More than 20% of children in industrialized countries have atopic dermatitis.^1-4 In more than 60% of these children, the disease started within the first 2 years of life.⁵ Even though many children will outgrow the disease, in others it will persist.⁶ Atopic dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march, which describes the typical progression of clinical symptoms of allergic diseases during childhood. Several studies have shown that atopic dermatitis is positively associated with asthma.^7-9 The risk of developing asthma among children with atopic dermatitis was shown to be increased by 2 compared with children with no atopic dermatitis.¹⁰