By hormones in this article, we mean glucocorticoids, which are drugs that mimic the function of a hormone secreted by the human adrenal cortex. The human body also secretes many other hormones, which, although not covered in this article, can be equally confronted with all hormones that are used according to medical advice. One such incident once occurred in Australia and has been recounted by doctors there, although more than a decade has passed. Gloria, like many babies, got eczema at four months, but did not receive regular treatment because her parents were afraid of the side effects of hormone medication. As a result, the child’s eczema got worse and her nutritional status worsened. Although she was admitted to the hospital at the end of her life, it was too late: a large skin wound became severely infected secondary to sepsis and she unfortunately died from it. It is saddening that a disease that could have been cured was delayed and the child’s life was lost due to the parents’ misconceptions. Of course, this is only an extreme case, but it reflects that parents have a lot of prejudices about hormone creams, even to the extent of “hormone phobia”, and after their children have eczema, they do not cooperate with the doctor’s prescription of medication, which delays the treatment, and the children suffer unnecessarily and may cause serious consequences. In clinical practice, we often see these poor children using various cosmetic products recommended by friends claiming miraculous efficacy because their parents are worried about the side effects of hormone creams, resulting in their eczema getting worse and worse, or stopping the medication immediately after using hormone creams to get better, resulting in their eczema always being uncontrolled. Why do you have hormone phobia? Hormone creams have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects, reduce rash, reduce edema and stop itching, and are a powerful tool in dermatology for treating various inflammatory skin diseases. However, more than 40 years ago, when various topical corticosteroids were first marketed, people were still confused about the difference in the strength of these ointments and the characteristics of each hormone, which were regarded as “miracle drugs” at that time, and abused them regardless of the location, condition and indication. This was one of the origins of “hormone phobia” among some doctors and patients. Hormones are not that scary. With the gradual improvement in the understanding of the characteristics of various hormone effects and dosage forms, the hormone creams nowadays have been greatly improved compared to the previous ones. There are many kinds of hormone creams, and they are generally divided into four types from weak to strong: weak, medium, strong and super strong. Generally speaking, the stronger the action, the more significant the anti-inflammatory effect, but the side effects are also relatively larger, which needs to be selected according to the different diseases and the areas to be smeared. For pediatric eczema, weak and medium potency hydrocortisone acetate, dinaide and hydrocortisone butyrate can be used. Although mometasone furoate ointment belongs to the strong-acting category, it has been used and found to have fewer side effects compared to other strong-acting drugs, and has been made a “soft hormone” by many dermatologists, and can also be used for pediatric eczema. In terms of dosage forms, ointments are preferred, followed by creams. Gels and other forms are poorly moisturizing, so if you must use them, you need to apply a moisturizing cream after applying the gel. The side effects of topical hormones are mainly local and systemic. Theoretically, the area where the medicine is applied for a long time may show thinning of the skin, lighter skin color, or even redness and inflammation. If skin atrophy occurs, it will slowly recover after a few months if the medication is stopped in time. However, most of these side effects are caused by not using hormones correctly or using cosmetics with unknown ingredients that contain strong hormones. Personal experience and reports in the literature have proven that reasonable use of hormones does not cause side effects such as skin atrophy and hypopigmentation; in rare cases, long-term and excessive use of strong and super-potent hormone creams may cause skin wrinkles in the armpits and other areas with skin folds, transient fattening of the stomach, and acne with perioral erythema. How long is long term? This question needs to be combined with the age of the child, the site of application and the medication used. It is generally believed that weak and medium-acting hormones can be applied once or twice a day for three to four weeks; strong hormones can be used for two weeks continuously. Generally, after the disease is controlled, the medication can be stopped depending on the specific situation. For children with recurrent attacks, intermittent use of hormone creams can be used to prevent recurrence after the disease is controlled, such as two days of continuous use and five days of discontinuation per week. As far as the current situation is concerned, topical glucocorticosteroid creams are recognized as the first line of treatment for pediatric eczema. The reasonable use of appropriate topical hormone medication as prescribed by the doctor is not only effective but also safe. They take advantage of parents’ fear of hormones to produce and promote so-called natural, herbal and hormone-free eczema “miracle drugs”, but these natural products may have hormones secretly added to them. The use of these products is not only a waste of money, but more importantly, unknowingly use “drugs” with unknown ingredients and side effects, which is the biggest taboo for rational use of drugs. In short, in the current treatment of pediatric eczema, it is more common to see the underuse of hormones as opposed to the overuse of hormones. Of course, the use of hormonal creams under the guidance of a doctor, along with active and reasonable moisturization, can have a positive effect on maintaining the skin barrier and preventing and reducing the allergic process.