The anamnesis (medical history) represents an important component in the diagnosis of atopic eczema (neurodermatitis).
Family history
- Are there frequent skin diseases in your family?
Social history
- Is there any evidence of psychosocial stress or strain due to your family situation?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- Have you noticed any skin changes (weeping, inflammatory patches; crusted areas – so-called cradle cap; scaling)?
- Do you have itching? If so, on which parts of the body?
- Do you have to scratch yourself frequently?
- Do you sweat a lot?
- Do you have decreased/increased sebum secretion?
- Do you have allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma or food allergies?
Vegetative history including nutritional history.
- Do you adequately ventilate your home every day?
- Was the affected person breastfed? If so, for how long? Was complementary food fed before the completion of the fifth month of life?
- Was the affected person bathed daily as a child?
- Do you smoke? If so, how many cigarettes, cigars, or pipes per day?
Self history including medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions (skin diseases; food allergy; infections).
- Operations
- Allergies
- Medication history
The diagnosis is often made according to the clinical criteria of atopic dermatitis
Major criteria
- Itching and scratching
- Chronic respectively relapsing course
- Typical lesions
- Personal or family history of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis (allergic rhinitis), or bronchial asthma
Minor criteria
- White dermographism – after mechanical irritation of the skin turns white for a long time.
- Elevated IgE (immunoglobulin E) – blood protein that mediates hypersensitivity reactions.
- Dennie-Morgan fold – additional fold of skin below the lower eyelid.
- Fur cap-like hairline in the forehead area
- Tendency to skin infections
- Dry cheilitis – inflammation of the lips
- Reduced sweat secretion
- Xerosis – dry skin or mucous membrane, respectively.
- Sebostasis – decreased sebum secretion of the skin.
- Increased palm furrow
