3 Reasons to Use the EczemaWise App Today

Do you ever feel like your eczema is a moving target? Like you can’t even remember how many treatments or products you’ve tried (and what the outcomes were)? Are you ever flaring right up until your next appointment and then have nothing to show your doctor? EczemaWise, the app created by the National Eczema Association (NEA), is here to help.

EczemaWise is the app that compiles all of your tools and resources in one convenient place. Not only does it help you keep track of how you’re doing from day to day, but you’ll also be able to keep a record of your condition over time. Whether you’re flaring, feeling great or somewhere in between, here’s three ways EczemaWise can help you and your doctor make more informed decisions based on your specific eczema needs:  

1. Determine if your treatments are working by regularly tracking symptoms and triggers

EczemaWise helps you track symptoms and triggers — like skin, itch, pain, sleep, stress, treatments, triggers, diet and weather — all in one place. Understanding what’s typical for you and your eczema can help you notice when something is off or if your symptoms are improving. 

“Eczema is a waxing and waning condition — it has a lot of ups and downs,” said Dr. Peter Lio, assistant professor of Clinical Dermatology and Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the founding director of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Center. “Certainly having a record of the ups and downs over the past several months in particular can be helpful.” 

Whatever the ups and downs may be, this is especially helpful for assessing changes that occur over a long period of time or in between doctor’s visits. “Sometimes we joke that this is similar to ‘the mechanic’s problem’: the idea that your car is making a funny noise, but every time you bring it to the mechanic, it stops making the noise so the mechanic isn’t able to diagnose or fix the problem,” said Dr. Lio. “Keeping a record of your symptoms and possible eczema triggers can help you and your doctor better understand your condition and adjust your approach to managing it as needed.” 

2. Improve conversations with your doctor through shared decision making

The EczemaWise app provides tools to help you advocate for yourself or your loved ones at the doctor’s office. How? EczemaWise provides: 

• A space to identify topics you want to discuss with your doctor 
• A PDF summary of your tracking records, which you can share with your doctor to help guide your discussion
• A space to save your appointment information

Having all this data in the app (rather than trying to remember the monologue you rehearsed in the car on your way to the appointment) can help you feel empowered when you’re talking to your doctor about your care. New NEA research revealed that eczema patients and caregivers want to be involved in the decision making process when it comes to deciding on treatments.¹ Approximately 92% of eczema patients said that their own health literacy, the ability to articulate their experience and feeling comfortable enough to do so were all very important or absolutely essential for their patient-doctor relationships.¹ 

“Knowing your current medications and treatments that you have tried in the past, and making sure we know all of your allergies and any lab results or biopsy results that may have happened in the past — all of these can make it much easier to figure out where we have been and thus where we might go next,” said Dr. Lio. 

Additionally, if you feel like you aren’t being heard, having access to your own data puts you in control of your health. You can use the information you’ve recorded in EczemaWise to point to specific areas of concern or to get a second opinion. 

3. Help inform advances in eczema research  

More than 31 million Americans experience some form of eczema, and every person’s experience is unique.^2–6 The more researchers learn from individual patient perspectives, the more information there will be to support advances in personalized treatment options in the future. 

EczemaWise provides users with opportunities to take new surveys and share their insights to inform ongoing eczema research. In addition to supporting your health, the information you enter in the EczemaWise app — combined with the inputs of other EczemaWise users — can lead to critical advances in eczema research. 

“Patient experiences are so important,” said Dr. Lio. “Real-world data is key and may not always reflect what is seen in a [clinical] study environment.” 

Having patient experiences helps doctors and researchers understand the concerns and issues that may arise for certain patients. “Sometimes it seems like when you read about a new medication that it should basically work great for everyone, and that all the problems are solved,” said Dr. Lio. “This is never the case, of course, but the only way we understand that is by learning about individual patient’s experiences.”

Get EczemaWise today to see how the pieces of your eczema create a bigger picture. Download the free app and follow EczemaWise on Instagram.

References:

1. Foster, E., Loiselle A.R., Thibau I.J., Smith Begolka W. Factors facilitating shared decision making in eczema: Met and unmet needs from the patient perspective. JAADi. doi:10.1016/j.jdin.2022.12.008. 
2. Hanifin, J. M., Reed, M. L. & Eczema Prevalence and Impact Working Group. A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States. Dermatitis 18, 82–91 (2007).
3. Silverberg, J. I. & Hanifin, J. M. Adult eczema prevalence and associations with asthma and other health and demographic factors: A US population–based study. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology vol. 132 1132–1138 (2013).
4. Abuabara, K. et al. Prevalence of Atopic Eczema Among Patients Seen in Primary Care: Data From The Health Improvement Network. Ann. Intern. Med. 170, 354–356 (2019).
5. Silverberg, J. I. Public Health Burden and Epidemiology of Atopic Dermatitis. Dermatologic Clinics vol. 35 283–289 (2017).
6. Shaw, T. E., Currie, G. P., Koudelka, C. W. & Simpson, E. L. Eczema Prevalence in the United States: Data from the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health. Journal of Investigative Dermatology vol. 131 67–73 (2011).