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How to Deal with Eczema

by Angelique Jodein

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic condition that afflicts the skin. This condition is not contagious; an affected person won't pass it to another. The word dermatitis means skin's inflammation. The term atopic refers to a group of diseases where there is often an inherited tendency to acquire other allergic problems, such as hay fever and asthma. In eczema, the skin becomes extremely itchy. Scratching leads to cracking, swelling, weeping clear fluid, redness, and finally, crusting and scaling. When some children suffering eczema grow older, their skin disease improves or disappears altogether, although their skin often remains dry and easily irritated. In others, eczema continues to be a significant problem in adulthood.

There are no recognized causes for eczema, but the condition seems to appear from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Children are more likely to acquire this disorder if one or both parents have had it or have had allergic conditions like asthma or hay fever. While some individuals outgrow skin symptoms, approximately three out of four children suffering eczema go on to acquire asthma or hay fever. Environmental factors can bring on eczema's symptoms at any time in people who have inherited the atopic condition trait.

Eczema is also linked with malfunction of the organism's defensive system: the system that recognizes and helps fight viruses and bacteria that attack the body. Scientists have found that patients suffering eczema have a deficient level of a cytokine protein that is vital to the healthy function of the body's defensive mechanism and an elevated level of other cytokines that produce allergic responses. The defensive mechanism can become misguided and create dermatitis even when there's no major infection.

In the past, specialists believed that the cause of eczema was an emotional condition. We now know that emotional issues, such as stress, can make the condition worse, but they do not cause the condition.

Also, a wide range of skin care products contain preservatives. Patients who are allergic to one of such preservatives may have either localized or widespread dermatitis. Antigen-avoidance lists that facilitate patient instruction about what products to avoid can be acquired from the producers of patch test allergens. With these written guidelines alone, people must read skin care product labels carefully, searching for the names of the allergens as recognized by patch tests as well as for any cross-reactors and synonyms of these substances. After an allergen has been identified, 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 uncover the origin of specific 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 conditions. Elaborated with biological ingredients, it guarantees no allergic responses and no adverse side effects.

Published July 16th, 2008

Filed in Beauty





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