Seeing a specialist

Information for the public

Your child should be referred to a specialist within 2 weeks if the atopic eczema is severe and not responding to treatment, or an infection has not cleared up after treatment. The referral should be on the same day if your healthcare professional thinks your child may have eczema herpeticum (see the section on infections).

There are other situations when your healthcare professional should refer your child to a specialist. These include when:

your healthcare professional is unsure if your child's skin condition is atopic eczema
you or your child feel the atopic eczema is not being controlled
the atopic eczema is affecting your child socially or psychologically
the atopic eczema gets infected regularly
your child has moderate or severe atopic eczema, and your healthcare professional suspects food allergy
your child is growing more slowly than expected.

If your child's atopic eczema has improved but it is still affecting them psychologically, your healthcare professional may refer them for psychological advice.