Childhood atopic eczema

**Definition:** Atopic eczema in children and adolescents first presenting or continuing after infancy up to age 19 years. Its prevalence is highest in northern latitudes (e.g. nearly 20% in Norwegian children as compared with 0.7% in Tanzanian children). The sites most characteristically involved are the elbow and knee flexures, sides of the neck, wrists and ankles. As the disease progresses, lichenification (skin thickening) becomes a typical clinical feature, especially in areas that can be easily reached and scratched. Discoid variants are more common in children of African and Asian ancestry.