Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
If your child has atopia or atopic dermatitis and you want to get complete information about the eczema or atopic dermatitis, if you want to know the causes of atopic dermatitis and its treatments, read on.
Doctors also call dermatitis or atopic eczema natural eczema and divide it into three phases according to the age group of the patient and the symptoms.
We have put together everything you need to know about atopic dermatitis and present it in simple language.
What you will read next:
statistics
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children is fifteen to twenty percent.
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in adults is one to three percent.
International Association of Pediatric Asthma and Allergy provides the most authoritative statistics on atopic dermatitis.
The association's study of two million children in more than 100 countries found that more than 20 percent of children with allergies worldwide have atopic dermatitis.
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis has varied in different countries, for example, nine-tenths of a percent of children aged six to seven in India and 22. 5 percent of children aged six to seven in Ecuador were infected.
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in young children is higher than adolescents aged 13-14 years.
Poor countries, such as Latin American societies, have more people with atopic eczema than developed countries.
Risk factors
The first risk factor: having a personal or family history of eczema and allergy, Allergic Rhinitis-Asthma or hay fever.
Signs
Symptoms and manifestations of atopic eczema will vary from person to person, but the main symptoms are:
- Excessive dryness of the skin
- Severe itching of the skin, which becomes very frequent, especially at night.
- Brownish-gray skin rashes that appear as patches in the following areas:
- hands
- legs
- Ankles
- Wrist
- Above the chest
- On the eyelids
- Internal surface of the elbow
In infants, the above lesions appear on the scalp and face of the infant.
Skin rashes include small bumps on the skin that have secretions and crusts.
Increase skin thickness
Peeling skin, or desquamation
Skin cracks
There is a mark of itching on the skin or swelling of the skin
Atopic eczema always begins before the age of five and may continue into adolescence and even into adulthood.
Some sufferers develop flare-ups for a period of time and then their symptoms go away for years.
We emphasize again that the main and most important risk factor for atopic dermatitis is having an individual or family history of eczema, any type of allergy, allergic rhinitis, hay fever and asthma.
Causes
When the skin is healthy and has its own integrity, it prevents the entry of harmful substances such as bacteria and allergens and...
Eczema is associated with a variation of genetic disorders that can impair the ability and quality of the skin to cope. Following the creation of damaged and weak skin, the body is exposed to a variety of allergens and infectious agents.
In children, food allergies are said to play a very important role in causing eczema and dermatitis.
Three-phase atopic dermatitis
From birth to two years old
From two to twelve years old
After the age of twelve until adulthood
It is said that hormonal changes during puberty may cause inflammation and symptoms to return. Early puberty stress may also be involved in this process. However, it is puberty that in some people initiates the adult phase of atopic dermatitis.
Generally, affected adults have a history of eczema, for example, they had localized inflammation or dryness and cracking of the skin or lichenification in childhood.
There are the following patterns in adults:
- Flexor pattern of areas of the joints that bend or flexor surfaces that are dry, lichenification, or cobblestoning.
The most common manifestation of adult atopic dermatitis is hand eczema.
- Inflammation around the eyes:
Thinning of the eyelids
Itching
Habitual rubbing of inflamed eyelids
- Lichenification of the external genitalia
is more common in adults with atopy than others.
In addition, hot and humid areas may be itchy and irritated.
Diagnosis
The presence of itchy manifestations and lesions with the above characteristics, as well as a history of previous allergies in the individual or his family, can guide the physician to a diagnosis.
Know that the disease will not follow a fixed pattern, so it is necessary to be constantly monitored by a dermatologist.
Thickened, scaly and secretory lesions may develop on either side of the hand or fingers. They may also develop different lesions on the feet.
treatment
The goal of treatment is to:
eliminate inflammation and infection
Regenerate the skin and maintain the health of the regenerated skin.
- A variety of odorless emollients, anti-scratches, and… can manage most sufferers well in less than three months.
They have little effect on itching but provide better sleep for infants and children who are growing up. In general, the therapeutic effects of antihistamines in dermatitis are small.
Treatment of infections, if any, with appropriate types of antibiotics is necessary.
- Corticosteroids Steroids:
In chronic dermatitis, oral prednisolone is rarely needed and should only be taken with a doctor's prescription for a short period of time and gradually reduced in dose.
Treatment with oral corticosteroids has excellent effects, but flare-ups are common with discontinuation of the drug.
The use of topical corticosteroids with emollients prevents recurrence after discontinuation of the drug.
Restrictions on food consumption
If a child or individual does not respond to conventional therapies, they are 50 percent more likely to have food allergies.
With a proper diet, recovery is achieved within two months.
Food allergies are usually caused by a small number of antigens and usually go away after years.
Recurrence of the disorder will occur in fifty percent of patients.
Prevention
Exposure to allergens should be avoided as much as possible.
Avoid:
extreme heat and cold
irritating perfumes
scented soaps and creams
and irritant cosmetics.
Moisturize your skin regularly, do not take a hot shower and be sure to lubricate your body in a bath with body oils.
Use cotton underwear.
Hot water bath and soap will make eczema worse.
Avoid rubbing the skin with a rough towel.
If you have an infected child, do the creaming for your baby's skin yourself.
Use sensitive and dry skin pens instead of soaps.
Avoid soapy and alkaline detergents.
Hand eczema is a very resistant type of dermatitis. Be patient.
Finally, children with atopic eczema are psychologically different from their peers. These children need more attention.