What causes eczema? Everything you need to know in layman's terms

What causes eczema? Everything you need to know in layman's terms

Many people around the world suffer from the skin condition eczema. The reasons for eczema flare-ups are often misunderstood, meaning most eczema sufferers don't know how to effectively treat their condition. It is of great importance to know what factors are the common culprits that lead to flare-ups and what role the immune system plays in the entire process. Here you will discover some basic facts about eczema to give you a deeper understanding of your condition and consequently how to treat it better.

The role of the immune system

The reason there is no cure for eczema is because the exact cause is unknown. However, what happens in the body when it manifests itself is known, and it has everything to do with your immune system. There are certain things in your environment that your immune system overreacts to, and this reaction results in the typical symptoms of eczema: severe itching, redness, swelling, and formation of rashes and weeping lesions. To control your eczema, you need to know your triggers are factors. The trigger factors for eczema can be roughly divided into four groups: contact dermatitis, neurodermatitis, stress and climate.

Contact dermatitis

As the name suggests, this type of dermatitis is caused by physical contact between a certain substance and the skin. The word “dermatitis” means inflammation of the skin (derma = skin, titis = inflammation). Therefore, the term contact dermatitis means dermatitis resulting from contact with a specific substance. An allergic reaction occurs immediately after contact and this typically triggers a flare-up of eczema. Most skin irritants are usually common household products such as soaps, detergents, perfumes, deodorants, cosmetics, animal hair, etc. Scratchy and coarsely woven fabrics can also trigger eczema.

Atopic dermatitis

Allergies are described as atopic when you have an allergic reaction immediately after exposure to something you are allergic to. This type of allergy usually occurs to certain foods, dust, pollen, animal hair, mold, etc. Once you become allergic to one of these allergies, your immune system overreacts, causing all of the telltale symptoms of eczema to manifest. severe itching, redness and swelling of the lesions.

climate

For most eczema sufferers, dry skin is enemy number one. In very dry and cold weather, especially in winter, the skin dries out, causing a flare-up. Sudden weather changes can also lead to eczema.

stress

This is a major cause of eczema and the maintenance and aggravation of eczema. anger, frustration, fear; These are the emotions that cause and worsen eczema. The natural solution, of course, would be to identify and eliminate (or at least control) the stressors in your life.

In short, these are the main causes of eczema. They are broadly divided into the four groups above to help you identify the sources of your own trigger factors. It's important to remember that eczema triggers vary from person to person. To effectively control your eczema, you need to know what your triggers are and manage them accordingly. This topic can be discussed in much more detail, but this article should equip you with the basics necessary to successfully treat your eczema.

Inspired by Wilhelm Greffrath