How to Deal with Eczema
Posted in 990, Health on 07/13/2010 08:07 am byEczema, also called atopic dermatitis, is a long-lasting condition that afflicts the skin. It is not contagious; an affected person won’t pass it to another. The term dermatitis implies skin’s inflammation. The term atopic involves a group of diseases where there is often a genetic tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as hay fever and asthma. In eczema, the skin turns extremely itchy. Scratching produces cracking, swelling, redness, weeping clear fluid, and finally, crusting and scaling. When some children suffering eczema grow older, their skin disease is alleviated or disappears completely, although their skin often remains dry and easily irritated. In others, eczema will still be a significant problem in adulthood.
There are no recognized causes for eczema, but the condition seems to appear from a combination of environmental and genetic factors.
Children are more likely to develop this condition if one or both parents have had it or have had allergic conditions like asthma or hay fever. While some people outgrow skin symptoms, nearly three-fourths of children suffering eczema go on to develop hay fever or asthma. Environmental factors can bring on symptoms of eczema at any time in people who have genetically acquired the atopic condition trait.
Eczema is also linked with malfunction of the organism’s immune system: the system that identifies and helps fight viruses and bacteria that invade your organism. Scientists have found that people suffering eczema have a deficient level of a cytokine protein that is essential to the adequate function of the organism’s immune mechanism and a high level of other cytokines that produce allergic responses. The immune mechanism can become confused and produce dermatitis even in the absence of a major infection.
In the past, specialists believed that eczema was caused by an emotional condition. We now know that emotional issues, such as stress, can make the condition worse, but they are not the cause the condition.
Also, a wide range of skin care solutions include preservatives. People who are allergic to one of these preservatives can have either localized or widespread dermatitis. Antigen-avoidance lists that optimize patient instruction about what chemicals to avoid can be acquired from the manufacturers of patch test allergens. With these printed guidelines alone, people must read skin care product labels carefully, looking for the names of their allergens as identified by patch tests as well as for any cross-reactors and synonyms of these allergens. After the identification of an allergen, a nurse can play a vital role in helping people understand their dermatitis and its treatment. Nurses are in a unique position to spend time educating people about how to discover the sources of certain allergens and, subsequently, how to avoid them.
A new skin care product is our latest answer to eliminate blemishes and alleviate all kind of skin ailments. Elaborated with biological ingredients, it ensures no allergic responses and no adverse side effects.
- Angelique Jodein