AD can wax or wane over time, so treatment success doesn’t always mean your symptoms will disappear completely or for good. Instead, signs such as less itching, calmer skin, and fewer or less-frequent flares can indicate that your treatment is helping.
Here’s a look at six changes that may suggest your treatment is moving in the right direction.
1. You’re Itching Less
Itch is one of the most common symptoms of AD — but it may be one of the first to respond to treatment, too, says Julie Van Onselen, a dermatology nurse adviser for the nonprofit organization Eczema UK in Oxford, England.
“It tends to be that itch is one of the first things to go, and then the skin gradually improves,” Van Onselen says.
“People can also rate themselves between visits and share with their clinician,” Block says.
2. Your Skin Feels Smoother and Less Inflamed
Less scaling, cracking, roughness, or inflammation can also suggest that active eczema is coming under better control, says Chris Adigun, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Try not to rely solely on your skin’s appearance. It can be misleading because pigmentation and dark patches may linger even after the active disease has calmed down, she says.
Focus instead on your skin’s texture. “Treatment endpoint with a topical medicine is when you close your eyes and rub your hand over the affected area, and it’s just smooth and feels like the surrounding skin,” Dr. Adigun says. “Oftentimes, it will take months for the discoloration to correct,” she says.
3. Your Flares Are Becoming Less Severe
Effective treatment doesn’t mean you’ll never have another flare, but you may notice a decrease in their severity and an increase in the time between them, Adigun says.
“The goal is a significant decrease in flare severity, [in] intensity and duration, though it is never perfect as there are many triggers in AD,” Block says.
4. You’re Sleeping Better
5. You’re Returning to Activities You Used to Avoid
Another key sign of improvement may have little to do with what you see in the mirror, Van Onselen says. You may notice your mental health and quality of life improving.
“It can look like being able to go out and do things you perhaps couldn’t do when you had an eczema flare, like sports or swimming … or even going back to work or school after taking time off,” Van Onselen says. “You’re restoring your life back to normal and doing the things eczema stopped you from doing.”
6. You’re Getting Closer to Your Treatment Goals
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to measure AD treatment success, Block says. Some people are working on taming itchiness while others may be focused on building a personalized treatment plan or returning to their social life.
“Ideally, any good clinician would set goals with patients and would ask patients what you want to achieve,” Van Onselen says. Goals can be practical, such as finding a moisturizer that works for daily usage, or getting back to a hobby that eczema has kept you from doing, she says.
If your symptoms aren’t improving as expected, contact your dermatologist instead of changing your treatment on your own. Different therapies can work on different timelines, and your doctor can determine whether you need more time or whether your treatment plan should be adjusted, Van Onselen says.
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