Eczema

Types of Eczema, Their Causes and Treatments

Eczema is the medical term for a skin disorder causing inflammation, skin rashes, and intense itching, which can appear anywhere on the body. An estimated fifteen million people in the United States alone exhibit symptoms of atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema. Although no cure exists, treatment can reduce and minimize its symptoms.

 

Many people react unfavorably to visible skin disorders on other people. They avoid touching and even hesitate to approach a person with red blotches or scaly patches. They probably fail to consider how painful their reaction may be to the sufferer, who may experience feelings of shame and loss of self-esteem.

Unfortunately, many people believe that eczema is contagious. People avoid contact with sufferers because they're afraid that they'll somehow "catch" skin rashes.

Knowing the facts about common skin disorders may help people become more understanding. This site explains the known facts about eczema and how you can help loved ones who suffer from it.

 

Seborrheic Dermatitis, Nummular Eczema,
and Other Types of Eczema

Eczema can be so mild no one notices it, or so severe that the skin becomes leathery from repeated rubbing and scratching. It can cause visible rashes and inflammation anywhere on the skin, but certain types are associated more frequently with specific skin areas. The more common types and their symptoms are listed below.

Asteatotic Eczema

Asteatotic eczema most commonly occurs on the shins of the elderly, although it occasionally develops on the hands or body trunk. Symptoms include dry, cracked skin that develops fissures: skin affected by asteatoic eczema has been described as "cracked porcelain," or "a dry riverbed." If the cracks deepen enough, bleeding may occur.

Atopic dermatitis is perhaps the most common type. It causes an itchy rash that is often dry in appearance. The skin may thicken and appear leathery if the rash is constantly scratched. The rash may appear anywhere on the skin, including the hands, feet, ankles, neck and face. The creases of the knees and elbows may also become inflamed.

Atopic dermatitis occurs more often in children than adults, and often presents in combination with asthma. It has been dubbed the "itch that rashes," because rubbing and scratching the itchy skin brings about the appearance of the rash, rather than the other way around.

Contact Dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is a reaction to some type of skin irritant. The resulting rash may be dry or blistering. The two types of contact dermatitis are irritant and allergic contact dermatitis. Irritant contact dermatitis occurs when the skin comes into contact with a substance that physically irritates the skin: a few common culprits are bleaches, caustic cleaning solutions, detergents and some soaps.

Allergic contact dermatitis is similar, but occurs when the skin comes into contact with an allergen. Poison ivy, rubber, antibiotic creams and some types of metal may cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.

Dyshidrotic Eczema

Also called pompholyx or vesicular eczema, dyshidrotic eczema usually affects the hands, although it may also develop on the feet. Small itchy bumps ("tapioca-like") appear on the fingers. The bumps then develop into a rash. Dyshidrotic eczema is aggravated by physical or emotional stress, and runs in families.

Nummular Eczema (Discoid Eczema)

Nummular eczema usually appears on the arms and legs. Red, scaly, coin-shaped patches characterize nummular eczema. The disorder's name comes from nummus, the Latin name for "coin."

As the condition clears, the patches heal from the inside skin layers to the outer layer. The healing lesions resemble red rings, thus accounting for the disorder's other name, discoid eczema. Discoid eczema is associated with the winter season, conditions of low humidity, and dry skin.

Seborrheic Dermatitis

Seborrheic dermatitis affects the face, ears and scalp, causing pink or yellow patches covered by greasy yellow scales. The condition is exactly the same as cradle cap, which often affects infants. Seborrheic dermatitis is often mistaken for dandruff.

Searching for an Answer: What Conditions Cause Eczema?

No one knows for certain what conditions specifically cause eczema, although problems with the body's immune system may be to blame. Substances and events that are often perceived to cause the condition are actually triggers. The triggers cause underlying skin conditions to flare up and existing skin rashes to worsen, but they don't actually cause the condition, per se.

Research into human genetics may hold the key to discovering the root cause of eczema. Until then, sufferers should attempt to avoid substances known to trigger skin rashes. Some of the more common ones are listed below.

 

Eczema and Family History

 

A clear link exists between family history and eczema. If both of your parents have the condition or they had it as a child, you have an eighty percent chance of developing it too. Fifty to sixty percent of all people with eczema have a close family relative who also suffers from the skin disorder.

Allergies

Allergies are thought to play a role in atopic dermatitis, but they are probably only a small part of it. Avoiding common allergens like dust mites and pollen may help some people to avoid flare-ups, but that is no easy task. Reading pollen reports and avoiding exposure on heavy days may help to curb the number and severity of outbreaks.

If you have a dust mite allergy, you're not actually allergic to dust. Instead, you're allergic to the dust mite, a microscopic organism that can be found just about everywhere. A dust mite allergy sufferer reacts to the skin shed by the mites, dust mite feces, and the dead bodies of the mites.

Does Stress Cause Eczema?

A good deal of debate rages on the role that every day stress plays in aggravating skin conditions. We know that stress does not cause skin rashes, but many skin conditions do seem to worsen when people are under stress. In many cases, living with disfiguring skin conditions causes emotional stress, which causes a vicious cycle: the stress worsens the skin rashes, which in turn causes more stress.

Environmental Triggers

Weather often affects skin conditions. Low humidity and cold weather may cause skin to dry and crack, making skin rashes even worse. High humidity and heat lead to sweating, which aggravates skin conditions that occur in the elbow and knee joints, beneath the breasts or in other skin folds.

Environmental factors can also include natural irritants, such as poison ivy and pet dander, and a host of man-made materials. Various cleaning solutions, perfumes and metals can all irritate sensitive skin on contact. People whose jobs require that they work with irritating materials, such as fiberglass insulation, should wear well-ventilated protective clothing to minimize contact with irritants.

Infection and Eczema

Some eczema sufferers find that their skin rashes are worse when their body is fighting an infection. This suggests that a faulty immune system may be implicated as a cause of eczema. Inflammation is part of a healthy immune system's response to a threat: when the immune system defends the body against infection, inflammation of the affected body part often occurs. The sore throat you get with strep throat, for instance, occurs in part because of the body's attempt to fight off the infection, and not because of the infectious organisms themselves. So when the body produces inflammatory agents in response to an illness, eczema conditions can sometimes become aggravated.

 

Prevention: Avoiding the Causes of Itching and Eczema

Although a number of medical treatments are available for eczema, the best defense against skin conditions is prevention. Minimizing your contact with triggers and the known and suspected causes of itching will help keep skin conditions under control. Practicing a daily regimen of skin care helps to reduce eczema symptoms.

Bathing and Skin Care

A long soak in a steaming hot bath is a great way to relax and unwind, but unfortunately is also one of the causes of itching if you have eczema. Bathing, especially bathing in hot water, dehydrates your skin. Natural oils that moisturize the skin are lost when bathing. Vigorously rubbing with a towel further reduces your skin's levels of natural moisturizers.

Quick, lukewarm showers are better than long hot baths for your skin. If you prefer to bathe, use lukewarm water and bathe for ten to twenty minutes only. Avoid using soaps: even a mild soap can dry and irritate skin. When you dry after a shower, pat yourself dry: rubbing can do as much damage to your skin as scratching. Once dry, moisturize with a gentle cream, ointment, or lotion.

Controlling Allergens

Allergens can trigger eczema, and are one of the more common causes of itching. Almost anything can be an allergen: pet dander, dust, pollen, perfumes, soaps, and rubber are all common allergens. Avoiding these and other suspected allergens may reduce your chances of triggering skin rashes.

The best strategies to minimize contact with dust mites are washing clothing and bed linens and vacuuming on a regular basis. Pillow and mattress wraps also help reduce contact with mites. Some people replace carpet with linoleum, wood or other flooring, as carpets tend to harbor large numbers of dust mites.

Excessive Sweating and Skin Rashes

Excessive sweating can aggravate eczema – especially skin rashes near the joints, under the breasts and any other body areas where the skin folds on itself. Obesity greatly increases the chances of excessive sweating and skin fold rashes, so weight loss may help reduce symptoms. Altering exercise programs to reduce sweating and wearing soft, absorbent clothing may also help.

Kids and Eczema

Experts estimate that some ten to twenty percent of children suffer from infant eczema. In many cases, infant eczema rashes fade and diminish with age. About half will continue with some form of eczema. Parents of children with skin disorders face special challenges. Small children are likely to scratch itchy rashes and older children may experience bullying and teasing about their visible eczema symptoms. Young children may be kept awake by incessant itching.

Young children often have a hard time resisting the urge to scratch eczema rashes. Make sure the child's fingernails are cut short to minimize damage done by scratching. For infants, using mittens often prevents them from scratching themselves, but do make sure that the mitten material itself does not trigger rashes.

Other Tips

Laundry soap can leave residue on clothes that aggravates eczema. Look for laundry soap designed for sensitive skin. Some people prefer to use baking soda to wash their clothes. Whether using a gentle laundry soap or baking soda, rinse clothes thoroughly to remove any residues.

If low humidity causes your skin to dry and crack, try using humidifiers in your home or office. Humidifying the air in the rooms where you spend time is a good strategy if you are prone to dry skin conditions.