Overlapping dermatitis

When diagnosing eczema, physicians have to keep in mind that often a mixed eczema is present, where more than one etiologic factor is accountable for the clinical picture.
Patients with atopic dermatitis often react more quickly to constant irritation of the skin, e.g. due to wet work, and may display an overlap of atopic dermatitis and irritant contact dermatitis. In patients with irritant contact dermatitis, allergens may penetrate the skin more quickly due to the barrier damage, and allergic contact dermatitis may develop in these patients too. Patients with stasis dermatitis and possibly ulcers may develop an additional allergic contact dermatitis due to topical treatments of the open wounds. On the legs, stasis dermatitis may overlap with asteatotic eczema if both chronic venous insufficiency and dry skin are present.