Etiology of Nummular Eczema

Nummular Eczema and Contact Allergy

“…The relationship of nummular eczema to atopy is a controversial one. The majority of studies evidence no association between discoid eczema and atopy, 3,4,35,36 partly based on the observation of lower immunoglobulin E serum levels in the former than in the latter. 37 Nevertheless, atopic dermatitis can manifest with nummular lesions, albeit generally not very exudative and usually just scaly, both in children and adults, with a respective incidence of 9% and 12%.…”

“…2 For this very reason, as well as for its morphological appearance, it often overlaps with other eczema variants. The condition is not a precise etiological entity, and as a matter of fact, a number of agents acting individually or in a combined fashion have been assessed and suggested as the likely etiological factors; the most frequently quoted have been each time nutritional, 3,4 infective, 3,5Y7 and emotional 8,9 etiologies, together with excessive alcohol intake 10 and dry skin, particularly in the elderly. 11Y13 In some patients, nummular eczema has also exceptionally been induced by methyldopa, 14 gold, 15 and peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin.…”

Patch Testing in Discoid Eczema

“…The etiology of discoid eczema is obscure, and many causative factors have been proposed. Early workers felt that nutrition was important and suggested that sufferers ate insufficient meat and vegetables and large amounts of fats and concentrated carbohydrates (7).…”