Is This Dermatitis or What?

Skin issues often get short shrift in the health world because they're "not that bad" when compared to "actual diseases" but there are a lot of challenges that come with skin issues that aren't easily downplayed. There are the obvious symptoms and complications that come with skin issues - itchiness and pain, irritation, inflammation, etc. - as well as the emotional and mental aspects of living with the physical manifestation of skin issues.

Mild eczema is confusing

For me, one of the biggest challenges is knowing when I'm having a dermatitis flare and when my skin is just being well, weird. A few weeks back my forearms were lightly inflamed and itchy and I was puzzled. Was this dermatitis? Should I call my dermatologist? Did I need a prescription? Would it go away on its own? Even if it is dermatitis, did I care enough to do anything about it?

Is this flare worth going to the dermatologist?

It can be a hard line to walk between dermatitis flare up that needs to be addressed with a doctor's visit and a prescription treatment and something that's caused by an allergen in the air or a weather change.

A variety of factors and triggers

When you take into consideration the lag time between a call to the dermatologist and an actual appointment, things get even more complicated. Add in the number of strangers I come into contact with, new products, seasons, sun, natural skin changes, etc. and the fact that my dermatitis tends to run on the mild side, I often feel like I'm playing a guessing game.

How do you decide when to go to the doctor and when to just let it go?