Allergic Contact Dermatitis: Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99).

  • Ichthyosis vulgaris – genetic disorder leading to cornification disorder of the skin, usually drunken scaling; two forms are distinguished according to their mode of inheritance. :
    • Autosomal dominant ichthyosis vulgaris.
    • X-linked recessive ichthyosis vulgaris

    Disease usually begins in the first years of life and continues into puberty, after which there may be regression; typically the skin appearance the skin is usually dry and has increased line markings (lamellar scales especially extensor and trunk). In X-linked recessive ichthyosis vulgaris, the scales are more likely to be on the flexor side of the extremities.

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Bacterial skin diseases such as impetigo (usually with Staphylococcus aureus).
  • Candidaintertrigo – fungal infection of the skin that develops on opposite skin surfaces in skin folds, for example, in the genitoanal area, groin, abdominal folds, and under the breasts
  • Phthiriasis (lice infestation).
  • Scabies (scabies)
  • Trichophytia (skin and hair fungal diseases).

Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99)

  • Drug exanthema
  • Desiccation eczema (dehydration eczema) – skin changes caused by a lack of fluid in the skin.
  • Erythrasma (dwarf lichen) – redness of the skin caused by bacteria of the type Corynebacterium minutissimum, which resembles that of mycosis; occurrence mainly in obese type 2 diabetics.
  • Erythrodermia desquamativa (maximum variant of seborrheic dermatitis of the infant in the 1st-3rd month of life) – generalized skin redness and scaling.
  • Impetigo contagiosa (bork lichen; pus lichen) – caused by streptococci serogroup A (GAS, group A streptococci) highly infectious, not bound to the skin appendages (hair follicles, sweat glands), purulent infection of the skin (pyoderma).
  • Irritant eczema
  • Scalp eczema
  • Lichen ruber planus (nodular lichen)
  • Lichen simplex (synonyms: Neurodermatitis cirumscripta, lichen chronicus vidal or Vidal disease) – localized, chronic inflammatory, plaque and lichinoid (nodular) skin disease that occurs in episodes and is accompanied by severe pruritus (itching).
  • Light dermatoses
  • Neurodermatitis (atopic eczema)
  • Nummular eczema (synonyms: bacterial eczematoid, dermatitis nummularis, dysregulatory-microbial eczema, microbial eczema) – unclear disease resulting in eczema characterized by sharply demarcated, coin-shaped, itchy foci of disease, some of which are weeping and crusty. They occur mainly on the extensor sides of the extremities.
  • Perioral dermatitis (synonyms: Mouth rose or rosacea-like dermatitis) – skin disease with areal erythema (redness of the skin), red disseminated or grouped follicular papules (nodular change on skin), pustules (pustules), dermatitis (skin inflammation) of the face, especially around the mouth (perioral), nose (perinasal) or eyes (periocular); Characteristic is that the skin zone adjacent to the red of the lips remains free; age between 20-45 years; mainly women are affected; risk factors are cosmetics, prolonged local corticosteroid therapy, ovulation inhibitors, sunlight
  • Phototoxic eczema – skin changes that occur due to exposure to sunlight after ingestion of a photosensitizing substance.
  • Pityriasis simplex (synonyms: pityriasis alba, pityriasis alba faciei) – a common, non-contagious and usually harmless dermatosis that occurs mainly in children; it is manifested by dry, fine-scaly, pale patches that occur mainly on the face
  • Pityriasis rosea (synonyms: rosacea (lat. Pityriasis rosea Gibert; or also called scale rose) – non-contagious skin disease, which in most cases lasts 6 to 8 weeks, in some cases even up to half a year; at the beginning a red primary medallion (so-called plaque mère, primary spot or herald patch) develops, from which smaller foci spread. After the disease, these heal completely.
  • Pityrosporum folliculitis – inflammation of hair follicles caused by Malassezia furfur (old name: Pityrosporum ovale), a lipophilic yeast that lives saprophytically in areas of the infant rich in sebaceous glands; transmission of the causative agent by the mother; clinical picture: acneiform papulo-pustules with environmental erythema (environmental redness), predominantly on the face, less frequently on the capillitium (entirety of the scalp hair) or in the neck area; disease is self-limiting, i. e. i.e. ends without external influences (course within a few weeks).Note: Papule: circumscribed skin elevation < 1.0 cm in diameter; Pustule: pustule.
  • Psoriasis vulgaris (psoriasis)
  • Pustulosis palmoplantaris – skin disease associated with pustules on hands / feet.
  • Rosacea (copper fins)
  • Seborrheic eczema (synonyms: seborrheic dermatitis or Unna’s disease) – skin rash (eczema), which occurs especially on the scalp and face and is usually associated with scaling.
  • Stasis eczema
  • Tinea manus – fungal infection of the skin
  • Diaper dermatitis – must be considered differential diagnosis of eczema in the diaper region.

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

  • Lymphomas such as mycosis fungoides (T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma affecting mainly the skin), Sézary syndrome (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with the symptoms: Extensive skin redness (erythroderma), severe itching (pruritus), lymph node enlargement, often hair loss (alopecia) of the entire body hair, excessive skin keratinization (hyperkeratosis) and nail malformations (onychodystrophy)).