If your skin seems to always be itchy, dry and cracked, you are not alone. As many as 30 million adults and children in the U.S. suffer from eczema. Often called eczema or atopic eczema, this is a condition that usually develops by 5 years of age and causes extremely itchy rashes that come and go.
Eczema refers to a group of conditions that cause inflamed skin. There are many types of eczema. Atopic dermatitis is the most common type.
Other types of eczema include contact dermatitis, nummular eczema, and dyshidrotic eczema. People often say eczema when referring to any one of these conditions.
Everyone has unique eczema triggers, so it’s important to find your triggers and figure out how to avoid them. Common triggers include skin care products, weather (cold or hot), wool clothing, stress, and laundry detergents that contain fragrance.
There are things you can do to help control mild eczema, but more severe cases require following an eczema management plan created by a dermatologist. We are here to educate you, develop a personalized treatment plan and get you the relief you need.
Eczema is a common skin condition that often shows up first during infancy. It may affect you for the rest of your life or mostly during childhood. Either way, eczema involves a gene variation that compromises your skin’s natural moisture barrier. Without this barrier, your skin struggles to stay hydrated and is more vulnerable to harmful irritants and bacteria. Since the condition is genetic, you’re much more likely to have eczema if family members do.
While you can’t alter your genes to get rid of the condition, there are plenty of treatments for it. You can also help control eczema by moisturizing your skin twice daily, identifying and avoiding triggers, and using only mild cleansers that are fragrance-free and skin-friendly.
Eczema is a term used to describe a group of inflamed skin conditions that result in chronic, relapsing and very itchy rashes. Eczema types can can be described as follows:
- Atopic dermatitis is partially inherited and environmental. Infantile atopic dermatitis occurs from two months to two years of age. The scalp (cradle cap), cheeks, neck, forehead, wrists and extremities, buttocks, and diaper area are often involved. Allergies to egg, peanut, milk, wheat, fish, soy, and chicken may be causative. Children usually outgrow this allergy. Avoid wool clothing as this may irritate the skin.
- Childhood atopic dermatitis occurs in children from 2 to 10 years of age. Sites of involvement include the elbow, knee bend, wrists, eyelids, face, and neck. Itching is prominent. Scratching causes a thickening of the skin and an increased likelihood of infection. Children are less sensitive to foods but more sensitive to feather-containing objects, cat or dog hair, lacquer paint, nickel, neomycin, and ragweed resin.
- Adolescent and adult atopic dermatitis is defined as being present after age 10. The dermatitis varies as localized scaly lesions to more generalized involvement involving the elbow and knee bends, neck, forehead, behind the ears, wrists, and hands. Itching is present. Triggers for the rash include dry skin, rough clothing, wool irritation, foods (rarely) or tension.
We offer an excellent moisturizing creams (DSC and EltaMD) to help restore and maintain skin hydration. This is important to control eczema of all types.
Eczema can range in severity from a mild annoying red patch on your arm to a total body, weeping, infected rash.
Eczema simply means “inflamed skin”. Skin can become inflamed for a number of reasons, the big three are Contact Dermatitis, Atopic Dermatitis, and Irritant Dermatitis.
Part of the eczema confusion stems from the fact that ALL eczemas look very similar – chapped, red, scaly skin. Another item that all eczemas share is their therapy.
Proper hydration is the absolute cornerstone for any regimen aimed at calming all eczemas.
A well moisturized skin barrier is less susceptible to environmental allergens of all kinds and will begin the recovery process. Sometimes an anti-inflammatory prescriptive may be required in addition to a hydrating barrier repair.
We'll match our therapeutic approach to your condition’s severity.
The best way to find out if you have eczema is to see our dermatologist. If you have a mild case, good skin care and a change in your daily habits may be sufficient. Soap and moisturizers combined with short, warm showers can help. If you have a severe case, you may need medication. We believe that eczema can be caused by a combination of factors:
- Genetic predisposition
- Environmental factors
- Abnormal immune function
- Activities that increase skin sensitivity
- Skin barrier defects that release moisture and keep germs inside
You should know that eczema runs in families and it is not contagious.
Source: Vivacare
Last updated : 2/10/2023