TREATMENT OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN CHILDREN - ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Corticosteroid phobia ('corticophobia') is fairly common in allergy practice. In atopic dermatitis (AD) parents fear that topical corticosteroids cause thinning of the skin, and often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) instead of or in conjunction with conventional medicine. This article describes a case in Australia where parents were found criminally negligent after their nine-month-old daughter died from septicaemia because of untreated AD. Ethical and legal aspects of CAM are discussed.