Atopic Dermatitis or worse?

My daughter has been recently dx with atopic dermatits, though I'm not totally satisfied with that dx yet.  She's 4 years old, and at age 3 started having a "rash" around her mouth - It looked very chapped,sometimes bumpy or weeping - we had actually thought she had been licking her lips - each bout lasted a few weeks and all we were using was petroleum jelly.  In september after several flare ups, we were unable to control it and saw her pediatrician.  "circumoral dermatitis" was the dx.  Being the nurse I am, I said, "so you don't know"- and they rx alcortin (to caver all bases).  After a few wks of  tx with it...actually helping, it flared up with a vengence and them we noticed in on her wrists, hands and fingers.  It looked "rashy" but she complained of joint pain instead.  We've been using desoximetasone on her hand and wrists and desonide on her face.  She uses a tube of chapstick a week.  We're having trouble controlling and and she'd got swollen joints, wrist and knuckle pain (rash is present) and the worst dry cracked lips.  What do you think???