Families with a history of asthma and allergies also experience a higher incidence rate. Atopic skin often is dry and sensitive, and intense itching is a cardinal feature. The constant rubbing and scratching this provokes sets in motion an itch-scratch cycle that is difficult to control. People with this condition have a low threshold for itch, and mild irritants such as wool clothing and most soaps can worsen the symptoms. Newly affected areas are quite itchy, and the skin is red with weeping or blistering.
Scratching can create wounds, and the skin can become thick and dark, with marked folds, over time.
In chronic atopic dermatitis, thick, scaly bumps develop where the skin has been rubbed and scratched. Symptoms clear in about half of these children by the time they are 2 or 3 years old. In older children, the folds on the arms and behind the knees can become dry, thick, scaly, and very itchy. Atopic dermatitis typically becomes less severe as the child matures. In young adults, symptoms typically appear on the face, neck, hands, feet, fingers, and toes.