Published
Mild and moderate atopic dermatitis (eczema) – a journey from flare to care ACG
Guidance type
ACG
27 February 2026
This ACE Clinical Guideline (ACG) provides guidance on diagnosis, severity assessment and management of mild and moderate atopic dermatitis (AD), including topical and non-pharmacological interventions in adults and children. The ACG also covers proactive therapy, systematic assessment of treatment response, and principles of management of secondary bacterial infection.
Download the ACG
Mild and moderate atopic dermatitis (eczema) – a journey from flare to care (Feb 2026) [PDF]
Request for a hardcopy:
Click here.
ACG survey and feedback
We invite all readers of the ACGs to complete the survey. Your feedback on your clinical experiences and practice challenges will help us strengthen future ACGs and develop resources that better support your work.
Each survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete and will remain open for four weeks until 27 March 2026. We highly encourage you to complete the survey after reviewing the relevant ACG.
All responses are confidential and will be analysed in aggregate to safeguard your privacy.
Registered doctors, pharmacists and nurses may claim 1 Continuing Medical Education (CME)/Continuing Professional Education (CPE) point under category 3A/ category V-B for reading each ACG.
ACG recommendations
Diagnose AD through history taking and clinical examination, focusing on key features such as skin itchiness, dryness, personal or family history of atopic diseases, disease chronicity, lesion morphology and distribution.
Assess AD severity based on extent, frequency and intensity of clinical manifestations, and patient- or caregiver-reported impact on quality of life.
Review potential triggers for AD and advise on how to minimise exposure.
For patients with mild or moderate AD, advise liberal moisturiser use as baseline therapy, and
Prescribe topical corticosteroids (TCS) as first-line anti-inflammatory treatment for active lesions.
If a non-steroidal alternative is required or preferred, consider topical calcineurin inhibitors (as second- line) or topical phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors (as third-line).
For patients with recurring AD flares (e.g. 2-3 flares/month), prescribe proactive therapy of topical anti-inflammatory treatments to areas of skin prone to flare recurrences.
For patients with inadequate treatment response, assess and address possible factors before modifying treatment.
Do not routinely give oral corticosteroids for AD, except as a short course for:
Rescue therapy for acute, severe flares, or
Bridging therapy to systemic treatment.
For secondary infection of AD, continue patient’s topical anti-inflammatory treatments alongside appropriate antimicrobial agents.
Avoid triple combination products of TCS, antibiotics and antifungals in AD patients with suspected or clinically evident bacterial infection.
ACG supplementary guides
Drug table on topical anti-inflammatories (Feb 2026) [PDF]
Atopic dermatitis photo repository (Feb 2026) [PDF]
ACG references and Expert Group details
Mild and moderate atopic dermatitis references (Feb 2026) [PDF]
Mild and moderate atopic dermatitis ACG EG composition and other details (Feb 2026) [PDF]
ACG EtR framework
The Evidence-to-Recommendation (EtR) framework is a document that outlines the underpinning evidence and rationale for the recommendations in our ACGs. Download the EtR framework below to learn more about factors that have informed the strength of the ACG recommendations, including certainty of evidence, clinical benefit/risk balance, local resource implications, feasibility considerations, patient preferences and values, acceptability and other considerations.
Mild and moderate atopic dermatitis EtR framework with summary of findings (Feb 2026) [PDF]
Other related resources
Feedback
Click here to give us feedback on this ACG.