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Table 2 Signs and Symptoms Identified by N = 43 Participants in the CE Interviews

From: Exploring content and psychometric validity of newly developed assessment tools for itch and skin pain in atopic dermatitis

Sign/Symptom Identified

Example Participant Quote

Adolescents (n = 15)

Adults (n = 28)

Total (N = 43)

S

P

S

P

 

Skin pain

“I mean, it can be quite severe, actually. I have a pretty high pain threshold … but I’ve had it hurt. I’ve had outbreaks where it was raw and weepy and it hurt enough that I would really cry.” (Male adult)

2

13

3

18

36

Itch

“I have these two spots. One’s on my upper thigh, and one’s on my lower calf. One’s on the right side, one’s on the left side. And they just pop up randomly. They will itch … I think I am going to lose my mind. It’s a bad, bad itch.” (Female adult)

4

8

8

15

35

Redness

“The redness because it makes me look like a baboon’s butt … because it’s super red.” (Male adolescent)

2

13

5

15

35

Scratch/ Scratchy

“It just feels kind of just- very just scratchy.” (Female adolescent)

3

5

8

8

24

Dry skin

“If I was petting … like uh, one of the lizards … rough and … dry.” (Male adolescent)

2

9

8

3

22

Bleeding skin

“It’ll sometimes bleed when I am asleep and then I’ll have blood on my bed and my arm.” Male adolescent)

1

5

3

6

15

Bumps

“They’re like little bumps with like white tips on them. They feel like your … if you have a lot in a place it’ll feel like bumpy.” (Female adolescent)

1

8

1

4

14

Cracking skin

“It almost, like, cracks. I feel like shoe leather, sometimes … you know, real dry and brittle.” (Male adult)

1

4

2

4

11

Rash

“It’s like a rash. Like if you used to have a rash you used to scratch it and be like red-ish and stuff. Just like a whole bunch of bumps in one area.” (Female adolescent)

1

2

4

1

8

Burns

“Then you start to itch, and you feel it … there’s like a little burning feel, like someone’s lighting a match under you … or a lighter.” (Male adult)

1

2

1

2

6

Scaling

“Scaliness is like a snake or something like that … but this is just how the bumps on your skin feel. Like normal. A person who don’t have the condition wouldn’t say a whole bunch of bumps on they skin. They’d say ‘oh you feel like … you feel scaly.’” (Female adolescent)

1

1

2

0

4

Peeling/ flaking skin

“It was just a constant … scratching and flaking and drying skin. It’s improved considerably over the years, but I’ll still get patches where skin will get a dry patch here and a crack.” (Male adult)

0

5

0

2

7

Skin discoloration

“I have it right here on my arm. And they all … usually look like bruises.” (Female adult)

1

0

1

3

5

Inflammation

“Actually, it stays hot the whole time until it is healed. Remember inflammation, part of inflammation is heat.” (Female adult)

0

1

0

4

5

Tightness

“It is almost like a tightness. Like the skin is being pulled tauter.” (Female adult)

0

2

0

2

4

Discomfort

“I don’t know whether the word pain or just discomfort. I think discomfort probably … it’s better than pain because I can’t truthfully say that I’ve been in pain before.” (Male adult)

0

0

0

3

3

Irritation

“Irritation is like when you’re starting a toothache. It’s a little painful when it’s starting. So, if you don’t take care of it, it continues … until it’s time to go to the dentist.” (Female adult)

0

0

0

2

2

  1. Abbreviations: P Probing, S Spontaneously