The allergy and immunology specialist: what is the role in the treatment of skin disease?
The practice of medicine transcends our neat borders of demarcation between the myriad of medical specialties and medical disciplines. There are no two specialties in which this clinical interface is more blurred than the clinical interface between allergy and dermatology. With a background in both dermatology and allergy, I address where the specialty of allergy/ immunology is heading, as we navigate the coastal waters separating my two primary disciplines. I also discuss the tools traditionally used only in dermatology, which are now being used increasing by a vanguard of allergists to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic skin disease.
Charlesworth
Ernest N
EN
Department of Allergy and Dermatology, Shannon Clinic, San Angelo, TX, USA. ECharlesworth@shannonhealth.org
D000486:Allergy and Immunology; D001706:Biopsy; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010328:Patch Tests; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D014581:Urticaria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology