Does your skin look like a battlefield, the itching doesn't stop for a minute? Many dermatology patients with eczema would trade their suffering and neurodermatitis for almost any other disease.
Each of us has seen the diaper commercials. Laughing, happy mothers with their babies who have velvety, healthy skin. Unfortunately, not everywhere is so idyllic: 5 to 10 percent of children suffer from rough, dry and scaly skin. Almost unbearable itching torments them day and night and drives mothers and fathers almost to despair. Eczema is a disease that makes life difficult for children and their parents.
An English physician described eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis or endogenous dermatitis, more than 200 years ago. There are frequent relapses that develop into chronic dermatitis. The history and manifestation of eczema can be quite different. But it is always the strongest itching, reddish scales, sometimes eczema "oozes" and mostly develops in childhood.
Depending on the age of the patients, the skin disease favors specific parts of the body. Eczema, also known as "seborrhea," is usually limited to the scalp and face in infants. With age, it appears lower down, especially on the neck, arms and legs, preferably on the knees and elbows. In extreme cases, skin lesions can spread all over the body.
Finding out the causes of eczema has been tried by many scientists, especially in recent decades. Today we know that the system of development of atopic dermatitis is hereditary.
In addition, allergies such as hay fever or asthma are common. The immune system of people with eczema reacts with hypersensitivity to irritants that are completely harmless to healthy people. It presents a disproportionate amount of defenses that damage the skin.
The spectrum of triggers is as colorful and varied as a spring bouquet: pollen, dust mites, animal dander (especially cat fur), foods (often eggs, cow's milk), and environmental toxins. All of these can cause, worsen, or maintain neurodermatitis. Mental health has an important influence on the extent of eczema. Tension, stress and emotional conflicts are often reflected in the skin.
It is not uncommon for adult neurodermatitis to affect the personality. People become vulnerable, can ignore their own wants and needs. During the experience of trying to cope with a stressful situation in people with neurodermatitis, the skin may crack and "burst" literally in the affected areas.
There are so many factors that contribute to eczema, but there is no single treatment that will work for everyone with neurodermatitis. It takes a lot of time and tact to figure out what helps and what doesn't.
Generally moisturizing ointments and lotions are popular for wet eczema. Dry and flaky skin needs oily reagents. Frequent washing, soap, and degreased bath products dry the skin. Many patients feel relief when sunbathing or when the climate changes by taking mud and salt baths. A change of location to a lake or mountains may be helpful.
Complementary medicine has also developed a wide range of available treatments, such as bioresonance therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, tea tree oils, and many other modalities, including cortisone. It quickly relieves the agonizing itching and stops the inflammation of the skin.
However, cortisone treatment does nothing. Because of the pronounced side effects all over the body, it is used simply as a short-term treatment that should be supervised by a doctor.
Preventive measures cannot cure eczema, but they can minimize the course of the disease. The fear of infection by bacteria and viruses is also exaggerated in eczema. Thus, children with eczema are much less likely to develop skin lesions when they live a full life, play and have early and frequent contact with pathogens, which obviously strengthens their immune system faster.
Coping with chronic illness is difficult for all involved. Parents must watch helplessly as their child suffers. Victims of the disease are themselves mentally and physically exhausted after years of battling for their health. Unbearable itching, bloody scratches across the skin and sleepless nights can push anyone to the limit. Often an additional factor of suffering is the negative reaction of others to the visible manifestations of skin disease, which increases the psychological pressure on the person. Stress and tension, in turn, have a negative impact on the body's defenses and a vicious cycle ensues.
Joy, a balanced psyche and relaxation, on the other hand, strengthen the immune system. Relaxation therapies such as autogenic training and yoga should therefore be valuable aids in treatment or during remission.
A patient with atopic dermatitis must recognize that he cannot change the situation and spots of irritation on the skin. In general, eczema goes away: in 65 percent of affected children, the disease recedes before the age of ten. In other cases, rashes tend to become less frequent and milder with age.