Eczema Awareness Month 2026: Key Takeaways

Throughout October, Dermatology Times recognized Eczema Awareness Month with expert perspectives, emerging clinical data, and new insights into the challenges that continue to shape eczema and atopic dermatitis (AD) care. From correcting persistent misconceptions about the disease to navigating an expanding treatment landscape and addressing geographic disparities in specialty care, this month's coverage highlighted the importance of looking beyond visible symptoms and taking a more individualized approach to management.

Here are some of the key insights from Dermatology Times’ 2026 Eczema Awareness Month coverage.

Beyond Dry Skin: Recognizing the Full Burden of Eczema

Eczema is often perceived as little more than dry or irritated skin, but Celina Feldman, MD, emphasized that the disease is a chronic inflammatory condition involving both the immune system and skin barrier. Its effects can extend well beyond visible lesions, disrupting sleep, mood, relationships, work, and other aspects of daily life.

Feldman also addressed misconceptions that eczema is exclusively a childhood disease and concerns surrounding topical corticosteroids. Although some patients improve as they age, eczema can persist or first develop in adulthood. Meanwhile, fear surrounding topical corticosteroids may lead patients to undertreat their disease despite the therapies' safety and efficacy when used appropriately.

For clinicians, Feldman encouraged looking beyond what is visible during a single examination. Asking about itch severity, nighttime awakenings, daily activities, relationships, and emotional well-being can reveal disease burden that might otherwise be missed.

Read “Beyond Dry Skin: Rethinking Common Eczema Misconceptions”

Moving Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Eczema Care

Scott Stratman, MD, highlighted another central theme of Eczema Awareness Month: eczema management should be individualized and continually reassessed.

The growing number of topical, oral, and injectable treatments has created more opportunities to tailor therapy according to disease severity, lifestyle, treatment preferences, and other patient-specific factors. However, more choices can also make treatment selection increasingly complex.

Looking ahead, Stratman identified precision medicine as an important frontier. Genomic, transcriptomic, or other biomarkers could eventually help clinicians predict which therapies are most likely to work for an individual patient rather than relying on sequential treatment attempts.

Until those approaches become routine, Stratman emphasized communication and reassessment. A regimen that once controlled disease may no longer be adequate as seasons, lifestyles, and disease activity change.

Read “Eczema Awareness Month: Moving Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Care”

Helping Systemic-Ready Patients Move Beyond Topical Therapy

For patients with AD who are candidates for systemic treatment, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI, stressed the importance of moving beyond inadequate topical therapy.

With multiple biologics now available, clinicians have more options than ever, but Chovatiya emphasized the need to understand the evidence behind individual therapies. Differences in trial design, patient populations, efficacy outcomes, and safety data can all influence how biologics should be evaluated and discussed with patients.

The ultimate goal is not simply selecting among an expanding list of therapies, but translating clinical trial evidence into treatment decisions that make sense for the individual patient.

Read “Choosing a Biologic in Atopic Dermatitis”

Long-Term Data Add to the JAK Inhibitor Safety Discussion

Christopher G. Bunick, MD, PhD, discussed evolving long-term safety evidence surrounding oral JAK inhibitors for AD during the 2026 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference.

The presentation reviewed approximately 7 years of safety data for upadacitinib and abrocitinib, including rates of major adverse cardiovascular events, venous thromboembolism, and malignancy. The discussion also examined the limitations of extrapolating findings from the ORAL Surveillance study to dermatology populations.

Bunick described the accumulating long-term evidence as reassuring while emphasizing that clinicians must still appropriately evaluate individual risk factors and monitor patients receiving therapy.

Read “JAK Inhibitor Safety in Atopic Dermatitis: Long-Term Epidemiology Data”

Establishing a National Baseline for Atopic Dermatitis

Beyond treatment selection, Eczema Awareness Month coverage also examined broader challenges affecting who receives AD care and where.

The National Eczema Association's (NEA) State of AD 2026 National Indicator Report established a shared national and state-level data baseline using commercial, Medicare fee-for-service, and Medicaid claims and encounter data. The analysis estimated diagnosed AD prevalence at approximately 2.3%, representing roughly 6.9 million people.

Tenesha Wallace Hood, MA, director of healthcare provider engagement at the NEA, emphasized that diagnosed prevalence should not be interpreted as the total number of Americans living with AD. Instead, it reflects patients who interacted with the health care system and received a diagnosis, making it an important but incomplete measure of overall disease burden.

Read “Shared Data Baseline for Atopic Dermatitis From the NEA State of AD Report”

Geography Remains a Barrier to Specialty Care

The State of AD report also highlighted substantial geographic disparities in access to dermatology and allergy/immunology care.

Approximately 13% of Americans live in counties without a dermatologist or allergy/immunology practitioner, and specialist density varies considerably across states. These disparities can translate into longer travel distances, longer appointment wait times, and fewer specialty care options for patients with AD.

Wallace Hood emphasized that state- and local-level data can help clinicians, policymakers, and public health leaders identify opportunities to improve access rather than relying exclusively on national averages.

Read “Where Patients Live Shapes Atopic Dermatitis Care Access, NEA Report Finds”

Treatment Patterns Reveal Additional Gaps

The NEA report further illustrated how patients with AD are currently interacting with the health care system. Diagnosed prevalence varied across insurance populations, while topical corticosteroids remained the most commonly filled pharmacologic treatment.

The analysis also found systemic corticosteroids were filled more frequently than dupilumab despite guideline cautions surrounding systemic corticosteroid use in AD. At the same time, reliance on dermatology advanced practice providers increased in rural areas, underscoring their role in expanding access where specialist availability may be limited.

Together, the findings offer clinicians and policymakers a clearer picture of where gaps persist across diagnosis, treatment, and access.

Read “NEA Report Highlights Atopic Dermatitis Care Access Gaps by State”

Looking Ahead in Eczema Care

Taken together, Dermatology Times’ Eczema Awareness Month coverage reflects a field undergoing significant change. Clinicians now have more therapeutic options and longer-term data to guide treatment decisions, while emerging precision medicine approaches could eventually make those decisions even more individualized.

At the same time, the month's coverage reinforced that advances in treatment cannot be separated from the broader patient experience. Sleep disruption, itch, mental health, treatment fears, access to specialists, geography, and patient preferences can all influence outcomes.

As the treatment landscape continues to evolve, improving eczema care will require not only developing new therapies, but also recognizing the full burden of disease, helping patients access appropriate treatment, and ensuring that management remains individualized throughout the course of this chronic condition.

References

1. Feldman C, Heaning S. Beyond dry skin: rethinking common eczema misconceptions. Dermatology Times. October 26, 2026. Accessed October 29, 2026. Dermatology Times
2. Stratman S, Heaning S. Eczema Awareness Month: moving beyond one-size-fits-all care. Dermatology Times. October 24, 2026. Accessed October 29, 2026. Dermatology Times