EBA is just one of the many dermatological bullous diseases and its visible symptoms, ranging from mild itchiness and irritation to extreme blistering, can be hard to differentiate from the symptoms of many of the other bullous diseases even to the trained eye of specialists. It is not uncommon for the condition to start off as a mild and seemingly innocent irritation and depending on the area of the expression many members of the group have been told, at the outset, that it could be some sort of allergic reaction, a fungul infection, herpes, boils, or even cancer.

If the case at hand is such that it is going to progress to blistering it is certainly unfortunate that this needs to start happening before it is viewed as something more serious meriting more careful consideration. The diagnosis itself can also be a slow process - for some members it only took a couple of weeks, others have reported that it had taken quite a few months.

As outlined by Chan and Woodley a number of tests need to be performed for a diagnosis that will differentiate EBA from other similar conditions and hasty conculsions drawn in the absence of such tests should definitely raise concern. We are in fact saddened and concerned to have to mention that even after extensive tests that proved that the condition of one member was indeed EBA, during a transfer of care from one dermatology department to another one of the consulting dermatologist was all too keen to re-diagnose the condition as something quite different.

Vigilience is therefore required to ensure that all necessary tests are correctly carried out.