Your Eczema Toolkit
Trusted information and practical tools to help you understand eczema, explore treatment options, and manage everyday life.
At a Glance: Eczema Toolkit
- Eczema defined. Eczema is a chronic, non-contagious skin condition that causes dry, itchy, inflamed and bumpy patches that can crack, weep or crust over. Its most common form is atopic dermatitis (AD).
- Types of eczema. There are seven types: atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, dyshidrotic eczema, neurodermatitis, nummular eczema, seborrheic dermatitis and stasis dermatitis.
- Impact. Eczema isn’t contagious or life-threatening, but the relentless itch, lost sleep and visible skin can take a real physical and emotional toll. Most people with AD report daily itch, and adults have up to a three times higher risk of anxiety and depression.
- Resources. Explore our full Eczema Toolkit — medically reviewed pages, podcasts, webinars, in-depth articles and downloadable stats — plus dedicated content and resources on eczema in skin of color.
Is your skin dry, itchy, red or inflamed – with patches that flare up, calm down, and come back again? You could have eczema, a chronic skin condition that affects more than 31 million people in the United States.
Eczema is not just one condition – there are seven types: atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, dyshidrotic eczema, neurodermatitis, nummular eczema, seborrheic dermatitis and stasis dermatitis. See all seven types in our visual guide ->
The most common type is atopic dermatitis, which happens when an overactive immune system meets a weakened skin barrier that lets moisture escape and irritants, allergens, and bacteria get in.
Eczema often runs in families and frequently appears alongside other allergic conditions like asthma, food allergy and allergic rhinitis. It affects every age and every skin tone – and it can look very different on darker skin than on lighter skin.
This toolkit brings together everything we offer on eczema – medically reviewed pages, podcasts, webinars, in-depth articles and downloadable resources – to help you understand your skin and live well with the condition.
Podcasts on Eczema
Our eczema podcast series – created with board-certified allergist and immunologist Payel Gupta, MD, and eczema patient advocate Kortney Kwong Hong – tackles everything from diagnosis to daily management, with special attention to eczema in skin of color.
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What is Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis)?
Get a primer on eczema (atopic dermatitis), what causes it, why it itches so much, and what can trigger a flair in this podcast.
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JAK Inhibitors for Eczema
This podcast explains how JAK inhibitor medications for eczema work and how they are different from corticosteroid creams and biologics.
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Risks and Realities of Oral Steroid Overuse for Eczema
Learn the risks of topical and oral steroid overuse in eczema treatment, safer options, and considerations for eczema care in darker skin tones.
Articles on Eczema
Get the latest eczema news, expert Q&As and webinar recordings — from new treatments to tips for managing flares and living well with the condition.
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Eczema Camps for Children
Eczema camps are now an option for families. They offer a tailored experience for children with eczema and other skin diseases.
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Eczema and Exercise
Learn the importance of preparing your skin before, during and after exercise to help reduce the risk of eczema flare-ups and keep your skin healthy.
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Eczema Patients Share Health, Quality of Life Challenges with FDA
“More Than Skin Deep” initiative seeks to collect and share patient experiences to inform the drug development process and lead to better treatments.
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How Social Determinants of Health Impact Asthma and Eczema Care
A recent study found that health literacy is often a barrier to asthma and eczema care in Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.
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Eczema and Washing Hands Frequently
Handwashing can even be a source of stress and anxiety, which can also lead to eczema hands. Here is important information to protect your hands when you have eczema and need to frequently clean them.
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Do I Have Eczema?
Eczema is a very common skin condition. It affects 31.6 million people in the United States. Eczema is not a single condition, but rather a grouping of several types of skin conditions, not all of which are related to each other.
Webinars on Eczema
Get the latest eczema news, expert Q&As and webinar recordings — from new treatments to tips for managing flares and living well with the condition.
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The Nuances of Diagnosis and Management of Eczema in Skin of Color (Recording)
Eczema often presents with distinct clinical features in patients with skin of color, contributing to disparities in outcomes.
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Managing Atopic Conditions: Prevention & Treatment of Food Allergy in Infants (Recording)
This webinar was recorded on November 19, 2025 Food allergies now affect nearly 8% of children in the United States, with incidence continuing to rise and increasing the risk of comorbid atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Understanding effective prevention…
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Understanding and Managing Contact Dermatitis (Recording)
Enhance your patient education skills to reduce errors and improve outcomes in Contact Dermatitis care.
Advancing Eczema Care Through Patient-Centered Research
Better eczema care starts with listening. At Allergy & Asthma Network, we lead research to understand what people with eczema face each day, including treatment challenges and barriers to care. Your experiences help guide our work.
Explore the research summaries below to learn what we’re finding and how it may help improve eczema care. Each offers clear, easy-to-read highlights from our studies. We’ll add new summaries here as our research grows.
Oral Antihistamines Don’t Meaningfully Help Eczema
Corticosteroid Exposure and Cumulative Effects in Patients with Eczema: Results from a Patient Survey
Where You Live, Work and Play Can Impact Your Asthma and Eczema Care
Conditions that can look like eczema
Several skin and immune conditions cause rashes, itching, or swelling that get mistaken for eczema. They differ in what triggers them, how they are diagnosed, and how they are treated. If a rash is not responding to eczema treatment, ask a board-certified allergist or dermatologist whether one of these could be the cause:
- Aquagenic urticaria causes hives after contact with water.
- Celiac disease can cause dermatitis herpetiformis, an intensely itchy blistering rash.
- Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is hives lasting six weeks or longer with no identifiable trigger.
- Chronic urticaria (hives) causes welts that move around, with individual welts usually fading within 24 hours.
- Cold urticaria brings on hives, swelling, and welts after exposure to cold.
- Contact dermatitis is actually a form of eczema, but it is triggered by an allergen or irritant touching the skin rather than by atopic disease.
- Hereditary angioedema (HAE) causes deep swelling without hives or itching, and does not respond to antihistamines or corticosteroids.
- Mast cell diseases, including mastocytosis and mast cell activation syndrome, can cause unexplained skin rashes along with other body-wide symptoms.
- Primary immunodeficiency diseases include several disorders that produce severe, treatment-resistant eczema-like rashes starting in infancy.
- Psoriasis produces thick, sharply defined, scaly plaques, often on elbows, knees, and scalp.
- Rosacea causes flushing, lasting changes in skin color, and sometimes acne-like bumps on the face, often with burning or stinging.
- Scabies is caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin, producing a rash with intense itching that often worsens at night.
- Seborrheic dermatitis is a form of eczema that causes flaky, sometimes greasy patches on the scalp, face, and other oily areas of the skin.
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