Accident prone eczema patients

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

29-Oct-2014

Contact: Erin White ewhite@northwestern.edu 847-491-4888 Northwestern University @northwesternu

CHICAGO --- Intense itching and dry, irritable skin aren't the only problems adults with eczema face. They are at greater risk of accidental bone fractures and other injuries, a new Northwestern Medicine study has found.

This is the first study to find adult eczema is a risk factor for fractures and other injuries.

The increased odds of accidental injury could be directly related to the side effects of steroids and sedating antihistamines commonly prescribed to treat the skin disorder or the under-treatment of severe cases, study authors suggest.

"Many eczema patients who are prescribed medication for itch are often given sedating antihistamines or steroids, but those medications may come at a price," said Jonathan I. Silverberg, M.D., senior author of the study. "Sedatives cause fatigue, and steroids can lead to bone density problems and osteoporosis."

Silverberg is an assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The study, published Oct. 29 in the journal JAMA Dermatology, validates what Silverberg sees regularly at the Northwestern Multidisciplinary Eczema Center.

"Last month three of my patients with eczema cancelled at the last minute because of injuries," Silverberg said. "One fell and almost got hit by a bus, another was hit by a car and then another missed her appointment because she was in a car accident. You can't make this stuff up."

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Accident prone eczema patients