Eczema Treatment, Information & Remedies
Sunday, January 21st, 2007Skin inflammation, the general term used for eczema. There are different types of eczema and the most common is atopic dermatitis. Eczema usually affects infants and clears up around the age of four, but can reoccur through life in some cases. This generally is a family trait like hair loss or hay fever.
There is no exact cause known for eczema, but doctors believe the immune system plays a big part in having eczema. Eczema may be caused by soap, make-up, laundry soap, and jewelry or sweating. Anything that meets the skin can cause eczema. Some people have outbreaks of eczema due to stress or allergens in the air.
The most common symptoms of eczema are redness to the skin along with dry patches that usually itch and sometimes burns. There are many types of eczema and everyone brings different symptoms. Itching seems to be the main sign of eczema.
In more severe cases of eczema, people have blisters and lesions that ooze. The most common place that doctors see eczema is the elbows, hands, knees, face and ankles. Infant eczema usually appears on the legs, cheeks and forehead.
There are many different types of eczema such as:
• Atopia dermatitis- the typical type of eczema
• Contact eczema- caused by an allergy causing substance
• Seborrheic eczema- is an unknown form of eczema
• Nummular eczema- is a coined shaped patch on the skin
• Neurodermatitis- chronic skin inflammation
• Stasis dermatitis- affects the lower legs due to circulation problems
• Dyshidrotic eczema- affects the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands
Treatment includes treating the redness and itching with both changing a brand of soap for instance and a medication. You may have an allergic reaction from something you are using on your skin and discontinued use is required. The dermatologist to find the source of eczema before treatment may preform a test. Usually a corticosteroid is used to relieve the itching and inflammation or an antihistamine, this might be prednisone.
Some other types of treatments are ultraviolet light therapy, cyclosporine, which is an immune suppressant. Tropical creams such as Protopic and Elidel are used to treat eczema, although these drugs have been linked to types of cancer in people who have used the drugs. In most cases, a change in lifestyle and a cortisone cream will help to
solve the cause of atopic dermatitis.