Eczema, or Atopic Dermatitis, is a chronic, itchy skin disease that usually appears on the inside of the elbows and knees and on the face and the wrists. The skin can become hard and thickened. The outer area of the skin can scale off in some areas and excessive pigmentation can develop.

Signs and Symptoms of Eczema

• Red and itch, and creates flaky patches of skin.
• Dry and rough skin, small papules and small blisters filled with fluid.

Causes of Eczema

It occurs because of environmental irritants or other physical circumstances that cause an inflammation of the skin. As a matter of fact, no one is immune from eczema, though a family history of the condition will increase the odds of suffering from it.

Factors causing allergic or irritant eczema are many, some examples are: soaps, cosmetics, sun-rays, dry air, cold weather, nuts, milk, diary products, food additives and scratching by clothes. Some conditions can give eczema as a complication, for example infections, varicose veins and greasy, seborrheic skin.

Eczema is also known to affect infants as well as children and of course adults too can be affected by this kind of skin condition. However, in the case of infants, the disease is noticed on their cheeks, forehead as well as forearms, neck, scalp and even on the legs. In other cases, there will be patches that will turn red in color and which will itch a lot as well and these patches are known to develop on the neck, face, inside of one’s elbows, ankles as well as on the knees.

Eczema is an allergic disease; it’s more common in people who have other allergies, particularly asthma and hay fever. The best approach for controlling eczema is similar to that of controlling other allergies. The first step is to try to identify allergenic foods. Some people will dramatically improve when they eliminate allergenic foods from their diets. Some allergenic foods are eggs, milk, and dairy products, chocolate, peanut, soy, potatoes, and the glutens found in wheat, oats, rye, and barley. An allergen-free diet should be followed for 4-6 weeks in order to allow improvement. In infants, cow’s milk is the most common allergen, so it’s important to breast-feed babies as long as possible.

Prevention and Treatment of Eczema

• Do not use hot water for bathing or showering. Use cold or warm water.
• Use bath oil to soften skin. Use a nondrying soap substitute instead of soap.
• Do not use over-the-counter ointments that contain benzocaine or antibiotics.
• Avoid lanolin in skin lotions, cosmetics, cleansers, and the like.
• Try to avoid temperature extremes and any activity that will involve excessive sweating.
• A more rigorous cleaning of your clothes, your bed coverings and the inside of your home can take away mites, moulds and dust that your skin is reacting against.
• Aerobic exercise is beneficial to eczema and other skin ailments. Just be sure to take a warm shower after exercise to wash away sweat.
• Avoid any oily or greasy ointment that prevents skin from breathing.
• Try to wear cotton and other natural fibers next to your skin wit the exception of wool, which you should avoid.
• Avoiding stress and getting more profound relaxation regularly can help to hinder eczema flaring up. Meditation is a good method to get deeper relaxation.
• Taking evening primrose oil can relieve the symptoms of eczema and help to normalize the digestion of essential fatty acids.
• If the surroundings in your daily life are unmorally dry, unmorally humid, cold, warm or full of sun-shine, try to change these conditions.
• Limited some food types one after the other: Milk and dairy products, wheat products, acidic fruits, eggs, nuts and seafood, Also try to avoid food containing chemical additives, preservatives and colorings.
• Remove or change out soaps and cosmetics used on your skin. Also try to take away or exchange washing media used on interior surroundings and furniture.
• Omega-3-oils, gamma-linoleic acid, milk thistle extract, olive lief extract and artichoke extract alleviate inflammation but also stimulate healing. Zink, grape seed extract, collagen type II, hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate hinder tissue destruction and stimulate healing. The oily substances also make the skin softer, more elastic and help taka away scales.