Misdiagnosis of Eczema

Misdiagnosis of Eczema

A diagnosis of the eczema begins with taking a thorough health history, including symptoms, and performing a physical exam.

A misdiagnosis is possible because the symptoms of the eczema can be similar to other diseases, such as psoriasis, hives, or pityriasis rosea. Because these and other conditions may also present with itching and rashes, and a definite diagnosis of eczema may need to be made by a specialist in skin diseases, called a dermatologist....more about Eczema »

Alternative diagnoses list for Eczema:

For a diagnosis of Eczema, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Eczema:

• Allergies
• Food allergies
• Vitiligo - vitiligo can be misdiagnosed as eczema.
• Diabetes - the skin rash from undiagnosed diabetes can be misdiagnosed as eczema.
• Vesicular tinea - Dyshidrotic eczema
• Contact dermatitis - Dyshidrotic eczema
• Scabies - Dyshidrotic eczema
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - Dyshidrotic eczema
• Tinea pedis - Dyshidrotic eczema
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• Impetigo
• Psoriasis
• Lichen simplex chronicus
• Candidiasis
• Skin infection
• Drug eruption
• Pityriasis rosea
• Viral exanthems
• Mycosis fungoides
• Actinic reticuloid
• Grover's disease
• Erythroderma
• Dermatophytoses
• Chronic superficial dermatitis
• Blaschko dermatits
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Toxic erythema of pregnancy
• Sulzeberger-Garbe syndrome
• Polymorphous light eruption
• Pityriasis alba
• Pigmented purpuric dermatoses
• Papular acrodermatitis of childhood
• Juvenile plantar dermatits
• Erythema annulare centrifugum
• Insect bite
• Spider bite
• Bullous pemphigoid
• Cicatricial pemphigoid
• Eosinophilic folliculitis
• Idiopathic eosinophilic spongiosis
• Pemphigus
• Pustular psoriasis (type of Psoriasis)
• Miliarial spongiosis
• Follicular spongiosis
• Cellulitis (for stasis dermatitis)
• Diabetic dermopathy (for stasis dermatitis)
• Pigmented purpura (for stasis dermatitis)
• Tinea (for dyshidrotic dermatitis)
• Id reaction (for dyshydrotic dermatitis)
• Dermatitis herpetiformis

Diseases for which Eczema may be an alternative diagnosis

The other diseases for which Eczema is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:

• Acne
• Psoriasis
• Scabies

Eczema: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?

Causes of Eczema may include these medical conditions:

• Leg circulation problems - can cause Stasis dermatitis
• Varicose veins
• Allergic reactions
• Herbal Agent adverse reaction -- Ginkgo biloba - allergic skin reaction
• Food Allergy -- red meat - eczema
• Food Allergy -- pine nut - eczema
• more causes...»

Rare Types of Eczema:

• Atopic eczema
• Contact eczema
• Varicose eczema
• Discoid eczema
• Hand eczema
• Nummular eczema
• Asteatotic eczema
• Stasis dermatitis
• Lichen simplex chronicus
• Seborrheic eczema
• Irritant contact eczema
• Allergic contact eczema
• Pompholyx (dyshidrotic eczema)
• Phototoxic eczema
• Xerotic eczema
• Neurodermatitis
• Chemical-related eczema
• Environmental allergen related eczema
• Erythrodermic eczema
• Eyelid eczema
• Temperature-related eczema
• Stress-related eczema
• Gravitational eczema
• Venous eczema
• Irritant contact dermatitis
• More rare types »

Eczema: Medical Mistakes

Related medical mistakes may include:

• Allergies -- Health Mistakes
• Asthma-- Health Mistakes
• Psoriasis -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Eczema: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:

• Chronic Respiratory Disorders that may be Undiagnosed:
  • Asthma -- Undiagnosed
  • Allergies -- Undiagnosed
  • COPD -- Undiagnosed
  • Emphysema -- Undiagnosed
  • Chronic Bronchitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Lung Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Sinusitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Cystic Fibrosis -- Undiagnosed
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Common Misdiagnoses and Eczema

Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms. Although the most common symptoms are anal itch (or vaginal itch), which are obvious in severe cases, milder conditions may fail to be noticed in children. In particular, it may interfere with the child's good night's sleep. Threadworm is a condition to consider in children with symptoms such as bedwetting (enuresis), difficulty sleeping, irritability, or other sleeping symptoms. Visual inspection of the region can often see the threadworms, at night when they are active, but they can also be missed this way, and multiple inspections can be warranted if worms are suspected. See the introduction to threadworm.

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with fatal effect). One of the most common misdiagnosed is for children with mesenteric adenitis to be misdiagnosed as appendicitis. Fortunately, thus misdiagnosis is usually less serious than the reverse failure to diagnose appendicitis.

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately test a child's blood pressure. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension. The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome". See misdiagnosis of hypertension.

Psoriasis often undiagnosed cause of skin symptoms in children: Children who suffer from the skin disorder called psoriasis can often go undiagnosed. The main problem is that psoriasis is rare in children, and not often seen by physicians for this reason. children may receive treatment for fungal skin infections. See misdiagnosis of psoriasis or symptoms of psoriasis.

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.

Psoriatic arthritis often undiagnosed cause of joint conditions: Patients with the skin condition psoriasis can also have the related arthritis subtype called "psoriatic arthritis". This arthritic condition tends to be overlooked, even in patients with diagnosed psoriasis. See misdiagnosis of arthritis or psoriasis.

Chronic lung diseases hard to diagnose: Some of the chronic lung diseases are difficult to diagnose. Even the well-knowns conditions such as asthma or lung cancer often fail to be diagnosed early. Some of the chronic lung diseases with diagnostic difficulties include asthma (perhaps surprisingly), COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, mesothelioma, smoker's cough, AIDS-related respiratory conditions (see AIDS), chronic pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases. Rare possibilities include diseases like psittacosis (bird-related lung infection). See other types of chronic lung diseases.

Eczema: Rare Types

Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:

• Chronic Respiratory Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Asthma -- Rare Types
  • Allergies -- Rare Types
  • COPD -- Rare Types
  • Emphysema -- Rare Types
  • Chronic Bronchitis -- Rare Types
  • Lung Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Sinusitis -- Rare Types
  • Cystic Fibrosis -- Rare Types
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea -- Rare Types
  • more ...»
• more rare diseases...»

Failure To Diagnose Eczema

Failure to diagnose Eczema may be associated with the following:

• Failure to diagnose eczema usually leads to increasing discomfort and in some cases infection at the site of the eczema can result
• Often people fail to seek medical advice for eczema symptoms and they manage their condition through over-the-counter remedies. Researchers believe that over half of people with eczema have never been diagnosed with the disorder

Notes On Hidden Causes Of Eczema

The following may be hidden causes of Eczema:

• There is no definitive cause of eczema but it is believed to be related to the immune system and allergic reactions
• Common triggers includes: soap, weather, detergent, creams, clothing, gloves, rubbing, sweating, food handling, jewellery, environmental allergens such as pollen and house dust mites, bacteria, illness, emotional and mental stress
• Eczematous rashes are often associated with systemic diseases such as Wiskott-Aldrich, Hurler's syndrome, Hartnup's disease, acrodermaitis enteropathica, Netherton's syndrome, Ahistidinemia, Phenylketonuria, X-linked agammaglobulinemia. They may also be associate with hypervitaminosis, hypovitaminosis, asteatosis, phenylketonuria, congenital agammaglobulinemia, Langerhan's cell histiocytosis, Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, Ritter's disease, gluten sensitivie enteropathy, arginine deficiency and biotin deficiency

Notes On Wrong Diagnosis Of Eczema

Wrong diagnosis of Eczema may be associated with the following:

• Sometimes eczema (especially seborrheic eczema) is misdiagnosed simply as dry skin
• Fungal infections may be wrongly diagnosed as eczema. If a person is already suffering from eczema, they are more likely to have a fungal infection (or other skin conditions) misdiagnosed as eczema
• Eczema may also be misdiagnosed as a heat rash
• Nummular eczema may be misdiagnosed as wring worm as the both cause round lesions on the skin
• Eczema in infants may be misdiagnosed as cradle cap
• Scabies and atopic dermatitis are difficult to distinguish and are misdiagnosed as each other
• Any skin disorder that occurs in conjunction with eczema may complicate the diagnosis. For example a patient who has scabies and eczema can be difficult to diagnose and treat

Other Notes On Misdiagnosis Of Eczema

• Patients with severe eczema also usually have other allergy-related disorders such as hayfever and asthma
• Eczema patients who also have a weak immune system should be extremely careful to avoid infection at the site of the eczema rash as it can have serious consequences in these patients. A weakened immune system can occur in conditions such as diabetes, chemotherapy patients, old age, alcoholics, immunosuppressant medication use as well as AIDS
• Studies indicate that breast-feeding can help reduce the risk of eczema. The effect is enhanced if the lactating mother reduces her intake of cow's milk and other foods such as eggs, fish, soy and peanuts
• Steroid creams used to treat seborrheic eczema can result in skin the resembles that of rosacea patients
• People who have eczema or are in close contact with someone who has eczema should not receive a smallpox vaccination due to the risk of eczema vaccinatum which is a serious complication

Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Eczema:

The following medical news items are relevant to misdiagnosis of Eczema:

• Woman misdiagnosed with 7 conditions before the real culprit of her disabling symptoms was discovered
• More news »

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

• Misdiagnosis Overview
• How Common is Misdiagnosis?
• Over-Diagnosed Diseases
• Under-Diagnosed Diseases
• Types of Misdiagnosis
• Wrong Type Misdiagnosis
• Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?
• Difficult Diseases to Diagnose
• More premium medical articles ...

About misdiagnosis:

When checking for a misdiagnosis of Eczema or confirming a diagnosis of Eczema, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Eczema may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Eczema. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.

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