Eczema Symptoms

Eczema symptoms are characterised by a dry, red, scaly rash, which is extremely itchy. Eczema commonly affects the face, neck hands and in creases of the limbs.

The rash usually starts off as minute pearly blisters beneath the skins surface. When it's severe the rash may weep and can cause sleeplessness due to the intense itching.

Main eczema symptoms

You may notice some or all of the following symptoms:

• Itching: Itching is usually the primary symptom and is often worse at night. Being a common feature of many conditions, itching alone doesn’t mean that you have eczema. The itching is usually accompanied by the other symptoms. .

• Discoloured skin with reddish to brown-gray patches: When the skin is inflamed there is an increased blood flow to the area resulting in a red appearance. The redness may also be due to a bacterial infection.

• Thickened, leathery cracked skin: The area affected by eczema is often thicker than non affected skin. This is usually due to a protective response as a result of repeated scratching.

• 'Bubbled up' skin: Tissue fluids can ooze between the cells and gather into collections or blisters. Depending on the nature of the eczema, and whether infection is present, there can also be large blisters filled with fluid or pus. Protein in this fluid crusts over when scratched

• Raw, sensitive, infected skin, due to persistent scratching

Any part of the body may be affected by eczema symptoms. The forehead, cheeks, forearms, legs, scalp, and neck are typically affected in infants. In children and adults, eczema classically occurs on the face, neck, and the insides of the elbows, knees, and ankles.

The skin around your eyes, including your eyelids may also be involved. Scratching can cause redness and swelling around the eyes, and in disease of some duration, patchy loss of eyebrow hair and eyelashes may result.

When to see your doctor

Talk to your doctor if you develop an unexplained rash, have a family history of eczema or asthma, or have some of the symptoms associated with eczema. It is essential that you seek medical help if:

• Your discomfort levels are high, distracting you from your everyday routine and causing loss of sleep

• Over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams prove unsuccessful in treating the condition, in which case your doctor might want to try something stronger.

• Yellowish to light brown crust or pus-filled blisters form over existing patches of eczema. This could be the result of a bacterial infection that should be treated with an antibiotic.

• Having eczema puts you at increased risk of contracting the viral disorder. Be aware of this in case you are in the company of someone with cold sores, genital herpes or any other viral skin disease.

• The presence of many small, fluid-filled blisters may indicate eczema herpeticum, a rare but potentially serious complication caused by the herpes simplex virus.

Eczema Diagnosis

This is made on the basis of your symptoms and clinical signs of the disease. Pertinent features include:

• Itching, this is generally severe

• Dry skin

• Skin inflammation

• Secondary infection of the skin

• Frequent flare-ups of eczema activity

• Family history of eczema, hay fever or asthma

Patch or skin-testing may be required to identify various allergens. Blood tests like RAST and ELISA are occasionally used to identify various triggers, especially if a patient has a skin condition or is on medication like antihistamines. The latter may interfere with a skin test, but these in general do not interfere with allergy blood tests.

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