Skin

Contact Dermatitis

Red or blistering rash resulting from the skin and an allergen interaction is Contact dermatitis. Nickel, cobalt (in jewelry, zippers and metal snaps), and neomycin (in antibiotic skin allergy ointment) comprise common allergens.

Contact dermatitis can cause skin allergy to be mostly itchy, red and swollen. Fluid-filled blisters or bumps and clear fluid weep may result. This condition to develop takes a day or two after exposure. It is not the prompt immune system response outcome, as occurs with hives. Immune cells called “T-cells”, after an exposure, take a day or two to gather at the exposed skin allergy area and produce chemicals that trigger the rash.

Treatment for contact dermatitis can involve a topical corticosteroid ointment or oral prednisone - if a large area of skin is affected. Extra anti-inflammatory treatments are accessible, and may be prescribed by your doctor. Antihistamines may be useful for plummeting itching, but they have not been confirmed to cause contact dermatitis rash improvement.

Itching Without a Rash

It is a fairly common problem for people to have itching without a rash being present. The medical word for itching is pruritus, and these symptoms can signify a skin allergy problem, or even an internal disease within the body.

When the itching is restricted to a certain body area, the utmost possible motive is a disease process confined to the skin. The body area that itches often gives immense hint as to the itching cause.

Several medications can cause itching, mostly pain medications like codeine and morphine.

Eczema

Chronic, even skin allergy disease which usually occurs in infancy and initial childhood but can remain or start in adults is Eczema or in other words atopic dermatitis. Alike other allergies and asthma, atopic dermatitis inclines to run in families.

It is vital to remember that Atopic Dermatitis is not a rash that itches. Rather, it is an itch, that when scratched, results in a rash. Hence, if the itching controlled, and there is no scratching, there will be no rash (eczema).

Very common in childhood, Atopic dermatitis affects up to 20% of kids, typically before the age of 5. Less common in adults, affects only 1 to 3% of the population, even though can start at any age. It is unusual to see atopic dermatitis in adults over 50 years of age.

Diagnosis

The atopic dermatitis diagnosis is made by the symptoms history and the patient examination by a doctor. To diagnose this condition there is no laboratory test.

There are three standards that must be present in order to diagnose atopic dermatitis:

  1. Atopy - The person must be atopic, or have a family history of allergic diseases in near relatives. There may be occasional circumstances in which a person has atopic dermatitis without atopy indication.
  2. Pruritis - Pruritis is the medical term used for itching. In order for the rash to take place the patient must have itching and scratching. If the skin or rash areas do not itch or have not been scratched, then the person does not have atopic dermatitis.
  3. Eczema - The presence of rash in patients with atopic dermatitis, and follows in other skin diseases as well is eczema. The rash appears red, with small blisters or bumps present. With further scratching these may exude or flake. The skin seems thickened and leathery over the long-standing.

Scene of Eczema

The eczema location is reliant on the body area that is scratched. In infants and very young children this rash includes the face especially the cheeks, chest and trunk, back of the scalp and may include the arms and legs. This dispersal echoes where the child is capable to scratch, and hence generally frees the diaper area.

The rash location in older children and adults alters to typically include the skin allergy in front of the elbows and behind the knees. It can also involve the face particularly the eyelids, and may be restricted to the hands palms and feet soles in definite people.

Triggers for Itching

Irritants, infections, allergies and stress cause skin itching. Through direct skin allergy stimulation, harsh soaps, chemicals, wool fabrics, heat and sweating, irritants cause itching. These irritants prevention through use of gentle soaps, wearing cotton clothing, and keeping cool and dry can assist avoid itching.

People with atopic dermatitis are more vulnerable to skin allergy infections by many bacterial, fungal and viral infections. Several have great extents of a common skin bacterium, called Staphylococcus aureus, which can aggravate the itching and eczema. In people with atopic dermatitis, Herpes infections and the virus accountable for chicken pox and shingles can cause severe skin allergy infections.

Allergies can be a major cause for itching in people with atopic dermatitis.