Differential Diagnosis
- Other conditions can mimic atopic dermatitis and thus have to be ruled out:
- Contact dermatitis
- May co-exist with atopic dermatitis; the defective epidermal barrier in patients with atopic dermatitis allows entry of irritants and increased allergen permeation which leads to sensitization resulting to the potential development of allergic contact dermatitis in subsequent exposures
- Ichthyosis
- Dermatitis herpetiformis
- Cutaneous lymphoma
- Mycosis fungoides
- Primary immunodeficiency
- Psoriasis
- Scabies
- Seborrheic dermatitis
- Collagen diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis)
- Netherton syndrome
- Contact dermatitis