Atopic Dermatitis - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Definition

Atopic Dermatitis is a disease in which The skin of a patient with atopic dermatitis reacts abnormally and easily to irritants, food and environmental allergens and becomes red, flaky and very itchy.it cannot be passed from one person to another. The word "dermatitis" means inflammation of the skin. "Atopic" refers to a group of diseases where there is often an inherited tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as asthma and hay fever. With scratching the redness, swelling, cracking, weeping clear fluid and finally, crusting and scaling occurs. there are conditions where the disease may becomes worse and sometimes it cleans up. A family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever is particularly useful in diagnosing atopic dermatitis in infants.

Atopic Dermatitis Causes

1. Fluctuations in temperature can result in increased itchiness. A suddenly higher temperature may bring on sweating due to which the itching comes into existence and my in turn lead to this disease.
2. The cause of atopic dermatitis is not known, but the disease seems to result from a combination of genetic (hereditary) and environmental factors. Evidence suggests that the disease is associated with other so-called atopic disorders such as hay fever and asthma, which many people with atopic dermatitis also have. In addition, many children who outgrow the symptoms of atopic dermatitis go on to develop hay fever or asthma.
3. Dermatitis can be occurred by reaction to a substance. Chronic dermatitis persists over a period of time. The hands and feet are particularly vulnerable to chronic dermatitis, because the hands are in frequent contact with many foreign substances and the feet are in the warm, moist conditions created by socks and shoes that favor fungal growth.
4. Some foods like eggs, peanuts, soy etc. can also cause this disease. Up to 40% of children with moderate to severe type of atopic dermatitis also suffer from some type of food allergy.

Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms

1. Atopic Dermatitis is nothing more than a slightly irritating patch of sore skin, but in severe cases extensive areas of skin may become inflamed and unbearably itchy.
2. In this problem the skin areas becomes more or less pigment than their normal skin i.e. skin becomes abnormally dark or light.
3. Atopic dermatitis attacks mainly in the inner elbow or behind the knee. sometimes it may be on neck, hands, feet, eyelids etc.
4. Atopic dermatitis may also affect the skin around the eyes, the eyelids and the eyebrows and lashes. The skin changes badly if rubbing and scratching is done on skin.
5. The patient may feel small raised bumps that may open when scratched. this condition may be little more critical because the open bumps are more likely to get infected.
6. The itchiness increases badly at night and can disrupt sleep.

Atopic Dermatitis Treatment

1. The treatment depends on the condition of patient and doctor's choice of pattern.
2. The skin should be prevented from dryness. it can be done in a no. of ways. emollients can be used after bath to make the skin less dry. Bandages can also be used. But this should be done under supervision of a health care.
3. Scratching should be minimum. Sometimes it looks totally impossible to some patients. but practice of controlling can do this. bandages can also be used. Mittens can be worn at night to reduce scratching.