Health
By Louise Addison
All about Eczema Eczema is a common skin condition that causes dry skin, itchy skin, rashes and scaliness, blisters, and skin infections. It is triggered by a combination of immune system activation, genetics, environmental factors, and stress. An eczema sufferer’s immune system overreacts to small irritants or allergens, which causes the skin to inflame. Eczema is intensely uncomfortable and irritating and notoriously difficult to treat. It mostly presents for the first time in childhood and seems to be related to genetics (if your mum or dad had eczema, you are more likely to develop it), but it can sometimes suddenly appear in an adult. When eczema is triggered by one or more of the factors previously mentioned, the skin reacts by overproducing cells…which leads to those flaky, pink and red dry patches. With childhood eczema symptoms often improve with age, but you can’t get rid of it completely and it can flare up periodically throughout your life. Since we can’t cure eczema, treatment is aimed at controlling both the condition and the effect it has on a sufferer’s life. Moisturising is the number one treatment used to control eczema. Sufferers have a weakened skin barrier, meaning that cold or excessively dry air causes it to inflame. So, moisturising and supporting the skin barrier are important. Look for moisturizers that contain humectants, emollients, and occlusives. Humectants are things like hyaluronic acid and glycerine. These are low -molecular weight substances that bind moisture to the epidermis (outer layer) of the skin, so hydrating it. Emollients are saturated and unsaturated variable-length
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hydrocarbons which help maintain skin barrier function, and something called ‘cell membrane fluidity,’ which refers to the freedom of movement of protein and lipid constituents within the cell membranes. Emollients improve skin texture and appearance. Occlusives are oils and waxes which form physical barrier on the skin to block natural evaporation of water through the skin. Occlusives include petrolatum, beeswax, mineral oil, silicones, lanolin, and zinc oxide. Some eczema sufferers find that bathing in hot water reduces itching. But hot water can strip the skin of oils, making it more prone to irritation and exacerbating the symptoms. Dermatologists recommend brief, lukewarm baths and showers using gentle cleansers such as those that are oat-based, alcohol-free and which contain moisturisers. Cold dry air is best avoided by eczema sufferers, so a humidifier is a very useful tool to keep the air moist and prevent skin from dehydration. Medication can’t cure eczema as I said earlier, but they have an important role in its control. Sometimes, the over-the-counter moisturizers and lifestyle hacks aren’t enough and medical intervention is required. Topical topical corticosteroids are sometimes necessary as are topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. In addition, people with eczema are more prone to skin infections and these may need oral or topical antibiotics to bring them under control. Eczema is so common that you almost certainly know someone with the condition, if you don’t suffer with it yourself, so learning a little about what helps and what to avoid can be very useful.
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