Atopic Dermatitis Case Study

M.G. is a 10-year old African American female presenting to the clinic with her mother. She is clean and intact, well nourished and in no apparent distress. She has been getting allergy shots due to eczema, but the mother wishes to stop them due to lack of improvement in her condition. She had been prescribed with tea tree oils, which she used twice daily until it ran out three months ago. She has also been having daily baths with dove and herbal soaps and bath salts twice a week. She has also been using shea butter and urea cream 20%. Regardless, she has been itchy, but has had no fever or drainage from eczematous lesions. She presents to the clinic today because she has not been able to get an appointment with the dermatologist and her mother would like to get her started on creams again.
History of Present Illness
She was diagnosed with eczema at 6 months of age when her mother realized she frequently had bouts of rashes and was unable to sleep well at night due to restlessness and itching. The mother took her to the pediatrician after she unsuccessfully tried a variety of home …show more content…
Although it is not directly related to food allergens, studies have discovered a temporal relationship with certain food allergens (such as egg, soy, peanuts, wheat, fish and cow’s milk) in up to 15 to 40% of patients (Tareen, 2015). The most important risk factor for this condition is genetic pre-disposition, which was found to be is 2.6 times more common in girls with 10.5% of genetically predisposed infants developing the condition during the first 18 months of life (Tareen, 2015). Given the medical/family history of M.G and the current state of the affected areas of her skin, her condition appears to be consistent with atopic dermatitis