It concerns adults or even people in the period of adolescence and manifests as a recurrence or recurrence of a previous manifestation (in organisms with a defective epidermal barrier).
The older the age at which atopic dermatitis manifests, the more severe the symptoms are predicted to be. The disease can remain in the body even 15-20 years later.
Signs and symptoms are intensely itchy red areas on the inner folds mainly on knees, elbows, neck, wrists, ankles, hands. It can also appear on the eyebrows and eye area.
What is the reason for its appearance?
Although there are no clear medical conclusions about the etiology of atopic dermatitis, it appears to be caused by a combination of interacting factors:
- Disturbed protective skin barrier (imperfect body defense, penetration of harmful microorganisms)
- Genetic predisposition (heredity, family history of eczema, allergic rhinitis, allergic bronchial asthma)
- Immunological causes
- Environmental causes
- Psychological causes (stress)
Is skin disease dangerous?
If there is systematic medical control, treatment of flare-ups and daily care of atopic dermatitis, then it is not life-threatening. If left untreated, the patient remains vulnerable to infections from microbes (mainly staphylococcus) and viruses (herpes simplex virus, etc.), with the risk of even needing hospitalization.
Also, skin with an incomplete protective barrier becomes vulnerable to allergen invasion as well, resulting in a simple protein, from e.g. food or pollen, to easily create the ideal conditions for food or respiratory, respectively, allergy to it, affecting the health and quality of life of the person.
How is the diagnosis made?
The diagnosis requires taking the patient's history (family history, manifestations of allergies or asthma), as well as a careful evaluation of the symptoms based on the clinical picture, in order to exclude other skin diseases (e.g. seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, etc.). In many cases, blood tests or allergy skin tests will be needed to determine the allergen that caused it.
Treatment
Treatment options include a combination of antihistamines to relieve itching, topical corticosteroids (creams or pills), and topical immunomodulators. Antibiotics are given in cases of infection of the rash. The treatment should always proceed under the supervision of the dermatologist and last exactly as recommended, even if the symptoms have subsided. In more moderate manifestations of atopic dermatitis, an alternative to cortisone is calcineurin inhibitors, which have a milder effect.
