Therefore, the doctor may recommend regular eye exams. Currently, there is no test to diagnose atopic dermatitis and no single symptom or feature used to identify the disease. Each patient experiences a unique combination of symptoms, and the symptoms and severity of the disease may vary over time. The doctor will base his or her diagnosis on the symptoms the patient experiences and may need to see the patient several times to make an accurate diagnosis. It is important for the doctor to rule out other diseases and conditions that might cause skin irritation.
Several tools help the doctor better understand a patient's symptoms and their possible causes.
The most valuable diagnostic tool is a thorough medical history, which provides important clues. Sometimes it is necessary to do a biopsy of the skin or patch testing to see if the skin immune system overreacts to certain chemicals or preservatives in skin creams. However, they may occasionally help the doctor rule out or confirm a specific allergen that might be considered important in diagnosis. Blood tests, including measurements of certain antibodies to allergens, are not recommended in most cases because they have a high rate of false positives and are expensive.