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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor can diagnose dermatographia with a simple test. He or she will draw a tongue depressor across the skin of your arm or back. If a red, swollen line or a welt (wheal) appears within a few minutes, you may have dermatographia.
To help find out what's causing your dermatographia, your doctor may ask you to keep a detailed diary of exposure to possible allergens over a period of two weeks to a month and a record of when dermatographia signs occur. Your doctor may also recommend skin testing for allergies.
Because dermatographia may be triggered by many things and because it can be aggravated by stress and other emotions, it's sometimes difficult — even impossible — to determine the cause.
- Dice JP, et al. Physical urticarias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 8, 2010.
- Urticaria — Hives. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/Publications/pamphlets/Urticaria-Hives.htm. Accessed April 25, 2010.
- Bhute D, et al. Dermatographism. Indian Journal of Dermatology, Vereology and Leprology. 2008;74:177.
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