist or immunologist to see if you are eligible.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by eczema, you can visit www.eczemasupport.org.au, email contact@eczemasupport.org.au, or call LifeLine on 13 11 14.
