This means precisely the same as eczema to Dermatologists - see Eczema
COMMONLY MISDIAGNOSED SKIN DISORDERS
Even common disorders can look very different in darker skinned patients compared with white skin patients. Dermatology is a voluntary subject in many UK Medical Schools – therefore many GP’s have had zero or close to zero training in Dermatology. Given these two compounding facts, it is hardly surprising that if you have pigmented skin and you attend your GP for a skin disorder you might get significantly short changed in terms of the expertise and opinion you receive.
ECZEMA, DERMATITIS, PSORIASIS, ACNE, and a variety of other incredibly common skin diseases can puzzle GP Doctors when they occur in pigmented skin because they can look slightly different. Even simple injuries to the skin in darker skinned patients for example burning yourself on a hot pan, will give a different reaction and a different healing process which can puzzle some Doctors and lead to misdiagnosis.
There are certain disorders which are much more distressing in pigmented skin than in lighter skin and the classic example is vitiligo from which Michael Jackson was allegedly suffering. Vitiligo causes white patches to appear on the skin and these can be extremely obvious in darker skin patients.
Most Dermatologists train in large cities for example London, Manchester, Birmingham etc and get to see a lot of skin disease in many different ethnic groups so Dermatologists are generally very good at interpreting this type of combination problem.
On www.dermatologist.co.uk we offer the patient the option of an online consultation including uploading their own photograph for an expert opinion to support or aid their own GP diagnosis and advice >>click here.
by Dr John Ashworth
