Eczema

What is eczema?

Eczema is a common, long-term skin condition that shifts how your skin works. When you have eczema, the outer layer of your skin fails to hold moisture in. It dries out, turns red, and becomes angry. This makes your skin itch wildly and leads to harsh flare-ups.

Eczema strikes at any age. Many people fight it from childhood, while others watch it break out later in life.

Symptoms of eczema

Eczema symptoms come and go, and they hit with different strengths. Common signs include dry, scaly patches, fierce itching, and skin that cracks and bleeds when you scratch it.

Sometimes the redness and swelling flare up fast and break your skin open. Broken skin leaves a wide open door for bugs. If your skin starts to weep yellow fluid, builds a crust, or throbs with heat, the skin is infected. You must seek medical help straight away to kill the infection.

What triggers eczema?

We do not always know exactly what causes eczema to start, but it often runs in the bloodline. Things you touch, eat, or feel every day usually spark the symptoms.

Common triggers include harsh soaps, rough wool, heavy sweat, dust mites, cold dry wind, and high stress.

Managing eczema and using skin treatments

We have no absolute cure for eczema, but you can manage it well and take back your skin if you stick to a strict routine. The secret to winning the fight is using the right creams the right way, and letting a doctor check your skin regularly.

Most plans to fight eczema rely on two types of prescription creams.

First, you use an emollient (a deep moisturiser) every single day. You slather it on to lock water in the skin and build a wall against daily triggers.

Second, you use a steroid cream when the skin flares up. The steroid dives into the skin to put out the fire, shrink the redness, and stop the sharp itch fast.