Hi Fuzzybear -- I had severe eczema as a child, but once I got away from my mother in my late teens, it went away. I am occasionally bothered by small patches.

My poor mother, whom I fear has gone through life very lonely, probably with depression she will not admit to, continues to have severe skin problems in her 80s.

I had no idea that eczema could be passed down. No one else in my family has had it, and I do not and never will have children.

Doctors can be awful dolts, and I'm sorry you ran into a particularly doltish one.