Eczema Triggers and How to Avoid Them
Eczema is a skin condition that leaves your skin itchy, red and swollen. Eczema is a form of dermatitis, a condition that affects the epidermis, or outer layer of skin, causing it to become inflamed.
Eczema comes in a whole slew of varieties, some that may be hereditary, and some that may not be. Eczema causes a rash to appear on all different parts of the body, most commonly the face, knees, feet, and hands.
Rashes can also appear in other places. Eczema can usually be diagnosed through regular physical examinations, but a doctor may also require a skin biopsy in order to be sure.
The eczema rashes vary in severity, but one thing that all eczema cases seem to share is itchiness. The affected skin may also be red, swollen, dry, crusty, flaky, blistering, cracking, oozing, and/or bleeding. Scratching the rash raw can increase the symptoms, as it allows more irritants to be able to enter the wound.
Eczema occurs to people of all ages, including small infants. Through the use of soaps, ointments, and some doctor prescribed medications, eczema symptoms seem to go away.
Eczema often comes back, usually because of the entry of some sort of irritant that may trigger the rash to form on the skin. Many children grow out of their ezcema, but others suffer from this rather itchy form of dermatitis for the rest of their lives.
What Causes Eczema?
Eczema is believed to be triggered by allergy, but no one is quite sure what the allergen is, or if there even is a common one among eczema contractors. The most common belief is that eczema has similar causes to asthma, which is often caused by being exposed to too clean environments. The hypothesis says that being exposed to more bacteria during development strengthens the immune system, which helps the body to deflect illnesses later in life.
Supposedly, those who acquire asthma and eczema haven’t been exposed to enough bacteria and allergens in their early years, and are suffering the consequences of cleanliness, namely asthma and/or eczema.
Some eczema is directly aligned with celiac disease. The eczema of a celiac can usually be controlled and avoided through proper celiac-safe diet.
After some studies, some have been lead to believe that eczema is caused by an allergic reaction to dust mites that makes the skin itchy and red. This theory is yet to be proven. Some forms of eczema seem to be altogether unrelated to allergens. For now, eczema is still a mystery.
How Can I Avoid Getting Eczema?
Since the cause of eczema is unknown, it is hard to properly prevent getting the dermatitis. There are many believed irritants and triggers for eczema. Dryness, particularly winter dryness has been known to trigger breakouts of the eczema rash.
In some cases, it takes years for you to figure out your specific triggers, and in the meantime, make sure that you are using the best eczema treatments available – those that use all-natural, safe ingredients that are clinically proven to relieve the itchiness and soothe your dry skin.
For some people it seems that eczema breakouts are triggered by the eating of certain foods, such as coffee, corn, dairy products, eggs, nuts, soybean products, and wheat. The food sensitivities may vary per person. Avoiding these foods completely is silly, but if you have contracted eczema before, be aware that certain foods may possibly affect you.
