ECZEMA AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Eczema, is a disease of inflammation. In fact, the “-itis” in its name refers to inflammation. When you have eczema, your skin becomes inflamed, red, and itchy.
With eczema, your immune system overreacts to typically harmless substances in your environment. What results is a state of constant or chronic inflammation. Over time, the inflammation damages your skin, leaving it red and itchy.
Common causes of inflammation
Certain things set off inflammation and cause flare-ups in people with eczema. Here are some common triggers.
Diet
Certain foods increase inflammation in the body, including:
Fried foods like French fries and fried chicken
Sodas and other sugary drinks .
Processed meat (hot dogs, sausages, burgers etc )
Refined carbs like cookies, biscuits , white bread, and cake
Margarine, shortening, myonnaise etc
Coloured foods and ones with preservatives like sauces, ketchups etc
Eliminating processed foods may help clear your skin. And before you make any drastic dietary changes, speak with your doctor. An allergy specialist can do an allergy testing to see which foods can trigger eczema and thus advise you to eliminate only those exact foods which can trigger eczema and thus try and clear your skin without taking away the nutrients your body needs.
Cigarette smoke
Tobacco is linked to a number of serious health problems, including cancer and health disease. Eczema is another health issue resulting from tobacco use.
In addition to irritating the skin, cigarette smoke has a harmful effect on the immune system. It produces chronic inflammation in the body. Smokers have higher levels of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP) in their blood.
A study found that people who either smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to get eczema than those who aren’t exposed.
Allergies
Eczema is essentially an allergic disease. This means your immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in your environment by producing inflammation. Examples are :
House dust mite allergy.
Allergies to certain foods like nuts, fish , wheat, milk, eggs etc in some individuals.
Contact allergens like chemicals and synthetic fragrances in detergents, cosmetics, and household cleaners
Nickel or other metals
Certain foods, as noted above
One way to avoid a skin reaction is to do your best to avoid your triggers. Consider keeping a diary to help you identify which substances make you itch.
Lack of sleep
A solid seven to nine hours of sleep each night is essential for healthy immune function. Sleep helps your immune system to react properly to germs and other threats. That"s why people who don’t sleep will tend to get more infections and allergies.
Inflammation rises when the sleep pattern is broken. Disrupted sleep can throw off this cycle and lead to more persistent inflammation.
The constant itching from eczema makes it even harder to sleep, which can throw you into a cycle of not enough sleep, in particular REM sleep, and too much itchiness. Getting your eczema under control with medication, moisturizers, and other treatments can help you sleep more soundly.
Stress
Your emotional health and the health of your skin are closely connected. When you’re under stress, your body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. In larger-than-normal amounts, cortisol can trigger inflammation in the skin.
Dealing with stress-induced flares can make you even more anxious and upset. Managing stress can help prevent flare-ups.
Here are some ways to keep stress at bay:
Relax with a good book or meditate for a few minutes a day.
Steer your thoughts away from stress with a good distraction, such as a funny movie or a chat with a good friend.
Exercise, but don"t over exercise.
Find people to talk with about your eczema symptoms.
Infections
Eczema puts you at a higher risk for infections. In part, this is because a problem with your skin barrier lets in more bacteria and other germs. Another reason is that inflammation interferes with your skin’s natural immune response against these germs.
To prevent infections:
Bath each day, in luke warm water , using gentle cleansers
Apply a thick layer of barrier repair moisturizer containing ceramides immediately after bath to help recover the barrier, This is to be done daily, and atleast twice a day.
During flare ups, follow it up by a prescribed topical medicine like steroid cream or calcineurin inhibitor to bring down inflammation .
Antihistamines like cetrizine, loratidine etc
Calcineurin inhibitors, such as tacrolimus ointment
For moderate-to-severe eczema, doctors sometimes prescribe immunosuppressants like azathioprine, cyclosporine, or methotrexate. These medications lower the overactive immune response and help to relieve eczema symptoms.
Biological products target the immune system response that causes inflammation in eczema.
Dupilumab (Dupixent) is the only biologic FDA-approved to treat eczema. It blocks two key chemicals that contribute to the process of inflammation: interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13).
Talk with your doctor
If eczema symptoms are interfering with your daily life, speak with your allergy specialist or skin expert and let them help you manage them. Keep track of your symptoms and their causes to identify your triggers.
Eczema is often part of a group of conditions that doctors call the “atopic march.” People with eczema often have asthma and allergies, too. If you have these conditions, you may also need treatment for them.
Takeaway
Eczema is due to inflammation of the skin that contributes to symptoms like redness and itch. There are many ways to reduce inflammation, including diet adjustments, trigger avoidance, and over-the-counter and prescription medications.
It could take sometime to find the right eczema treatment that finally relieves the inflammation and itch for you. So if you are someone struggling with eczema, be consistent in your skincare journey and you will definitely have a great quality of life .
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment