What is Eczema?
Eczema is caused by interplay between genetic and environmental triggers. Eczema often affects people who either suffer from asthma and/ or hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or have family members who do aka genetic. These three diseases are often referred by doctors as the ‘atopic triad’. It is characterised by these two easily identified symptoms: rashes and extreme itching. Skin becomes extremely dry and it begins to itch. That is when the urge to scratch become intolerable and painful. The more you scratch, the more the skin breaks and becomes a target for infection. This triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals and your skin becomes inflamed, which further irritates the skin. This results in a vicious itch-scratch-infection-inflammation cycle.
Eczema is a multi-factorial condition, which can be triggered by things in the environment or certain habits that can make the itching and rashes worse. So that is why it is very important to educate young patients and their parents/ caregivers on the proper management and care of eczema such as constant hydrate the skin with the use of moisturisers and controller creams and the use of rescue medicines as prescribed by doctors correctly. The itch usually comes before the rash does and the rashes comes and goes. When this happen it will affect the patients’ daily activities and sleep at night, especially for young patients as it causes distress to the parents. In the MyEAP guidebook, Dr Leong commented that he always tell his young patients that having eczema is like running a long-distance marathon. You may not find a medication that works immediately but you will never give up and continue to run the race.
