The dermatologist will use a scalpel blade to scrape perpendicularly across the skin, often in a 1-2 inch area. In the case of oral infection, a tongue blade may be used to scrape a specimen onto a slide.

What does a skin scraping test for?

What's a skin scraping test? A skin scraping is a collected sample of skin cells that are evaluated under a microscope. Skin scraping tests are typically performed to aid in diagnosing certain skin inflammations, fungal infections, and skin cancer, along with being an effective way of determining the presence of mites.

How do doctors do a skin scraping?

The doctor will take a tool to scrape and remove some of the affected skin, which is called a skin scraping procedure. They then place the skin scrapings into a liquid containing potassium hydroxide, or KOH, which will destroy all cells that are not fungal cells.