What causes eczema?
Co-authored by: Acid Chemical Peel. Several dermatological health conditions are called eczema because they all share the specific inflammation and irritation symptoms.
The most common type of eczema known is called atopic dermatitis or atopic eczema. What does atopic refer to? Well, atopic indicates a group of diseases with an often inherited tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as asthma and hay fever. The conclusion would be that eczema causes are mainly genetic and thus transmited from parents to children. Although studies that you might come across while looking for information about eczema will tell you that eczema causes are not known, we can still discuss of a number of causes, mainly connected with the environments in which eczema patients live, and which influence the evolution of the condition significantly.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the prevalence of atopic eczema is growing, and it affects 9% to 30% of the U.S. population. Small children and infants are the most most exposed to atopical eczema. While many infants who develop the condition outgrow it by their second year of life, some people continue to go through such symptoms during their entire life.
Nevertheless, with right form of treatment, the disease can be controlled in the most of the cases. The exact eczema causes are not known, but studies indicate that the problem results from an over-reaction of the immune system to some chemical irritant factor or to a bacterium that normally lives on our skin. Moreover, it seems that in families where someone suffers from allergies or asthma, chances are higher for other family members to get eczema. Hence, eczema causes could definitely be genetic.
The surrounding environment may contain the trigger of an allergic reaction under the form of eczema, and this over-sensitivity could be counted among eczema causes. Therefore, exposure to rough or coarse materials for some, feeling too cold or too hot in others’ cases, as well as getting in contact with household products (soap, detergents, etc) and living near animals may lead to outbreaks of this condition. Besides all these, colds and upper respiratory infections could also be blamed for this disease. Stress is known to deteriorate the health condition even further, contributing to an aggravation of the eczema. Although there is no cure, most people can effectively manage their skin condition with medical treatment and by avoiding irritants. At least the disease is not contagious!

Posted April 14, 2009
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