Neurodermatitis (Atopic Eczema): Examination

A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:

• General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
  • Inspection (viewing).
    • Skin [Leading symptoms – in infants, the predilection sites (areas of skin preferentially affected by atopic dermatitis) are the face, neck, groin, and extensor sides of the extremities; in adults, the flexures of the joints and the face, neck, neck, shoulders, and chest are usually affected:
      • Weeping, inflammatory patches
      • Crusty spots – so-called cradle cap.
      • Itching, itchy eczema
      • Localized eczema such as hand eczema or lichen simplex (localized, chronic inflammatory, plaque-like and lichinoid (nodular) skin disease that occurs in episodes and is accompanied by severe pruritus (itching))
      • Scaling]

      [Associated symptoms:

      • Perioral pallor (pale skin around the mouth).
      • Dennie-Morgan wrinkle (extra fold of skin below the lower eyelid).
      • Frequent skin infections
      • Dull, dry skin
      • Lichenification (coarsened surface relief in chronically affected skin regions).
      • Ichthyosis vulgaris (cornification disorder of the skin (occurs in circa 50% of patients))]
    • Dermographism (assessment of the reaction of the blood vessels of the skin after rubbing) [White dermographism (skin turns white over time)]
  • Examination of the lungs [due topossible sequelae: allergic bronchial asthma].
• Dermatological examination [due todifferential diagnoses:
  • Allergic eczema (skin reactions triggered by allergens).
  • Irritant eczema (skin reactions triggered by irritants).
  • Psoriasis (psoriasis)
  • Seborrheic dermatitis (form of skin inflammation)]

  [due topossible secondary diseases:

  • Irritant contact eczema (skin reactions due to irritating substances)]
• Health check

Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.