Beauty & Health Suggestions

Basic symptoms that stem from a rash are easy enough to discern. But did you know that many times those rashes have nothing to do with an infection? Many times these itchy skin scales will come from the skin condition known as eczema. Eczema is the inflammation of the outermost layer of the skin which is referred to as the epidermis.

The form of eczema that stems from non-infection related causes is atopic dermatitis. What happens when one has atopic dermatitis is that scaly patches will cover the scalp, arms, legs, and torso and also cause one's facial cheeks to become chapped. These symptoms produced by this skin condition that is hereditary usually begin to show around early childhood. Later the condition spreads to other parts of the body. Throughout late childhood and the teenage years the condition can show up on the inner elbows and knees, and in adulthood the hands, around the eyelids, on the genitals. During the most serious of cases it will spread over every one of these parts of the body. Significant cases are when the scaly patches will become red, swollen, and cracked. The worst possible situation is that the cracked patches will have tissue fluid oozing out of them. This is usually followed by said fluid crusting over itself.

There is a bit of a misnomer as atopic refers to diseases that are associated with allergies, when in reality atopic dermatitis rarely stems from anything allergic-related. Eczema related skin conditions will usually simply arrive on their own conditions, having nothing to do with the well known allergens of certain foods, soaps, and detergents.

It must be noted however that eczema does usually rear its ugly head when the air is cold and dry during the months of winter. Frequent washing can aggravate the situation and cause the condition to be a little more entrenched. In addition we are sad to note that moisturizing will not be of much benefit either as the skin here is not dry but simply inflamed.

Thankfully atopic dermatitis does not get progressively worse with age and it is not contagious. In actuality it is usually the worst throughout childhood. While for most people there are no seasonal fluctuations as to when they get atopic dermatitis, other experience it more during the summer or winter months. The last piece in its description is that atopic dermatitis is a dormant condition. This signifies that one can considerably suffer its symptoms to then have them subside for years and years, to then only come strongly back without warning or reason.

The first step for eczema elimination and to prevent further inflammation is to stop the itching. Although very tempting, this irritates the condition which then makes it last longer and could potentially expand it. Medicinal solutions are found in the form of prescription strength steroids, or cortisone creams. Use only mild strength creams for when the condition is found on children or on sensitive areas of the skin such as the face or groin. These will have steroid strengths of 0.5% to 1%. When you have the condition as an adult or on thicker areas of the skin such as the trunks, arms, or legs, a more potent cortisone (steroid) formula is in order. These will include fluocinonide, clobetasol, and triamcinolone. Burrow's solution is a solution not based on steroids. It is rather a pharmacological preparation that consists of aluminum acetate dissolved in water. It has antimicrobial properties and will assist in drying up atopic dermatitis at its worst stage of oozing tissue fluid out of its dried scale cracks.