SCORAD Calculator

Q: How do you estimate the percentage of skin covered by eczema?

Use the palm rule . The patient's flat palm plus fingers covers about 1% of their own body surface. Count how many palm-sized patches fit inside the rash on one body region, then turn that into a percent of that region. For example, if the back is 18% of the body and about half of it has rash, that region is 50% involved. Work one region at a time and look at both sides of the body. Only count skin that is actually inflamed, not skin that is just healed or stained.

Q: What counts as a drop worth caring about in SCORAD?

A fall of about 8 to 9 points is the smallest change most patients actually notice. Smaller shifts can just be normal day-to-day change or a different scorer. In studies, doctors look for a 50% drop (SCORAD-50) or a 75% drop (SCORAD-75) from the starting score. A SCORAD-75 means strong treatment success.

Q: Which patch of eczema should be used to score the skin signs?

Pick one representative lesion , a patch that looks average for that person on that day. Do not pick the very worst patch or the mildest one. Score all six signs in that same patch, except dryness. Avoid areas that are infected, newly scratched open, or treated with a thick cream minutes before, since these can push the score up or down unfairly.

Component	Raw value	Contribution to SCORAD	Max contribution
A — Extent (0–100)	21.60	A ÷ 5 = 4.32	20.00
B — Intensity (0–18)	10	7 × B ÷ 2 = 35.00	63.00
C — Subjective (0–20)	10	C = 10.00	20.00
SCORAD Total	—	49.32	103.00

Component

Raw value

Contribution to SCORAD

Max contribution

A — Extent (0–100)

21.60

A ÷ 5 = 4.32

20.00

B — Intensity (0–18)

7 × B ÷ 2 = 35.00

63.00

C — Subjective (0–20)

C = 10.00

20.00

SCORAD Total

—

49.32

103.00

Introduction

The SCORAD Calculator measures how bad eczema (atopic dermatitis) is right now. SCORAD stands for SCORing Atopic Dermatitis. Doctors and nurses have used it since 1993 to track eczema over time.

The score uses three parts:

A — Extent: how much skin is covered by eczema, by body area.
B — Intensity: six signs in one typical patch: redness, swelling, oozing, scratch marks, thick skin, and dryness. Each is scored 0 to 3.
C — Symptoms: how much the person itches and loses sleep, each rated 0 to 10.

The three parts go into the formula A/5 + 7B/2 + C. The final score runs from 0 to 103. Under 25 is mild, 25 to 50 is moderate, and above 50 is severe.

Move the sliders, tap the buttons, and the score updates as you go. You also get a body map, a chart, and the full math, step by step. This helps you see if treatment is working or if the eczema is getting worse.

This calculator is a learning and tracking tool. It does not replace a visit with a doctor or skin specialist.

How to use our SCORAD Calculator

Enter how much skin is affected by eczema, how bad the skin signs look, and how much the itch and lost sleep bother the patient. The tool then gives you a SCORAD score from 0 to 103 and tells you if the eczema is mild, moderate, or severe.

Head and Neck: Move the slider to the percent of the head and neck skin that has eczema.

Upper Limb — Left: Set the percent of the left arm that has eczema.

Upper Limb — Right: Set the percent of the right arm that has eczema.

Anterior Trunk: Set the percent of the chest and belly that has eczema.

Back: Set the percent of the back that has eczema.

Lower Limb — Left: Set the percent of the left leg that has eczema.

Lower Limb — Right: Set the percent of the right leg that has eczema.

Genitals: Set the percent of the genital area that has eczema.

Redness (Erythema): Pick None, Mild, Moderate, or Severe for how red one typical patch of eczema looks.

Swelling (Edema / Papulation): Pick how puffy or bumpy that same patch feels.

Oozing / Crusting: Pick how much the patch weeps fluid or forms crusts.

Scratch Marks (Excoriation): Pick how many scratch marks you see on the patch.

Skin Thickening (Lichenification): Pick how thick and leathery the patch has become.

Dryness: Pick how dry the skin feels on a spot with no rash.

Itch (Pruritus): The patient or caregiver rates the itch from 0 to 10 over the last 3 days and nights.

Sleeplessness (Insomnia): The patient or caregiver rates lost sleep from 0 to 10 over the last 3 days and nights.

Press Calculate to see the total SCORAD score, the severity band, a chart, and the step-by-step math. Press Reset to clear all 16 fields and start again.

What Is the SCORAD Index?

SCORAD stands for SCORing Atopic Dermatitis. It is a tool doctors use to measure how bad eczema (atopic dermatitis) is right now. The European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis made it in 1993. Today it is one of the most used eczema scores in clinics and research studies.

SCORAD puts eczema into one number from 0 to 103. A bigger number means worse eczema. Doctors use the score to pick a treatment and to check if that treatment is helping over time.

The Three Parts of SCORAD

The score adds up three things: A (how much skin is affected), B (how bad the skin looks), and C (how the patient feels).

A — Extent (0 to 100)

This is the percent of the body covered by eczema. Doctors use the Rule of Nines to split the body into parts. Each part is worth a set share of the skin:

Head and neck: 9%
Each arm: 9%
Front of the trunk: 18%
Back: 18%
Each leg: 18%
Genitals: 1%

For children under 2, the head counts more (17%) and each leg counts less (about 13%), because babies have bigger heads and shorter legs.

B — Intensity (0 to 18)

The doctor picks one spot that is typical of the rash and grades six signs. Each sign gets 0 (none), 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), or 3 (severe):

Redness (erythema)
Swelling or bumps (edema/papulation)
Oozing or crusting
Scratch marks (excoriation)
Thick, leathery skin (lichenification)
Dryness, graded on skin that is not inflamed

C — Subjective Symptoms (0 to 20)

The patient (or a parent) rates two things over the last 3 days and nights on a 0 to 10 scale: itch and sleep loss. Children under 7 usually do not rate this part themselves.

How the Score Is Worked Out

The parts are not weighted the same. Intensity counts the most:

SCORAD = (A ÷ 5) + (7B ÷ 2) + C

Extent adds up to 20 points
Intensity adds up to 63 points
Itch and sleep loss add up to 20 points

What the Score Means

Score	Severity
Under 25	Mild eczema
25 to 50	Moderate eczema
Over 50	Severe eczema

A drop of about 8 to 9 points is usually enough for a patient to feel a real change. Many drug trials aim for a 50% or 75% drop in SCORAD (called SCORAD-50 and SCORAD-75).

Other Versions

Objective SCORAD (oSCORAD): leaves out itch and sleep loss. Max score is 83. It is used when doctors want only what they can see.
PO-SCORAD: a version patients fill in at home to track flares between visits.

Good to Know

SCORAD is a snapshot of one day, not a long-term record. Scores can shift a little from one doctor to another, since grading redness and swelling takes judgment. Redness can also be harder to spot on darker skin, so it may be under-scored. Use SCORAD along with a full exam and the patient's own story, not on its own.

Formulas used

Extent score A (weighted body surface area involved)

A = \sum_{i} \text{BSA}_i \times \frac{p_i}{100}

Intensity score B (sum of six clinical signs, each 0-3)

B = E_{\text{erythema}} + E_{\text{edema}} + E_{\text{oozing}} + E_{\text{excoriation}} + E_{\text{lichenification}} + E_{\text{dryness}}

Subjective score C (itch + sleeplessness VAS)

C = \text{Itch}_{\text{VAS}} + \text{Sleeplessness}_{\text{VAS}}

Total SCORAD score

\text{SCORAD} = \frac{A}{5} + \frac{7B}{2} + C \quad (\text{range } 0\text{–}103)

Severity classification

\text{Severity} = \begin{cases} \text{Mild} & \text{SCORAD} < 25 \\ \text{Moderate} & 25 \le \text{SCORAD} \le 50 \\ \text{Severe} & \text{SCORAD} > 50 \end{cases}

Gauge marker position (percent of maximum)

\text{Marker}\% = \frac{\text{SCORAD}}{103} \times 100

Frequently asked questions

How do you estimate the percentage of skin covered by eczema?

Use the palm rule. The patient's flat palm plus fingers covers about 1% of their own body surface.

Count how many palm-sized patches fit inside the rash on one body region, then turn that into a percent of that region. For example, if the back is 18% of the body and about half of it has rash, that region is 50% involved.

Work one region at a time and look at both sides of the body. Only count skin that is actually inflamed, not skin that is just healed or stained.

What is the difference between SCORAD and EASI?

Both measure eczema severity, but they count different things.

SCORAD scores 0–103. It includes extent, six skin signs, plus itch and sleep loss reported by the patient.
EASI scores 0–72. It scores only four signs (redness, thickness, scratching, lichenification) in four body areas. It does not include itch or sleep.

EASI is used more in drug trials. SCORAD is common in clinics and in Europe because it captures how the person feels, not just how the skin looks.

What is the difference between SCORAD and POEM?

SCORAD needs a doctor or nurse to look at the skin. POEM (Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure) is filled in by the patient alone.

POEM has 7 questions about the last week, such as itching, sleep, bleeding, and dryness. It scores 0–28.

SCORAD tells you how bad the skin looks today. POEM tells you how much eczema bothered the person all week. Many clinics use both.

How often should a SCORAD score be repeated?

Most clinics score at every visit. A common plan is:

At the first visit, to set a starting point
After 4 to 12 weeks of a new treatment, to see if it works
At any flare or big change

Scoring more often than every few weeks rarely adds much, because eczema changes slowly with treatment. Try to have the same person score each time, so results match better.

What counts as a drop worth caring about in SCORAD?

A fall of about 8 to 9 points is the smallest change most patients actually notice. Smaller shifts can just be normal day-to-day change or a different scorer.

In studies, doctors look for a 50% drop (SCORAD-50) or a 75% drop (SCORAD-75) from the starting score. A SCORAD-75 means strong treatment success.

Which part of SCORAD changes the total score the most?

Intensity (part B) has the biggest pull. Each single point of a skin sign adds 3.5 points to the total, because B is multiplied by 7 and divided by 2.

By contrast:

Each itch or sleep point adds 1 point
Every 5% of extent adds 1 point

So moving redness from mild to severe adds as much as 7 points of itch. This is why careful grading of the six signs matters so much.

Why is dryness graded on skin that has no rash?

Dryness in eczema is a whole-skin problem, not just a rash problem. People with atopic dermatitis have a weak skin barrier everywhere, even where there is no visible rash.

If you graded dryness inside a rash, you would count scaling that comes from the inflammation and double-count it with redness and crusting. So the rule is to feel and look at clear skin away from any active patch.

Which patch of eczema should be used to score the skin signs?

Pick one representative lesion, a patch that looks average for that person on that day. Do not pick the very worst patch or the mildest one.

Score all six signs in that same patch, except dryness. Avoid areas that are infected, newly scratched open, or treated with a thick cream minutes before, since these can push the score up or down unfairly.

Should moisturizer be put on before an eczema severity check?

No. Skip creams and ointments for a few hours before the visit if you can.

A fresh layer of moisturizer smooths scale, dulls dryness, and can make the skin look shinier and less red. That can lower the score and hide how the skin really is between treatments. Bathing right before the visit can do the same thing.

How do you score redness on brown or black skin?

Redness often does not look red on deeper skin tones. It can look purple, violet, dark brown, or grey. Judging by colour alone leads to scores that are too low.

Helpful tips:

Compare the patch with nearby normal skin in good, natural light
Feel for warmth and swelling
Look at the edge of the patch, where the change shows best

Eczema in darker skin is often under-scored, which can delay stronger treatment.

Do dark or pale marks left after eczema heals count in the score?

No. Flat brown or pale patches left behind after a rash settles are called post-inflammatory pigment change. They are a scar-like mark, not active eczema.

Do not count them as redness and do not count that skin as involved area. Only score skin that is still inflamed, bumpy, weeping, thickened, or scratched.

What SCORAD score is needed to start a biologic like dupilumab?

There is no single worldwide number. Most rules ask for moderate-to-severe eczema that has not improved with strong topical steroids and good skin care.

In practice, many health systems ask for a SCORAD above 25, and some ask for 40 or 50 and up, often along with an EASI or quality-of-life score. Exact cut-offs are set by each country or insurer, so a dermatologist should check the local rule.

Is SCORAD used for skin problems other than eczema?

It was built and tested only for atopic dermatitis. The six signs it grades, such as oozing, lichenification, and dryness, match how eczema behaves.

Other conditions have their own scores: PASI for psoriasis, UAS7 for hives, and IGA scales for many rashes. Using SCORAD outside eczema gives a number that has not been validated and can mislead.

How long does a SCORAD assessment take?

About 5 to 10 minutes once you have done a few. Most of that time goes to estimating extent region by region.

The patient needs to undress to underwear so all regions can be seen. The itch and sleep ratings take under a minute and can be asked while you examine the skin.

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