How is eczema diagnosed?

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    Last Updated: October 25, 2023

    Diagnosis is generally based on signs/symptoms and medical history. Eczema is chronic, so it can take a while to be sure that the lesions are due to eczema rather than a more acute phenomenon like an infection, an acute or transient allergic reaction, or exposure to harmful chemicals. A history or family history of asthma, hay fever, and dry skin also makes eczema more likely. To determine the severity of atopic dermatitis and track treatment progress, researchers and doctors objectively measure several characteristics of the lesions with scoring systems such as EASI and SCORAD.[1]

    References

    1. ^Jochen Schmitt, Sinéad Langan, Stefanie Deckert, Ake Svensson, Laura von Kobyletzki, Kim Thomas, Phyllis Spuls, Harmonising Outcome Measures for Atopic Dermatitis (HOME) InitiativeAssessment of clinical signs of atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and recommendationJ Allergy Clin Immunol.(2013 Dec)