Diagnose Eczema

How can you diagnose eczema? We take a look at what tests are available and how your physician can diagnose you with eczema so you can get the treatment you need.

If you have a suspicion that eczema is causing the irritation on your skin, then visiting the doctor is always a good idea.  At the doctors you can have a variety of tests performed to diagnose eczema.  At first look, a doctor may determine a professional opinion based on how your skin looks but then he or she will go on to ask questions and take tests to find out the cause of the skin eruption. 

Your doctor will need to know about your full medical history, including any diseases such as hay fever, eczema and asthma, as well as lifestyle habits.  The doctor will likely ask questions like: Are you a smoker? Do you work out on a regular schedule or not?  Are you a drinker?  If you do how often and how much? What does your diet consist of?  Do you have any allergic tendencies or are you taking any prescription drugs (including any illegal drugs you take on a recreational basis)?  Are you exposed to any chemicals or solvents at your workplace on a regular basis? All of these will help him or her diagnose your eczema. The doctor will also likely ask you when the skin condition first occurred; this is important to know and is relevant to the symptoms.  

Some doctors will send their potential eczema patients for an allergy prick skin test as part of the eczema diagnose process. A tiny portion of the suspected allergen is placed on an area of skin, most often on person’s back, and then the skin is carefully pricked with a small needle. If the skin becomes red and bumpy in the location where it was pricked then the patient is positively allergic to the potential allergen.  After a short period of time, both skin test reactions are then measured for reactions- redness and inflammation. A skin reaction that is big enough is considered to be a “positive skin test.” This basically means that an allergy is absolutely present at the site of the testing. The doctor will do a comparison between the patient’s list of symptoms and the results of the allergy prick test. This test will normally take around 30-40 minutes to complete.

Alternatively another test to take is the allergy intradermal skin test. The doctor will take a small amount of the potential allergen and inject it just underneath the patient's skin. If the skin becomes red and bumpy it is an indication that the allergy is present.  There is a measured period for it to sit, and then the results are measured by comparing the degrees of redness and inflammation.  When there is a large enough reaction on the skin based on pre-determined factors then a positive test occurs. The doctor will then compare the list of symptoms of the skin condition to the results of the allergy intradermal skin test. It will take about 30-40 mins (approximately) to do this test completely.

The doctor may sometimes require a blood test be necessary to determine if there are any antibodies in the blood stream along with the quantity of a variety of different cells.  If the blood shows a raised 'IgE' level then this indicates that eczema is in fact present.