Eczema / Dermatitis
Is your skin red, dry or itchy?
You may have eczema or dermatitis. Exzema is a common skin condition that can affect both children and adults. Although, it is not fully understood yet what causes eczema we do understand that it usually runs in families, and that many individuals who have the condition also suffer from allergic reactions themselves such as those with hay fever and asthma.
Having eczema means that the skin barrier is damaged, Individuals who have eczema find it difficult to keep the moisture in their skin making the skin more susceptible to irritants and allergens, thus the skin becomes dry and easily irritable.
This causes chemicals to be released, which worsens the irritation and makes the individual want to scratch the area, but scratching will only make the skin more irritable, thus the sequence repeats making for a very frustrating experience to deal with.