The Symptoms of Eczema

The symptoms of eczema include itching, redness, dry/flaky skin, and even blisters. Usually the first symptom of eczema is intense itching; this itching can be very uncomfortable and individuals may tend to scratch the skin. The itchy feeling is an important symptom in eczema, because scratching and rubbing in response to itching worsen the skin inflammation characteristic of eczema.
Scratching should be avoided because it can only make the eczema symptoms worse. The dry skin will become redder in color and may even crack due to scratching. Scratching may also lead to infection. It is a good idea, therefore, to keep fingernails cut short and to keep the hands occupied during the day in order to control the urge to scratch. The urge to scratch symptom becomes a repetitive cycle: the more you scratch, the more it itches.

Important Aspects of Dermatitis Treatment

An important aspect of treatment is to identify and tackle any contributing factors (see above).
Bathing Reduce how often you bath or shower, using lukewarm water. Showers are better. Replace standard soap with a substitute such as a mild detergent soap-free cleanser: your chemist or dermatologist can advise you.
Clothing Wear soft smooth cool clothes; wool is best avoided.
Irritants Protect your skin from dust, water, solvents, detergents, injury.
Emollients Apply an emollient liberally and often, particularly after bathing, and when itchy. Ask your doctor or dermatologist to recommend some to try; avoid perfumed products when possible.
Topical steroids Apply a topical steroid cream or ointment to the itchy patches for a 5 to 15 day course. A suitable one will be prescribed by your doctor or dermatologist. Make sure you understand when and where to apply it, and how often you may repeat the course. Steroids should usually be applied once or twice daily to the red and itchy areas only. Sometimes two or more topical steroids will be supplied, either for different parts of the body, or for differing grades of dermatitis.
Pimecrolimus cream Pimecrolimus is a new anti-inflammatory cream shown to be very effective for atopic dermatitis, with fewer side effects than topical steroids.
Antibiotics Your doctor will recommend antibiotics such as flucloxacillin or erythromycin if infection is complicating or causing the dermatitis. The infection is most often with Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes.
Antihistamines Antihistamine tablets may help reduce the irritation, and are particularly useful at night.
Other treatments Systemic steroids, azathioprine, phototherapy, and other complicated treatments may also be used for severe cases.

How Common is Dermatitis?

Dermatitis affects about one in every five people at some time in their lives. It results from a variety of different causes and has various patterns.
The terms "dermatitis" and "eczema" are often used interchangeably. Dermatitis can be "acute" or "chronic" or both. Acute eczema refers to a rapidly evolving red rash which may be blistered and swollen. Chronic dermatitis refers to a longstanding irritable area. It is often darker than the surrounding skin, thickened (lichenified) and much scratched.
Psychological stresses can provoke or aggravate dermatitis, presumably by suppressing normal immune mechanisms.

Learning to Control Dermatitis

Even though there is no cure for dermatitis, there are ways to help control it:
Don't scratch! When you scratch, it makes your skin sore. The skin can even break open, bleed, and become infected with bacteria.
Keep your fingernails cut short. You're less likely to break your skin open if you scratch an itch.
Take short baths or showers with warm water. Hot water can make you itch more. Look for oatmeal soaking products in your bath to help control the itching.
After bathing, don't rub your skin dry with a rough towel. That just irritates your skin more. Gently pat it dry to get the water off.
Then put on some moisturizing lotion to help keep your skin from getting too dry. You can spread the lotion on several times a day.
Do your skin a favor and drink lots of water, increasing your water intake, increases the moisture in your skin.
Wear loose clothing to help your skin feel better. Make sure you wear cotton or other natural fibers. Wool and synthetic cloth can make you feel itchy all over.
Relax. You may find that your dermatitis gets worse when you're stressed. Find ways to deal with things that bother you.
Keep a diary of anything you ate or came in contact with just prior to a flare. If you're allergic to any foods or other things that may make your dermatitis flare up, you'll want to be sure to avoid them.
Unfortunately, dermatitis cannot be cured, though certain types will eventually clear up and others can be resolved by avoiding particular triggers.
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. 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.

Products to Avoid With Dermatitis

Some ingredients are not recommended for dermatitis sufferers as well as for individuals with dry skin:
**Mineral oils (besides water the most frequent ingredient) and related substances like vaseline and ceresin leave a very pleasant and smooth feeling, but in the long run they slow down the self-regenerating energy of the skin. The same applies for the widely used silicones.
**Emulsifiers are additives with the useful property of combining fat substances and water into a cream and transporting the substances into the skin. Unfortunately they also have the disadvantage of dissolving ingredients of creams and skin-own substances out of the skin.
**A frequent cleansing with water rapidly leads to a dry skin condition and depending on the type of emulsifier to severe skin barrier disorders. These effects attributed to mineral oils and emulsifiers cause the consumers to think that they cannot do any longer without (lots of) skin care creams. In reality their skin has become dependent on those substances and it takes quite a while to regain their independence.

A skin care factor which frequently is neglected by individuals with skin barrier conditions is skin cleansing. Especially in areas with very hard water attention should be paid on the fact that the calcium ions included here may easily penetrate in cases of a skin barrier disorder and further continue its destruction. Dermatoses can be frequently observed with individuals who work with water and materials rich in calcium like gypsum and mortar.

What is Endogenous Dermatitis?

The percentage of reported cases of neurodermatitis also called atopic dermatitis or endogenous eczema varies from 10 to 20 per cent for children and from 3 to 5 per cent for adults. However, there has been a continuous increase over the last years.
There can however be established a connection between neurodermatitis and other atopic diseases like hay fever (allergic rhinitis) and allergic asthma. Generally, atopic diseases are based on a predisposition which can be attributed to a hypersensibility of the immune system. Apparently also an insufficient development of the immune system in early childhood due to cultural influences plays a role. Today, neurodermatitis is the number one skin disease among children and obviously, children with a "sheltered upbringing" are affected more frequently.
As the substances causing the attacks penetrate easier the drier the skin is, neurodermatitis patients are particularly susceptible for preservative and perfume allergies specifically in cases where the skin permeation is increased due to a long-term cortisone therapy.
Also micro-organisms (fungi, bacteria and viruses) penetrate easier and may cause inflammations. Therefore the prevention of dry skin which is the visible symptom for a skin barrier disorder is very important. Furthermore it is recommended to aim at a cortisone-free treatment on a long-term basis.

Lichen Simplex

Neurodermatitis, also known as lichen simplex, is a chronic form of dermatitis. Chronic itching and scratching can cause the skin to thicken and have a leather texture. Neurodermatitis results in a constant scratch-itch cycle. Although signs increase in times of stress, changes in the nerve fibers are also present.
A scratch-itch cycle happens when a small itch causes scratching which increases the itch, leading to more scratching. The cause of the itch can be anything - an insect bite, tight clothing or dry skin. Neurodermatitis appears as scaly patches of skin on the head, lower legs, wrists, or forearms caused by a localized itch (such as an insect bite) that becomes intensely irritated when scratched The skin then can become very irritated when scratched over and over. Stress and tension increase the itching. This results in the scratching process turning into a habit that we do without thinking. Things in your environment can also cause itching. There may be a family history of asthma, hay fever, eczema, psoriasis or other skin disorders.

What is dermatitis?

According the Dermatitis-Ltd III Glossary of Terms page: Dermatitis is defined as a chronic skin disorder categorized by eruption of itching papules, vesicles and lesions resembling hives, typically in clusters and a personal or family history of seasonal allergies or asthma. Alternative names Infantile eczema; Atopic eczema; Dermatitis - atopic; Eczema

Pustular Dermatitis

Pustular dermatitis may cause blister-like lesions of non-infectious 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. Hyperlinearity atopic dermatitis occurs in the palms and results in increased numbers and depth of the lines on the palms of the hands with little redness.

Baby Eczema

If your baby has an itchy skin rash the problem may be eczema (also called atopic dermatitis). Baby eczema can crop up on a baby's cherubic skin when a child is as young as 2 months old. It generally appears on the forehead, cheeks, or scalp and sometimes spreads to the arms or chest. The rash often shows up as dry, thickened scaly skin, but is sometimes made up of tiny red bumps that may ooze or become infected if scratched. Eczema is thought to be a reaction to allergy-causing substances in the environment. About 10 percent of infants have eczema at some point, but many improve before they're 2 years old. Because the condition is often inherited, your child is more likely to develop eczema if you or some other close family member has any kind of allergic condition, says Amy Paller, professor of pediatrics and dermatology at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.