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Eczema (Atopic Eczema)

Eczema is a general term to describe an allergic skin condition which is dry and itchy with obvious rashes characterized by a few symptoms such as redness, flaking, cracking, oozing and crusting. It is grouped into a few categories with two most common ones: atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is the one that I suffer from and is hereditary and runs in family members whose members also have asthma, rhinitis, hay fever or other allergy conditions. In comparison, contact dermatitis is triggered by allergen and irritants. Contact dermatitis will be a more commonly thought as allergy in general. 

Skin is the biggest organ in our body. Controlling the itch and managing the flare-up are challenging. Atopic eczema sufferer’s skin has a genetic defect in the skin’s protective outer layer allowing irritants, microbes and allergens to penetrate the skin causing itch and adverse reactions. Scratching damages the skin tissue underneath, leading to contamination and injury. With prolonged scratching and rubbing, the skin may exhibit lichenification: it is thicker, drier, rougher, and may have scaling. One common question is about the relationship between food allergy and eczema. In fact, food allergy does not relate directly to atopic eczema but is often mistakenly thought to be the root cause of atopic eczema. However, people with atopic eczema might have food allergy as well. Food allergens can sometimes cause eczema to worsen. In people with eczema and food allergies, strictly avoiding food allergens may help better control the eczema flare-up. Furthermore, air borne allergens may exacerbate eczema condition and if this is suspected avoidance measures should be undertaken. A few studies indicate that one-third of eczema patients have documented food allergy. In most cases, patients experience atopic dermatitis before food allergies. Still, there are many misconceptions and controversies with regard to eczema and allergy. There is no single cause that triggers atopic eczema flare-up. The triggering source is likely to be a mixture of inherited issue and environmental causes acting together at different times on the defective skin barrier system. A few triggers can aggravate the eczema condition but they do not necessarily cause the flare-up. Environment elements such as cold and dry weather, rough and tight clothing, harsh soaps, air-borne pollens and house dust mites might worsen the eczema condition. Hormonal changes in women, stress, vigorous exercise with excessive sweating and other form of irritants will contribute to eczema worsening as well.

Atopic eczema normally affects about 10 percent of children in the world and most of them outgrow it. A small percentage continues to suffer from eczema into adulthood. Nevertheless, the root cause of atopic eczema is not well understood and a series of research and surveys are still being carried out to further characterize this skin disorder. There is no cure for eczema. It is a recurring and cyclical condition. It starts off as a sense of intense itch, which leads to continuous scratching creating small patches of rashes which are itchy. These patches will turn reddish and weep if continuously being rubbed and scratched as they are infected by bacteria. The injured skin parts will be so painful, stopping one from further touching them. The rashes take days or weeks to recover. Proper care has to be taken to speed up the recovery process. Ultimately, the rashes will slowly go away and the skin will peel off when the underlying skin is fully healed. 

Skin on the flexural surfaces of the joints such as the inner sides of elbows and knees, necks, and wrists are the most commonly affected regions in eczema sufferer. The dry skin condition is due to lack of water in the outer layer of skin cells. Dehydrated skin loses its flexibility and becomes cracked and scaly. The outer layer can retain water seeping up from deeper layers of the skin and moisture is retained by a surface of natural oil (sebum). Atopic eczema patient has a deficiency in this process; hence, natural oil produced is not enough to hold in moisture on the skin.