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Eczema Knowledge AcademyWhat are the causes of eczema?
One test for eczema is skin patch testing - The suspected irritant is applied to the skin and held in place with an adhesive patch, another patch with nothing is also applied as a control. After 24 to 48 hours, the patch is removed. If the skin under the suspect patch is red and swollen, the patch test result is considered positive and suggests that the person is probably allergic to the suspected irritant. Most children with eczema have atopic eczema, where there's a strong family history of atopic or allergic disorders, such as asthma, eczema, hay fever or food allergies, and no other obvious cause for the rash. The underlying cause of atopic eczema isn't known, but there appears to be increased reactivity of the immune system and affected children often have other allergic conditions. Breastfeeding may help to prevent atopic eczema developing. Other types of eczema include exogenous, caused by direct contact with irritant chemicals, and seborrhoeic (which includes cradle cap), caused by increased activity of the sebaceous glands in the skin. Who is affected?As many as one in five children develops atopic eczema. It usually begins in the first year of life, but rarely before two months. Children from families with atopic illnesses are at greater risk - as many as 50 per cent of children with atopic eczema also have asthma or hay fever. Most children grow out of eczema by their teenage years. What are the symptoms?The rash of eczema is dry, red and itchy. It may become dry, scaly and cracked, oozing yellowish fluid and forming crusts, especially if the child has been scratching. The rash may develop anywhere on the body, but in younger children the face, cheeks, scalp, forearms and front of legs are most commonly affected. In older children, the rash is usually more localised to flexures (the inside surfaces where joints bend the skin), especially at the wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. Help yourself
Atopic eczema tends to run in families and is more likely if someone also has other atopic conditions such as asthma or hay fever. Contact eczema usually affects adults. Other less common types of eczema include seborrhoeic, which affects the scalp and eye-lashes as a severe form of dandruff, and discoid, which causes circular patches of eczema on the body. These include:
Scratching causes breaks in the skin, allowing the bacteria to get in and cause irritation. Find out below more knowledge about the various types of eczema and it's related skin diseases. Atopic Eczema - is believed to have a hereditary component, and often runs in families whose members also have hay fever and asthma. An itchy rash is particularly noticeable on face and scalp, neck, inside of elbows, behind knees, and buttocks. Find out more about atopic eczema. Xerotic Eczema - is dry skin that becomes so serious it turns into eczema. It can and often does worsen in dry winter weather. The limbs and trunk are often the most affected. The itchy, tender skin resembles a dry, cracked, river bed. This disorder is very common among the older population. Dermatitis - of which there is two types: allergic and reaction. Seborrhoeic Dermatitis - also known as Cradle Cap in babies, causes dry or greasy scaling of the scalp and eyebrows. Scaly pimples and red patches sometimes appear in various adjacent places. In newborn babies Cradle Cap causes a thick, yellow crusty scalp rash which seems related to lack of biotin , and is often curable. For further information about our Eczema Cream, please follow this link to our Eczema Herbal Cream page. |
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