In the winter season due to climate change dermatitis eczema is more frequent. Children in particular itch and scratch all night. Eczema is a disease that is literally caused by moisture, and many eczema sufferers will say that heavy moisture causes eczema, but what is the actual cause of eczema? The cause of eczema is very complex, there are intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
1, extrinsic factors
Living environment, climatic conditions, etc. can affect the occurrence of eczema. External stimuli such as sunlight, ultraviolet light, cold, heat, dryness, sweating, scratching, friction and various animal fur, plants, chemicals, etc., some daily necessities such as balsam and other cosmetics, soap, artificial fibers, etc. can induce eczema. Certain foods can also make the condition worse.
2, intrinsic factors
Genetic factors, chronic digestive diseases, gastrointestinal dysfunction, mental stress, insomnia, excessive fatigue, emotional changes and other mental changes, infectious lesions, metabolic disorders and endocrine disorders, etc., can produce or aggravate eczema. Children are also associated with immaturity of the autoimmune system. The types of eczema are generally divided into: acute eczema, subacute eczema, and chronic eczema.
Acute eczema has an acute onset, with erythema, papules, blisters, pustules, vesicles, and crusts appearing sequentially, but often 2-3 types of rashes coexist or a certain type of rash predominates at a certain stage. The condition is often aggravated by intense itching and frequent scratching. Subacute eczema is dominated by papules, scales, and crusts, but may erode after scratching. Chronic eczema is characterized by thickening of the skin infiltrate, turning dark red and hyperpigmentation.
The correct external treatment for eczema, many people think that eczema is always bad, because the skin or the surrounding environment is too “wet” caused, but the truth is not so, eczema repeatedly can not be cured, because too dry! So the first step in treating eczema is to apply a lot of moisturizer to the affected area to keep the skin moist.
1. How much cream should I rub?
When it comes to eczema, if the situation is not serious, parents are advised to take care of their children from the following points: but from the “application of emollient cream” alone, many parents are not doing the right thing, almost all of them do not give their children enough rub! How much to rub is enough? 250g of moisturizer a week, that’s right, half a pound! For example, a regular bottle of moisturizer is 40g, which means that you need to use up almost one bottle a day and almost six bottles a week to achieve the moisturizing effect!
To deal with eczema, 60% rely on emolliency and 40% need medication. Many eczema can be cured with emolliency alone, without the need for medication. Because the skin is the body’s barrier, dry air can cause cracks in the skin, and this is when allergens can take advantage of the situation and trigger an allergic reaction in the skin, such as eczema. So the easiest way is to plug the cracks and use emollient cream in large quantities. For children in the treatment period, doctors recommend 250 grams a week, and as long as there are no cracks in the skin and the barrier function is restored, the allergic reaction will be reduced. And the amount of emollient cream for children is not enough to achieve the effect of moisturizing, and it will naturally have no effect on eczema relief.
Therefore, parents who have eczema and do not even give their children moisturizer should pay special attention to this, which will only make the situation more and more serious. In addition, the following are also factors that may aggravate eczema.
2, hormones dare not use?
If the child is moderate to severe eczema, and some have a point of breaking the skin and other situations, parents and how to deal with it? The hospital, the doctor may recommend the use of hormone cream. But many parents’ first reaction is: hormones! The side effects are huge, definitely not! Many mothers choose to let their children carry on, and are not willing to choose hormone creams to alleviate the pain, which may also lead to a small area of eczema that is easy to control being dragged into a large area of difficult to treat eczema.
Hormones are not as scary as we think! Parents are always worried that using hormonal creams will affect their children’s growing bodies. But the truth is: generally long-term high doses of oral hormones will only inhibit the growth of young children, while the adverse effects of long-term use of topical hormones are limited to the skin, including skin thinning or pigmentation. However, even if you don’t use hormone creams, the skin of eczema will cause changes in skin pigmentation during the recovery period, not necessarily pigmentation caused by hormones, and the pigmentation will slowly fade away over time.
Therefore, for children with moderate to severe eczema, it is important to use weak topical hormones along with good moisturization. If there is a rupture and bacterial infection in the eczema, it is also necessary to use a combination of anti-infection creams, such as Bactrim, and oral antihistamines, such as loratadine, to relieve itching.
When using hormonal creams on children, the following 5 points must be noted.
1. the treatment should be as low strength creams as possible, unless it is to control an acute attack of moderate to severe eczema (when stronger hormones can be used).
2. hormonal creams are generally applied once or twice daily.
3. when applied to the whole body, try not to use more than 1/3 of the body surface area.
4. the duration of application should be 5-7 days, with no more than 2 weeks of continuous use on the same area.
5. if more than two ointments are used at the same time, the time between the application of each ointment should be more than half an hour apart.
About eczema, there are also these questions that may concern you.
1. Can eczema be cured?
There is no medication that can cure eczema, but there is usually relief from the age of two, and 50% of babies over the age of five will heal themselves.
Will eating “hairy foods” cause eczema?
Eczema is a skin allergy, not a food allergy, so you should eat more liver, carrots, egg yolks, and supplement vitamins A and B, rather than just abstaining from eggs, seafood, and other so-called “hairy foods”.
3. Can eczema babies be vaccinated?
If eczema is not severe, vaccination can be given normally. Only acute infection of severe and persistent eczema requires delayed vaccination.