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Skin Problems & Treatments Community

Eczema - Part I

Dear Readers, Of all the skin conditions I see, the most frustrating for both me...

Posted by Susan Evans, MD

Dear Readers,

Of all the skin conditions I see, the most frustrating for both me and my patients has to be eczema.

The most common form of eczema is atopic eczema, which is believed to be similar to an allergy, and is essentially a hypersensitivity of the skin. This leads to long-term skin inflammation. Some people outgrow it as they get older. It does tend to run in families.

Most people with eczema also have trouble with hay fever, allergies, or asthma. Because of this, anything that would irritate an allergy will aggravate your skin. Here are a few things that make eczema worse:

Having allergies to animal dander, dust mites, pollen, or mold
Being sick with a viral infection
Touching rough materials like cardboard boxes or wood
Having excessively dry skin
Being exposed to irritants in the environment
Water
Being too hot or too cold
Dyes and perfumes in soap, cream, and lotion
Stress

In order to be diagnosed with eczema, your doctor will do a physical exam of your skin and take a detailed personal and family history. The skin lesions will be examined, and sometimes a punch biopsy is done so that it can be examined under the microscope.

Eczema almost always causes itching, which can sometimes begin even before any skin lesions or rashes appear. Eczema will usually present as oozing blisters that crust over as they heal. Areas of the skin that are affected are sometimes lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. There is usually redness/inflammation around the blisters. And yes, they itch!

People who have been affected with eczema for a long time develop leather-like skin in those areas; a result of the irritation and the scratching.

Obviously, you want to avoid scratching if you possibly can. Use cold compresses to help alleviate the itching. Take antihistamines to help with the most severe itching.

Try to find a moisturizer that you can tolerate because your skin needs to be lubricated, as dry skin makes eczema even worse. The moisturizer should not have any alcohol, fragrance or dye in it. You will have to experiment to find what works for you.

To be continued in Eczema - Part IIView Thread

Posted bySusan Evans, MD

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