Dermatographia

Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Tests and diagnosis

By Mayo Clinic staff

Your 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 different things and because it can be aggravated by stress and other emotions, it's sometimes difficult — even impossible — to determine the cause.

DS00755

June 17, 2008

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger