Eczema is considered the most common skin disease in Western industrialized countries. Affected persons who have eczema on the face and other visible parts of the body especially suffer from the physical consequences of eczema, such as intense itching. Eczema can have many causes and triggers, which makes research of the disease harder.

People with eczema suffer from the stigma that their disease is contagious. This can lead to a reduction of self-esteem. Moreover, patients suffer from the stigma that they cannot tolerate stress and that their appearance is partly perceived as unhygienic.