Sunday, April 26, 2009

Eczema Treatment


There are numerous possibilities to approach eczema medically but before discussing eczema treatment, maybe it would be useful to know a few things with regard to this disease: what causes it; types of eczema; and, eczema treatment possibilities. The symptoms are equally important before establishing a course of action.

Eczema is a form of dermatitis or inflammation of the epidermis; the term eczema is used to refer to a broad range of skin conditions that are persistent. Among the common symptoms you might experience are: dryness of skin, repeated rashes, redness of the skin, skin swelling/edema, itching, crusting, blistering, flaking, oozing, cracking and even bleeding. Besides these, temporary skin discoloration might appear sometimes due to lesions that are healed. However scarring is a rare consequence.

The causes of eczema are not very well known but this condition is mainly an inherited one. Therefore, the causes lack relevancy for the type of eczema treatment a doctor will decide on. Without a correct identification of the typology, the treatment is not possible. A basic reference material here is the 2001 European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)’s published position paper in which the nomenclature of allergy-related diseases including atopic and allergic contact eczemas are simplified and clarified. There are common eczemas like: atopic eczema, contact dermatitis, xerotic eczema, seborrhea dermatitis and less common types such as: dyshidrosis, discoid eczema, venous eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis, neurodermatitis, etc. Apparently there is no known cure for eczema, which means that the existing treatments are meant to control the symptoms, reduce the inflammation and relieve the itching.

Eczema treatment that has been tried so far includes both medications and natural remedies. The medicines used in controlling eczema belong to the corticosteroids family (ointments, pills or injections), immunomodulators, antibiotics, immunosuppressants, anti-hitch drugs, etc. Not only eczema treatment solutions proposed by medicine are important. You should not forget about the factors, the external ones, which can influence the development or evolution of eczema in one way or another. Maintaining the affected area moist, you can help skin healing and relieve the symptoms.

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