Dr. Rosemarie Watson:

Obviously, this is a very painful condition and 30% of people with severe EB will have open wounds over 30% of their body, which is an awful lot, so right from birth we give pain relief. Paracetamol is not going to do it. A number of them require opiates, but in paediatrics we use play therapy to help with procedures to reduce pain. Psychology is another very useful, holistic look at helping with pain. The majority of the severe patients are probably on opiates. Lots of other things have been considered, even the cannabinoids are beginning to be looked at in international studies.