Learn more about eczema skin disease.

When you’ve eczema, it means that your immune system is working too hard. In other words, your immune system kind of goes crazy. So that makes your skin overreact to something and get all itchy. Read on to know what exactly is eczema, how does it look like, its effects on emotional and psychological health, treatment options and how homeopathy is the best option to address this issue.

What is eczema?

Eczema is a word that means irritated skin. Skin eczema happens for a bunch of reasons. One of the main reasons is the family. If your dad, mom, siblings have skin eczema, you might get it too. Another reason is asthma and allergies. If you’ve asthma which is a disease that can make it hard to breathe or allergies which occur when your immune system tries to protect you from normal things that aren’t hurting you, then you’re more likely to get skin eczema. Also, skin eczema is more common in cities, polluted areas and in the northern part of the world.

How does it look like?

Listed below are the most common eczema symptoms.

• A red rash especially inside the folds of the elbows and knees
• Itching
• Dry skin

The location of eczema may change with age. In infants and young children, eczema is usually located on the cheeks, outside of the elbows and on the knees. In older children and adults, eczema is typically on the hands and feet, the arms and on the back of knees.  Symptoms can be painful, cause skin colouring changes, and blisters. The itch associated with eczema can be severe and it often interrupts sleep. Scratching of the skin might even lead to an infection.

Read More: Tips to combat with ‘itch-scratch cycle’ of eczema

Effects on emotional and psychological health

Unsurprisingly, skin eczema disease can be an emotional and mental burden. Feelings of shame, embarrassment and frustration are common, and research has shown that people with skin eczema disease are diagnosed with depression and anxiety in higher numbers than those without the skin condition. One study that looked at Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in patients with skin eczema found that the disease had an impact on a person’s mental health and social functioning. And to make matters worse, stress and anxiety can trigger skin eczema flare-ups. This results in a vicious cycle, where emotional stress triggers flare-ups, which cause more emotional stress.

What are the treatment options?

The treatment of acute eczema where there are significant weeping and oozing requires repeated cycles of application of dilute solutions of vinegar or tap water often in the form of a compress followed by evaporation. This is most often conveniently performed by placing the affected body part in front of a fan after the compress. Once the acute weeping has diminished, then topical steroid applications can be one of the treatment options. In extensive skin disease, systemic steroids might need to be utilized either orally or by an injection or shot. But there are possible side effects of conventional treatment options. These include chemical dermatitis, thinning of the skin, discolouration of the skin, burns, increases risk of cancer, and liver toxicity.

How homeopathy is the best option to address the issue?

Finding the treatment that works best for you is very much important. And there comes homeopathy into the picture. The advantages of homeopathy include improved dermatitis, internal healing through oral medicines, no side effects and no toxicity.

Conclusion

It is highly recommended to take the skin evaluation test in order to assess the current state of your skin disease. Book an appointment with your homeopath as soon as you notice skin eczema symptoms.