Triggers

What is your itch tip?

In Their Own Words

NEA asked “What is your itch tip?” on facebook.  Here’s what people had to say:

RC Always wear cotton, keep moist, and rub instead of scratching your skin.

JR Smack it, don’t scratch it! (stolen from friends with tattoos). You get a sensation, but you’re not ripping flakes of skin off in the process.

MT Frogg toggs cooling towel

ET I try to avoid sweating at all costs, and rub instead ofscratching.


MC Avoid getting stressed, and rest.

WK Cosvate-GM cream.

The Basics: What Every Eczema Patient Should Know

 

The Facts

The word eczema is derived from a Greek word meaning “to boil over,” which is a good description for the red, inflamed, itching patches that occur during flare-ups of the disease. Eczema is a general term for any type of dermatitis or inflammation of the skin. There are different types of eczema. The most common is called atopic dermatitis (AD).

AD falls into a category of diseases called atopic, a term originally used to describe the allergic conditions asthma and hay fever.

Education Resource Center: Triggers of Eczema

There are many triggers that can cause eczema to flare or get worse. This table lists some common eczema triggers. You should learn what triggers your eczema to flare, and then try to avoid it.

Education Resource Center: Eczema Is Common

Many people have atopic dermatitis (which is often called eczema). Eczema is an itchy, red rash. It can appear all over the body.

Education Resource Center: Eczema Basic Information

The word eczema comes from a Greek word that means to effervesce or bubble or boil over. Learning more about eczema will help you understand it. You will learn how to treat you or your childs symptoms and flares.

All About Atopic Dermatitis

What is Atopic Dermatitis (AD)?

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a disease that causes itchy, inflamed skin. It typically affects the insides of the elbows, backs of the knees, and the face, but can cover most of the body. AD falls into a category of diseases called atopic, a term originally used to describe the allergic conditions asthma and hay fever. AD was included in the atopic category because it often affects people who either suffer from asthma and/or hay fever or have family members who do. Physicians often refer to these three conditions as the “atopic triad.” AD is not contagious.

Eyelid Eczema?

Q: How can I treat eyelid eczema?

Dyshidrotic Eczema?

My daughter, age 3½, has recurring blistering on the bottom of her left foot. We have been to two dermatologists and they believe she has dyshidrotic eczema. She has nothing on her hands or her right foot, just the left foot. She was given a steroid cream called Cutivate that seems to help when the eczema flares up, but I did not get any information on possible prevention or things I can do to help.

Peanut Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Peanut Allergy

NIH-Funded Clinical Study is One of the First to Evaluate Sublingual Immunotherapy as a Peanut Allergy Treatment

A new study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) can reduce the allergic response to peanut in adolescents and adults. SLIT is a treatment approach in which, under medical supervision, people place a small amount of allergen under the tongue to decrease their sensitivity to the allergen.

Food Allergies? Pesticides in Tap Water Might be to Blame

Food allergies are on the rise, affecting 15 million Americans. And according to a new study published in the December 2012 issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), pesticides and tap water could be partially to blame.

The study reported that high levels of dichlorophenols, a chemical used in pesticides and to chlorinate water, when found in the human body, are associated with food allergies.

“Our research shows that high levels of dichlorophenol-containing pesticides can possibly weaken food

NIAID-Supported Study Suggests That Eczema and Egg Allergy May Precede Peanut Allergy

Early results from the NIAID-supported Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study show that severe eczema and egg allergy strongly predict risk for peanut allergy. These results may help identify infants who could most benefit from strategies aimed at preventing peanut allergy. 

The LEAP study, led by investigators in the United Kingdom, seeks to determine if introducing peanuts early in a child’s diet could prevent future peanut allergy.

What are allergens?

Q:  What are allergens, and what are the most common allergens that aggravate eczema?


A:  Allergens are any molecule in the environment that can penetrate skin and cause an inflammatory response. Most allergens cause a rash in only a small number of people, but some like poison ivy cause a rash in most people who have skin contact with it. Allergic contact dermatitis usually develops to small, non-protein molecules such as preservatives or metals. Atopic dermatitis patients can also develop contact dermatitis to plant proteins such as oat or dandelion.

What is the difference between atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis?

Q:  What is the difference between atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis?

A:  Atopic dermatitis appears early in life as chapped skin in areas that go through frequent wet-dry cycles (for example, the area around the mouth in babies) or in skin folds. Atopic dermatitis patients are susceptible to skin infections, which often make inflammation worse. Protein molecules, such as foods, or pollen or latex can penetrate broken and inflamed skin, and atopic patients are especially likely to develop an immune response to these types of allergens.

Allergic to Chloramine

Dear NEA Scratch Pad:

Several years ago, I was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. The photo shows the rashes on my back, and there were similar rashes on most of the rest of my body. Fortunately I discovered that the problem was chloramine, a mixture of ammonia and chlorine that is used to disinfect the tap water in many areas of the United States (including the San Francisco Bay area, where I live). After I stopped using our water, my skin cleared up completely. I’m sure there are folks with similar problems who are not aware of this chemical and are suffering as a result.

NIAID Study Offers New Explanation of What Makes an Allergen an Allergen

Using bioinformatics to mine allergen databases and epidemiological studies, investigators at NIAID have uncovered new information on what makes people allergic to allergens. The NIAID team found that the differences between the structure of foreign proteins and the structure of self-proteins made the foreign ones allergenic. The results of their work appear online in the July 18th issue of PLoS ONE.

Background

Allergic diseases, such as asthma, food allergy, and seasonal allergies, affect millions of people in the United States and seem to be on the rise.

Dermatology Physicians Residents - Perspectives on Eczema

Submitted by Garibyan_Huang
on Thu, 08/09/2012 - 5:08pm

We first learned about atopic dermatitis while studying medicine at Harvard Medical School.  It was introduced to us during dermatology lectures where photos of mostly young children where shown with uncomfortable and itchy appearing rashes.  At that time, this was another disease that we had to learn and memorize the symptoms and the diagnostic criteria for our exams.  

This all changed a few years ago after we started residency and rotated through pediatric dermatology at Children’s Hospital Boston when we actually got to see and interact with the patients and family members of those

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Children
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Atopic Dermatitis
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Triggers
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Prenatal Exposure to Common Household Chemical Linked to Eczema

Butyl benzyl phthalate is used in vinyl flooring, artificial leather
 
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

Wednesday, June 27, 2012


WEDNESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Babies born to women who were exposed to the common household chemical butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) during pregnancy are at greater risk for childhood eczema, new research suggests.

BBzP is used in vinyl flooring, artificial leather and other materials, and can be released into the air, the researchers said.

"While hereditary factors, allergens and exposure to tobacco smoke are known to contribute to the condition, our study is the

Spring Cleaning and Allergies: Alternatives to Chemical Cleaning Products

Here are some home recipes that use natural cleaning ingredients to reduce your exposure to chemicals that may aggravate allergies (source: The Nontoxic Home by Debra Lynn Dadd):
 
Vinegar – Mix 1 cup white vinegar & 1 cup water in a spray bottle. This solution works on dirt, soap scum and hard water deposits, and is a natural deodorizer. Vinegar can also unclog mineral deposits in showerheads. Simply set the clogged showerhead in a cup of vinegar, or attach a baggy filled with vinegar to the showerhead with a rubber-band and let it sit overnight.
 
Baking Soda – Sprinkling a small amount of

Parenting Children with Eczema: Beneath the Surface

Excerpted from a presentation by Joanna Hamilton, at the 2010 National Eczema Association Patient Conference. Mrs. Wyoming 2009, Joanna shares her experiences as a parent of children with eczema.

New Medicines?

Q: What are some of the new medicines that can be used for eczema? I have been using MimyX and/or clobetasol propionate ointment when flare-ups happen. Is there anything else that would help? The clobetasol is thinning my skin. What would be as good to treat the areas?

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