Category Archives: Eczema

ECZEMA OVERVIEW Atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is a skin problem that causes dry, itchy, scaly, red skin. It can occur in infants, children, and adults, and seems more common in certain families. Eczema can be treated with moisturizers and prescription ointments. More detailed information about atopic dermatitis is available by subscription. (See "Treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema)" and "Management of severe refractory atopic dermatitis (eczema)".) ECZEMA CAUSES The cause of eczema is not completely understood, although hereditary factors appear to play a strong role. In most people, atopic dermatitis is caused by a genetic dysfunction in the outermost layer of the skin (the epidermis). The epidermis is the first line of defense between the body and the environment. When the epidermis is intact, it keeps environmental irritants, allergens, and microbes from entering the body. Despite popular belief, in children, eczema is rarely linked to food allergies. If a food allergy is suspected, the child should be evaluated by an allergy specialist. (See "Patient education: Food allergy symptoms and diagnosis (Beyond the Basics)" and "Role of allergy in atopic dermatitis (eczema)".) ECZEMA SYMPTOMS Most people with eczema develop their first symptoms before age five. Intense itching of the skin, … Continue reading →

Eczema patients had more Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (golden colonies) on their skin during active flare-ups. A.L. Byrd et al / Science Translational Medicine (2017) And the team at the National Institutes of Health narrowed down the bad bacteria using genetic sequencing. The hope is to figure out if the staph bacteria are causing the eczema or are a side-effect, and whether they worsen the symptoms. Eventually, it might be possible to use the knowledge to develop better treatments. Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a common inflammatory skin disorder in industrialized countries, affecting 10 to 30 percent of children, Julia Segre of the NIHs National Human Genome Research Institute and colleagues wrote. Patients with atopic dermatitis suffer from chronic, relapsing, intensely itchy, and inflamed skin lesions and have an increased likelihood of developing asthma and/or hay fever. Bacteria are a longtime suspect, and one treatment for eczema is a bleach bath to kill them off. But its not usually a long-term fix. Related: One team at NIH is working on But its important to figure out just who the bad actors are, and thats what Segres team did. They tested 18 children, 11 of whom had eczema. They scraped off the microbes … Continue reading →

Sedalia dermatologist Dr. Julian Cannaday achieved fame and wealth treating eczema, a skin disease marked by rough, itchy, scaly patches on the skin. In the book he wrote advocating his treatment for eczema, he questioned the currently available treatments and the doctors who prescribed them. He also offered his own cure. Cannaday proposed that eczema was difficult to cure because most physicians treated the effects and ignored the cause. He believed he knew the cause, which he claimed was the buildup of acid in the blood and the inability of the body to cleanse the blood, forcing the acid to be excreted through the skin, which developed itchy patches where the acid seeped out. His explanation, and the certainty with which he pronounced it, is interesting, in that the exact cause of eczema remains unknown. The website of the prestigious Mayo Clinic suggests several contributing factors, including dry irritable skin caused by too much exposure to hot or cold water or harsh cleaning agents, allergies to dyes or perfumes in soaps or lotions, and environmental conditions such as exposure to hot dry air. Cannaday explains that these factors may aggravate eczema by irritating skin already damaged by the acid excreted … Continue reading →

Men's Health How To Treat Eczema on Your Face Men's Health As someone who has struggled with facial eczema since childhood, I can say that dealing with it, let alone treating it, can be hell. It wasn't until I started to notice the hallmark symptomsitchy red, scaly patches that I realized my generic ... Go here to read the rest: How To Treat Eczema on Your Face - Men's Health … Continue reading →

July 6, 2017 by Bob Yirka report Eczema patients had more Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (golden colonies) on their skin during active flare-ups. Credit: Carla Shaffer / AAAS (Medical Xpress)A team of researchers with the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. has found what appears to be a link between eczema flare-ups and a certain strain of bacteria. In their paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the group outlines their study of the connection between the skin ailment and bacteria and what they found. Eczema is a skin condition causing patches of skin to become itchy and discolored. Besides being an irritant, it also causes emotional problems because most patients are young people, including children. Some studies have also shown it can lead to an increased likelihood of developing allergies. Prior research has suggested it might be possible that the condition is caused by some type of bacteriasome researchers have even found possible candidates. But despite evidence of higher numbers of certain bacteria existing on the skin during flare-ups, no one has been able to figure out if they were a cause or a side effect. In this new effort, the researchers sought to prove they were a likely cause. … Continue reading →

A three-year-old girl who has been plagued with painful eczema since birth has been cured by a 3.99 Boots moisturiser, her mother has claimed. Evie-Rae's eczema left her bleeding, scratching and unable to sleep, the Nottingham Post reports . Mother, Paige Sweeney, 23, from Strelley, Nottingham was desperate for a cure and took her little girl for countless appointments with a dermatologist, who prescribed the toddler antibiotics and steroid cream. However despite attending appointments every eight weeks and trying a range of different medications, Evie-Rae's skin still flared up in painful rashes around her mouth, on her hands and in the creases at the back of her knees. Paige decided to buy a 3.99 bottle of Child's Farm baby moisturiser from Boots while out shopping and within a week her daughter's skin had cleared up. She said: "I've tried everything in an attempt to help Evie-Rae. She has had eczema since she was born, then when she was five weeks old she was diagnosed with a milk allergy. "Her eczema was so painful that she didn't sleep through the night until she was two. She was constantly scratching and bleeding. "We saw a dermatologist every eight weeks for two-and-a-half years, … Continue reading →

A mother has praised a 3.99 high street miracle cream that she says helped cure her daughter's painful eczema in just a week. Paige Sweeney, 23, from Nottingham, spent more than two years taking her daughter Evie-Rose to dermatologists trying to find a cure for her skin condition, but nothing worked. Instead, her baby girl was left with battling with painful patches on her hands, mouth and backs of knees that she would scratch until she bled. As a last resort, the concerned mother decided to buy the 3.99 cream after she spotted it at a local Boots store. And, to her amazement, baby Evies eczema had cleared up within a week. However, the National Eczema Association points out that when it comes to treatments, not everyone will respond in the same way. "It's best to familiarise yourself with all of the options and talk to your doctor to find a treatment regimen that works for you." Describing it as a miracle cream, the mother-of-one is now calling for Childs Farm baby moisturiserto be available on prescription and says that it could save the NHS a fortune. I saw the moisturising cream on the shelf in Boots and decided to … Continue reading →

Leszek-Kobusinski/Shutterstock, Olga-Vorontsova/ShutterstockIve suffered with eczema for over 20 years. From my first year of life, the dry, scaly skin was all too familiar; every night, I would go through a nighttime routine of slathering greasy ointments and creams until the chunky layer of lotion became a whole other skin to me. The idea of short-sleeve shirts sent a shiver down my spine, and I often resorted to sweaters and jackets in 90 degree weather. When I was a kid, I even had to attend school with bandages wrapped around my inner elbows to prevent bleeding. The perpetual itch lingering on my skin was like having a series of mosquito bites you can never scratch; do it and it just gets worse. Needless to say, it was not a pleasurable condition and Idid all Icould do to relieve it. Fun fact: Pretty much every dermatologist you visit will look you sternly in the eyes and tell you there is no cure for eczema; its a chronic condition that youll just have to learn to live with. (Learn more about what common diseases you skin can reveal.) This is definitely not what anybody wantsto hear becauseits partly truethere is no official treatment … Continue reading →

Our skin is home to all sorts of different types of bacteria, viruses and fungi, and for decades scientists have hypothesised that these complex societies of microbes are at least partly to blame for common conditions such as acne and eczema. However, it now seems that bacteria could also be part of the treatment, too. Dermatologists at the University of California in San Diego recently came up with a novel microbial treatment for eczema which is thought to affect one in five children and one in 20 adults in the UK the recipe for which is actually pretty straightforward. Related Article What I now know about acne and stress ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW Lead dermatologist Dr Richard Gallo and his team discovered that Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus epidermidis two harmless bacteria of the human skin microbiome have the ability to kill off Staphylococcus aureus, which is known to play a role in eczema. Having swabbed the first two types of bacteria from the skin of several volunteers who suffered with eczema. The team then grew them in a lab and later incorporated them into an easy-to-apply lotion. Upon using the cream on their forearms, the levels of helpful skin … Continue reading →

Dr. Julian E. Canaday of Sedalia was a man of many interests. He produced a set of correspondence courses on horticulture, owned State Fair Floral Company on South Ohio Avenue, maintained several greenhouses at the corner of 16th Street and Limit Avenue, and owned the State Fair Floral Service Station, whose lot was lavishly planted with flowers. He was also a doctor specializing in the treatment of eczema. The greenhouses and service station are gone, but State Fair Floral Company on South Ohio Avenue and the chimney that served the greenhouses, now at the State Fair Shopping Center, remain. The secret of his treatment for eczema is lost, but a book he wrote called Whys and Wherefores of Eczema is in the collection of the Pettis County Museum. The book provides an interesting look at what doctors knew and didnt know about skin diseases in the early twentieth century. Cannaday begins with a definition of eczema and the causes of the disease. He describes it as a catarrhal inflammation of the skin. Catarrh was a term used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to a buildup of mucus in the nose, throat and sinus cavities. The word … Continue reading →