How severe is my eczema?
Seven questions about your last week — the POEM score, the same patient-reported measure used in dermatology clinics and eczema trials. You'll get a 0–28 score, a severity band, and the option to track it weekly. Everything stays on this device.
A change of 3.4 points or more between assessments is considered clinically meaningful — smaller shifts are usually week-to-week noise rather than a real change in your skin.
This is an educational self-assessment, not a diagnosis — share the result with your GP or dermatologist rather than acting on it alone.
POEM is built for weekly repeats — each assessment covers only the last seven days, so a saved score every week gives you a severity trend your dermatologist can actually read. Saved scores can be attached to a printable visit sheet by the Derm Visit Prep tool, and the score pairs naturally with the Skin Flare Diary for tracking what set a bad week off.
Saved only on this device — and browsers erase site data. A history clear, a private window, or Safari's automatic deletion after seven days without a visit will take this log with it. The fix is a free Dermington account: it backs this up automatically and puts it on every device you sign in to — details in how storage works.
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How the POEM score works
POEM — the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure — asks about the seven symptoms that define what eczema is actually like to live with: itch, disturbed sleep, bleeding, weeping or oozing, cracking, flaking, and dryness. Each one is scored by how many days it appeared over the last week, from no days (0 points) to every day (4 points), and the seven answers add up to a total between 0 and 28. The severity bands are standardized: 0–2 is clear or almost clear, 3–7 mild, 8–16 moderate, 17–24 severe, and 25–28 very severe.
The measure was developed at the University of Nottingham (Charman, Venn & Williams, Archives of Dermatology, 2004) and is the core patient-reported outcome recommended by the international HOME (Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema) initiative — which is why it turns up in most modern eczema trials. Because each assessment covers only the previous seven days, POEM is designed to be repeated weekly: save your score here each week and the tool builds a severity history you can bring to appointments. Everything runs and stays on this device — nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Common questions
How is POEM different from the scores my dermatologist uses, like EASI or SCORAD?
POEM captures your experience — how many days each symptom actually showed up over the past week — while EASI and SCORAD are clinician-scored assessments of what a doctor can see on your skin during a single appointment. The two viewpoints regularly disagree, because skin can look calm on clinic day after a brutal week. That’s why eczema guidelines recommend a patient-reported measure like POEM alongside, not instead of, a clinical exam.
What counts as a real change in my POEM score?
Research on the measure puts the minimal clinically important difference at 3.4 points — so in whole-number terms, a move of 4 or more between assessments reflects a genuine shift in your eczema. A one- or two-point wobble is ordinary week-to-week noise. This is exactly why saving scores over time beats judging any single week in isolation.
How often should I re-score myself?
Weekly — the questions literally ask about the last seven days, so scoring more often just re-counts the same week, and scoring less often leaves gaps your memory has to fill in. Pick a fixed day (Sunday evening works well for many people) and the trend becomes genuinely readable within a month.
Does a high score mean I need prescription treatment?
Not automatically, but it’s a strong signal worth acting on. A single moderate week can follow a known trigger and settle on its own; repeated scores of 8 or higher — and certainly anything in the severe bands — suggest your current routine isn’t holding the line, which is precisely when a GP or dermatologist can step treatment up. Bring your saved history to the appointment; a trend is far more persuasive than “it’s been bad lately.”
Where do my saved scores go?
Nowhere — they live entirely in your own browser’s local storage on this device, and nothing is transmitted to Dermington or anyone else. That also means clearing your browser data erases the history, and scores won’t follow you to another device. For a portable copy, the Derm Visit Prep tool can fold your saved scores into a printable visit sheet.