The history of eczema and atopic dermatitis

Eczema has been called the keystone of dermatology yet no other disease in the field has provoked such fierce controversy and dissent (Bulkley 1881). Rudolph L. Baer (1955) said that it was a disease ‘about which a lively argument can be precipitated at the slightest provocation.’ Among nondermatologists, it is a disease often misinterpreted and, among physicians, to quote Sulzberger, it ‘serves as a trash basket into which nondescript itching odds and ends are often being thrown even by dermatologists who pride themselves on accuracy in other fields’ (Sulzberger and Goodman 1936). He added, ‘The subject of eczema is a morass in which many dermatologists are floundering about, and it is not astonishing that some allergists and immunologists who are beginning to attempt to enter here, have already begun to feel the insecurity of the ground beneath their feet.'.