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Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, is a chronic disease that affects the skin. This condition is not contagious; an affected person won’t pass it to another. The term dermatitis means skin’s inflammation. The term atopic refers to a group of diseases where there is often an inherited tendency to develop other allergic problems, like hay fever and asthma. In eczema, the skin becomes extremely itchy. Scratching produces redness, weeping clear fluid, swelling, cracking, and finally, crusting and scaling. When some children suffering eczema grow older, their skin disease is alleviated or disappears completely, although their skin often remains dry and easily irritated. In others, eczema will still be an important problem in adulthood.
The cause of eczema is not known, but the disease seems to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Children are more likely to develop this disorder if one or both parents have had it or have had allergic conditions like asthma or hay fever. While some people outgrow dermal symptoms, approximately three out of four children suffering eczema go on to develop hay fever or asthma. Environmental factors can bring on symptoms of eczema at any time in people who have genetically acquired the atopic disease trait.
Eczema is also associated with a failure of the organism’s immune system: the system that recognizes and helps fight viruses and bacteria that invade your organism. Scientists have discovered that people suffering eczema have a deficient level of a cytokine protein that is essential to the healthy function of the organism’s immune mechanism and a high level of other cytokines that lead to allergic responses. The immune mechanism can become confused and produce dermatitis even in the absence of a major infection.
In the past, doctors thought that the cause of eczema was an emotional condition. We now know that emotional factors, like stress, can worsen the condition, but they are not the cause the disease.
Also, a wide range of skin care products contain preservatives. Patients who are allergic to one of such preservatives can have either localized or widespread dermatitis. Antigen-avoidance lists that optimize patient instruction about what chemicals to avoid are available from the producers of patch test allergens. With these printed guidelines alone, patients must read skin care solution labels carefully, looking for the names of the allergens as recognized by patch tests as well as for any synonyms and cross-reactors of these substances. After the identification of an allergen, a nurse can play a key role in helping patients understand their dermatitis and its treatment. Nurses are in a unique position to spend time educating patients about how to discover the origin of certain allergens and, subsequently, how to avoid them.
A new skin care product is our latest answer to erase blemishes and cure all kind of skin conditions. Elaborated with biological ingredients, it ensures no allergic reactions and no negative side effects.
- Angelique Jodein
