[Recommendations for the treatment and prevention of atopic dermatitis in children].

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically-relapsing disease of the skin caused by hereditary hypersensitivity to a lot of environmental substances. Disturbances of humoral and cellular immunity, abnormal vascular reactions and abnormal skin functions play a role in pathogenesis. AD shows different forms in different age-groups with pruritus as a commune feature. The treatment of AD is unsatisfactory and effective only by consequent cure. The principles are avoiding of pruritus and scratching, avoiding of chemical and mechanical irritants of the skin and avoiding of bacterial superinfections. Topic steroid-treatment is very effective, dose and application however have to be strongly controlled. The nutrition of children with AD should be as normal as possible, extreme regimes of diet have to be avoided. An effective prophylaxis of atopic disease is not known till now.