ALTERNATE THERAPIES TO CURE ECZEMA

Besides, the medical treatments used for treating eczema, there are some alternate holistic methods that can cure eczema. The eczema is itchy and the skin becomes red and inflamed. To cure these symptoms, the Chinese system of medication has shown some breakthrough.

? The Chinese green tea and acupuncture are effective in treating itches and chronic eczema. A study showed that use of Herbal tea (bath additive) and acupuncture has improved 60% eczema in most of the patients. The use of antihistamine and steroids dramatically decreased when the Chinese treatment was administered.

? Oatmeal has been found effective in relieving itching in eczema. It can be used directly on the infected areas by making a paste of it or can be used as colloid in the bath.

CAUSES OF ECZEMA STILL ELUDE KNOWLEDGE

Eczema ?the persistent itchy, flaky and irritating skin condition is a widespread skin disorder. One out of five people in the world suffer from eczema at some time of their life. The eczema is found in all part of the world without any exception. With such a follower behind it, this itchy disorder has eluded the dermatologists and researchers to find a cause for it.

Though there are many theories that are propagated for cause of eczema, yet none is complete or full proof. The cause that has widespread acceptance is that it is a genetic disease. The genes play a great role in pre-disposing a person towards eczema. Eczema especially atopic dermatitis occurs due to interplay between genes and environment. If there are more atopic genes in the body, it will require less environmental factors to trigger eczema. The genetic defect of skin allows increased entry of antigens into the body. The T-cells, which are in the middle of the inflammation, increase their activities due to altered ?atopic? Langerhen cells of the epidermis. This causes immune defense system of the skin, resulting in eczema. There are many researches going on, yet the basic cause why this happens is still not clear. The skin is not able to act as a barrier to the allergens and the water loss from the body increases.

COMMON TYPES OF ECZEMA

Eczema, a chronic disease of the skin, has different forms. It is a set of characteristics which are clinically called eczema. There is no systematic classification of the disorder and hence it is hard to divide them. It may be described and named by the location, appearance, cause etc. The EAACI has simplified the nomenclature of the disorder.

On the basis of incidence frequency, some of the common types of eczema include:

? Atopic eczema: Atopic dermatitis chronically relapsing condition which is non contagious. ?Endogenous eczema?, ?flexural eczema? and ?neurodermitis? are some other taxonomy. The swelling of skin occurs and it becomes red. It reacts to irritants and allergens in an abnormal fashion and becomes flaky and extremely itchy. The internal sides of the joints are mostly affected. Atopic dermatitis occurs with asthma, hay fever and conjunctivitis. There are many causes for the disorder including allergy and immune deficiency.

ECZEMA-THE IRRITATING SKIN DISORDER

Eczema is one of the commonest skin disorder which attack without considering any barrier. Eczema can attack any person without any consideration for age, sex, or race. It is a form dermatitis which is characterized by erythema, skin edema, dryness, extreme itching, flaking, cracking and blistering. In extreme cases oozing of blood is also found. The skin assumes a reddish tint and sometimes discoloration may occur due to the healing of lesions. The skin does not scar like other skin

The cause of eczema is still not known but it is believed to be due to some malfunction of the immune system. Genetic causes are responsible for developing eczema. It is believed that due to interplay between external environment and multiple genes, eczema may occur. Though this is considered the main reason, yet there needs to be more study on this topic. The other cause is the oversensitivity of skin to the allergens. Recently, it has been found that the toiletries containing linalool can cause eczema in about 2% of the total population of the world.

ECZEMA DURING PREGNANCY: A PRECARIOUS CONDITION

Pregnancy brings about many changes in the body. Some of the changes are directly related to the hormonal changes and some are due to the lifestyle changes. One of the changes that occur in the pregnant woman is her skin. The skin may become better or worse in different women. The eczema during pregnancy is also a major concern.

Pregnancy can both reduce and flare-up eczema. In some cases it has been seen that the women who had eczema before pregnancy find their eczema miraculously gone. An onset of eczema is also seen during pregnancy.

Eczema during pregnancy turns out to be more complicated as many types of medicines can not be administrated to a pregnant woman. Though there is no proof that steroid is harmful for the pregnant women yet it should be given under proper medical supervision.

ECZEMA- THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANTED TO ASK

Eczema is a chronic condition where skin is itchy, red or scaly. The skin is oversensitive to many triggers which flare up the eczema.

1. Is eczema a kind of allergy?

No, it is not a type of allergy as eczema does not respond specifically to any specific allergen. Though it has been found that people with eczema develop allergy to many foods, hay and can suffer from asthma also.

2. Are nerves anyhow linked to eczema?

The researchers till date have not found any relation between nerves and eczema though stress and anxiety have been seen to flare-up eczema. It is advisable that stress and anxiety may be managed well to reduce the flare-up of eczema.

3. Is absolute alleviation of eczema possible?

No, till date no cure for eczema has been discovered. It is because, the cause of eczema is still unknown. Once a specific cause is ascertained, permanent cure could be found.

HAND AND FOOT ECZEMA

Although eczema can erupt anywhere in the body, the hand and foot eczema cause the most irritation and embarrassment to the patient. Eczema of hand and foot require more care as they are always exposed to the skin irritants and allergens. The women suffer more from hand eczema and the men suffer more from the foot eczema. If one has proneness to eczema, then hand and foot eczema can affect them more often.

The hand and foot mainly suffer from atopic eczema, varicose eczema, irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis.

Foot eczema is mainly found in the children. During the winters, when the moisture is reduces, the skin of the foot develops cracks and dryness. The itching is the most common symptoms which increase in the night. The skin irritants can cause dry or scaly skin and rashes also appear. Foot eczema is called Dyshidrosis eczema or dyshidrosia. The foot eczema is found in 20% of the school going children.

HOME REMEDIES FOR ECZEMA

Eczema has no cure but it can be controlled using some home remedies. These remedies are cheap and have no side effects. Your home can be store house of the components needed for treating eczema.

? The ice cold compress on the eczema affected area can reduce the itching and the burning sensation.

? Use coconut oil on the skin portion where there is eczema.

? A mud pack can be applied to reduce eczema. The Dead Sea mudpack is one very good option.

? A fine paste of sandalwood and camphor if applied on the affected area can immediately give relief to the redness and itching.

? Heat mustard oil in a vessel and add Margosa (Azadirachta indica) leaves to it. Once the leaves become black, sieve the oil. Use this oil continuously for six months on the affected areas and the eczema will be cured completely. Margosa leaves can also be boiled and the water be used for bathing.

INFANTILE ECZEMA: THE CONTINUAL IRRITANT FOR A BABY

Eczema is a variety of skin diseases which symbolizes itching and redness. The skin becomes swollen and there may be pus in the rashes. The eczema is a very troublesome skin disorder and when infants suffer from it, it becomes even more troublesome. The tender skin of the baby is filled with rashes and due to scratching, the infant gets upset or irritated and may be cranky all the time. As it is hard to stop the baby from scratching the skin, the skin ruptures and rashes may become wet.

There is no apparent cause of infantile eczema but it has been found that the babies who have family history of any atopic disorder can experience eczema. The children, who have eczema, also have some other kind of allergic reaction. Asthma and hay fever are also common among these infants. Some of the children continue to suffer from eczema all their lives while most outgrow the infantile eczema.

The infantile eczema generally appears on the cheek as red rash that itches. It can stretch to face, neck and torso. The infantile eczema rarely go up-to the nappy region but sometimes it may even spread till the nappy regions. The rashes are dry but in case of bacterial infection, the rashes can start to suppurate. This is quite grave a condition that requires immediate medication.

NUMMULAR ECZEMA: THE STUBBORN COIN-SHAPED ECZEMA

Nummular eczema or nummular dermatitis is a type of stubborn and itchy rash in the shape of a coin. Nummular stands for coin in Latin. There are lacerations on the skin which gets scaly with the passage of time. When the lesions are older, they resemble psoriasis or ringworm. There are periods when the condition may become worse or better. This type of eczema appears mainly after some skin injury like insect bites, burn or abrasion. These frequently start as tiny red blisters which merge and form a patch. Patches that are chronic become scaly. They are brown and red in color with a clear centre like a ring.

Symptoms of nummular eczema:

? Skin lesion of coin-shape on the arms, legs and torso
? Lesion may ooze and crusts may be formed.
? Extreme and continuous itching
? The skin is scaly or raw
? There is inflammation and redness of skin.

The reason of nummular eczema is unknown but many a times it is allergy to some medication. Nummular eczema occurs mainly in the winters and is associated with skin that is dry. Frequent use of soap and woolen clothes flares up the nummular eczema. Frequent bathing also worsen the condition. Another trigger is the clothes worn which are dried or washed with fabric softener or liquid detergents. Nummular eczema is quite different than atopic eczema.