Eczema
Eczema is the group of skin conditions most often confused with psoriasis.The Research Team at Psoriasis-Ltd have found that in the confusing world of medical terminology, many skin conditions with symptoms similar to psoriasis exist. The symptoms of eczema include: itching, cracking, stinging, burning, or bleeding. In the early stages of eczema the skin may turn red, blister, and ooze. Later stages of eczema can cause the skin to turn a brownish color and be scaly. In almost every case, eczema itches.
Causes of Eczema
A variety of things can contribute to cause eczema. The predominant cause of eczema is a sensitivity reaction of the skin resulting from contact with an allergen. This results in atopic eczema and is associated with asthma and hay fever. Eczema can also result from skin contact with a substance that irritates the skin. Substances such as laundry detergents, soaps, diesel or engine oils, strong chemicals, cleaners, etc. commonly cause skin inflammation for individuals with eczema. Upon contact, the immune system over reacts and will cause the skin to become inflamed, irritated, and itchy.
Varicose veins can also cause eczema. This form of eczema affects the lower legs of individuals with poor circulation.
Some foods have also been known to cause eczema. This varies from person to person. However, if the individual has an idea what the problem food may be, doctors advise them to remove the food from their diet and watch for any improvement.
Emotional factors and stress levels also play a role in eczema. If an individual is upset, the body and face often become red, itchy, and hot. A high stress level can also cause an existing eczema condition to flare up. Eczema follows a course with many ups and downs, particularly associated with seasons and stress.
It can be possible to control or minimize your eczema by identifying and isolating those triggers that are the cause of your eczema or cause your eczema to worsen during an outbreak.
Eczema runs its course through three distinct phases: acute, subacute, and chronic.
The usual symptoms associated with the acute stage of eczema include pain, heat, tenderness, and possible itching. The affected areas are characterized by extreme redness and drainage at the lesion site.
The subacute phase of eczema includes symptoms associated with skin redness and crusting; however, there is no extreme swelling. People in the subacute phase tend to complain about the symptom of itching more than the pain.
Individuals with lesions developed over three months are referred to as having chronic eczema. Itching is a predominant symptom in this phase as well and scratching causes the lesion to worsen. Individuals with atopic eczema will find that their symptoms tend to worsen in the winter months due to decreased humidity in the home or office.
Types of Eczema
Atopic eczema is the most common form of eczema. Atopic eczema is marked by dryness, thickening, excoriation, and even scarring. This chronic condition is not contagious; the cause is hereditary and usually begins in infancy as a rash on the scalp, face or upper extremities of the baby. Atopic eczema is most commonly located in areas where the body bends or experiences contact thus creating friction that can cause eczema.
Trigger factors for atopic eczema may include soap, harsh chemicals, heat and humidity, stress, certain foods (the most common offenders include eggs, milk, wheat, soy protein, and peanuts). Many of these ingredients can turn up in unusual places, such as all-natural soaps, makeup, cream or lotions. Inhalant allergens such as house dust mites, pets, pollen and cut grass are also triggers that can cause eczema. Neurodermatitis is a chronic eruption of the skin that results from continuous scratching.
Seborrheic eczema is associated with flaking and may cause redness of the skin. Seborrheic dermatitis occurs when there is inflammation of the skin where sebaceous glands are concentrated. Seborrheic eczema is genetically determined, and not contagious. This type of eczema affects the face, chest, eyebrows and eyelids, nose, ears, chin, forehead, and most commonly the scalp.
Seborrheic dermatitis begins with dry or greasy scaling of the scalp areas, which become red, oily and may cause itching. The itching associated with seborrheic dermatitis is not as bad as the itching associated with psoriasis. Seborrheic dermatitis is often thought of as a severe case of dandruff accompanied at times by an odor, which is caused by the buildup of bacteria on the scalp.
Infantile seborrheic eczema, also called cradle cap or baby eczema, affects the face, scalp, and upper extremities and is often associated with a food allergy due to cheese, egg whites, wheat, or nuts. Other triggers that can cause baby eczema are soaps, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, wool, and polyester or blended fabrics. Child/infantile eczema usually clears up by school age but can resurface in adulthood.
Perioral dermatitis affects mostly women. In addition to redness around the mouth, the symptoms of perioral dermatitis may also include small red bumps or even pus bumps and mild peeling. Treatments include using a non-tartar, non-fluoride toothpaste. Lip balms, lipstick, or toothpaste can also cause perioral dermatitis. Peri-oral dermatitis is seen by some as a variant of rosacea and by others as distinct and separate skin condition.
Contact dermatitis is an inflammatory response by the skin to an outside allergen or irritant. Substances that cause contact dermatitis include household items, clothing, cosmetics, and plants. The types of substance that cause the symptoms to appear can further define contact dermatitis. A substance that has a direct toxic effect or exposure to an irritant produces irritant contact dermatitis and a skin reaction can occur immediately or gradually after repeat exposure.
Substances that cause irritant contact dermatitis include acids, certain toilet bowl cleaners or drain cleaners, oven cleaners, detergents, ammonia, lye, cement, turpentine, and paint thinners. Typically the symptoms of contact dermatitis include redness, swelling and oozing. If left untreated, contact dermatitis can result in dry, thickened, cracked skin. The webs of the fingers, back of the hands and forearms are common sites of contact. Local contact with an allergen followed by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) can cause photoallergic dermatitis.
The symptoms of dyshidrotic eczema include itching of the hands and feet which can cause a sudden onset of blisters. Symptoms including burning pain or itching may be experienced before blisters appear. Dyshidrotic eczema may result from a sensitivity to nickel or other metals such as chromium or cobalt, also fragrances, fungal infection (tinea pedis), stress, aspirin, oral contraceptives, smoking, and implanted metals.
Pustular eczema or pustular dermatitismay cause blister-like lesions of noninfectious pustules (yellow pus spots) and intense scaling usually found on the hands or feet. They tend to become red and scaly and may crack. Individuals with pustular psoriasis can be seriously ill and may require hospitalization during the course of their treatment
Foot eczema is identified as scaly areas of irritated skin, common in children during wintertime when the air contains less moisture. Foot eczema can cause feet to dry out and crack. The most common cause of foot eczema are the dyes and rubber used in the manufacture of shoes and sneakers. These irritants cause rashes and dry or scaly skin. Leather shoes also contain dyes.
Also known as dyshidrosia or dyshidrotic eczema, foot eczema has nothing to do with sweating feet.
Xerotic eczema, winter itch, or asteatotic eczema affects mainly the elderly, appearing on the legs, arms, and hands. It is characterized by dry, cracked, fissured skin and redness. Stasis dermatitis is a rash of the lower legs, which is due to poor return of blood to the heart. Usually the inner leg is more involved than the outer lower leg. Sometimes the rash breaks down into a sore resulting in a stasis ulcer.
Nummular eczema or nummular dermatitis is a ringworm-like rash of circular, itchy, scaling patches, widespread on the arms and legs but may also be found on the trunk and buttocks. Nummular eczema most commonly occurs in older people with very dry skin.
Discoid eczema is found in adults and appears suddenly as a few coin-shaped areas of red skin, normally on the trunk or lower legs. The areas become itchy and may weep fluid. Venous stasis eczema is a persistent inflammation of the skin of the lower third of the legs associated with erythema and brown hyper pigmentation.
Treatment of Eczema
You can learn more about eczema and its treatment at our sister site Eczema-Ltd.
