What Causes Atopic Dermatitis?
Atopic dermatitis is inherited. However, the inheritance is not specific which means the person inherits a general tendency to develop atopy rather than atopic dermatitis specifically. The term, atopy refers to atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis. This means that a child may inherit atopic dermatitis from a parent with any one of the three atopic disorders and not just atopic dermatitis. It also means that the child may develop any one or more of the atopic disorders. This is why people with atopic dermatitis often also suffer from asthma and/or allergic rhinitis. About 70% of people with atopic dermatitis have a personal or family history of atopy.
