Chronic Atopic Eczema (Neurodermatitis) in Childhood

It is common for infantile eczema to improve with age and to disappear during the second year. This is not always so, however. In a series of 900 cases of eczema in infants and young children, 210 occurred between the ages of 2 and 12 years. In 127 of these the eczema had existed since early infancy; in eightythree it began after the second year. It is the first group that I propose to discuss: chronic eczema in childhood, which had its inception in early infancy. This eczema is characterized by papulation and thickening, but with little vesiculation. The classic case shows involvement of the antecubital and postpopliteal spaces, the wrists and the neck. The skin in these areas is dull red and thick, with a few small papules which are excoriated from scratching. It is often very thick and leathery, without much papulation, but with many furrows, and a