Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Atopic eczema cases rise, affecting quality of life and health

Cold weather, dry air, an overactive immune system or our modern lifestyle. The causes may vary, but an increasing number of people are suffering from atopic eczema. In particular, children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Self-guided online treatment can help with atopic eczema

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) online is as effective as psychologist-led internet-based CBT in reducing the symptoms of atopic eczema. The results, which ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Air pollution linked to eczema—new research

If you live in a city or near a busy road, it might not just be your lungs bearing the brunt of air pollution—your skin could be suffering too. A recent study has found a significant link between high levels of fine particulate ...

Inflammatory disorders

Air pollution exposure may be associated with eczema, study finds

People living in areas with higher levels of air pollution are more likely to have eczema, according to a new study published November 13, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Dr. Jeffrey Cohen of Yale School of Medicine, ...

Medications

New discovery leads to novel probiotic for eczema

NIAID research has led to the availability of a new over-the-counter topical eczema probiotic. The probiotic is based on the discovery by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part ...

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Eczema (from Greek ἔκζεμα ēkzema, "to boil over") is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin). In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.

The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include dryness and recurring skin rashes that are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema (swelling), itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration may appear and are sometimes due to healed injuries. Scratching open a healing lesion may result in scarring and may enlarge the rash.

The word eczema comes from Greek words, that mean "to boil over". Dermatitis comes from the Greek word for skin – and both terms refer to exactly the same skin condition. In some languages, dermatitis and eczema are synonymous, while in other languages dermatitis implies an acute condition and "eczema" a chronic one. The two conditions are often classified together.

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