Competing interests: SL-J has received funding from pharmaceutical companies (for advisory services, conference expenses, lecture fees, course sponsorship, and research), the British National Formulary (for reviewing treatments), the Primary Care Dermatology Society (lecture fees), the Anonymous Trust, the British Skin Foundation, and EastRen Research (research funding); she is a trustee of the British Skin Foundation and co-holder of copyright for quality of life questionnaires (she abstained from the guideline development group’s decision making on quality of life questionnaires). CC holds shares in GlaxoSmithKline and Shire and has received funding from pharmaceutical companies and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (for consultancy and medical writing services). MC holds shares in York Pharma and Strakan Pharmaceuticals and has received funding from pharmaceutical companies (for consultancy, conference expenses, and research). AH has been commissioned to write for MIMS Dermatology. SL has received funding from pharmaceutical companies (for conference expenses, lecture fees, and course sponsorship) and is a member of the National Eczema Society and of the advisory group for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin. AR holds shares in the Boots group, is a member of the East Midlands Regional Funding Committee for the Research for Patient Benefit Programme of the National Institute for Health Research and is involved in running the Nottingham Support Group for Carers of Children with Eczema, which has been invited to participate in research for pharmaceutical companies. JR holds shares in Reckitt Benckiser and has received funding from pharmaceutical companies (for development of educational tools). SW is an employee of the National Eczema Society, which receives funding from pharmaceutical companies, and has received funding to write about trigger factors in eczema.