Networking Break 3

Atopical lives

A guided tour into the invisible burden of atopic eczema

Organised by the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations in collaboration with the World Skin Health Coalition, supported by Sanofi/Regeneron Alliance

Atopic eczema is much more than a skin disease. It represents a heavy, invisible burden: relentless itching, sleep loss, isolation, stigma, anxiety, depression, financial strain. It affects the body of patients, their confidence, relationships, and energy to face life.

Despite the burden that people with atopic eczema, and their families, endure every day, the disease remains strikingly under-recognised in EU and national policy discussions. The lack of a holistic policy approach leads to fragmented care pathways, limited psychological support, and social stigma.

The Atopical Lives exhibition shines a light on this multi-dimensional burden. It features people living with atopic eczema across ages, who opened their heart and homes to show their energy, their preoccupation, their resignation, but also their strength, their pride, their resilience.

During the guided tour, visitors will experience the multifaceted burden of the disease through powerful photography capturing the everyday lives of  patients, interactive videos and the opportunity to hear directly from people living with the disease as they share their personal stories and lived experiences.