Healthbeautyidea.com | What Does Eczema Feel Like? Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is chronic skin inflammation with the main symptoms in the form of dry skin and reddish rash with severe itching. The cause of dermatitis is not yet known with certainty. However, the appearance of eczema characteristics is related to various factors, both from inside and outside the body.
The characteristics of eczema experienced by everyone can be different. Similarly, the symptoms shown by each person every time the condition recurs. Therefore, eczema symptoms should be well recognized because this condition requires regular treatment to avoid the risk of skin infections.
What Does Eczema Feel Like?
In a medical report published by the American Family Physician, the development of eczema disease is known to take place in three clinical stages, namely acute, subacute, and chronic. All three are distinguished by how quickly symptoms appear.
Here are the characteristics of eczema disease based on the stages of development of the disease.
Characteristics of acute eczema
Acute eczema is initially indicated by small reddish rashes on the skin of the face that appear quickly. These rashes usually cause itching that does not go away.
Itching due to eczema is usually unbearable, so sufferers tend to scratch their skin hard. This condition can hinder daily activities. In fact, eczema can interfere with sleep.
Scratching the affected part of the skin continuously makes the skin inflammation worse. Eczema rash that had been reddish also turned into a blistered wound, wet, and oozing fluid.
Characteristics of subacute eczema
When skin inflammation begins to subside, eczema will enter the next stage, namely subacute. Subacute eczema is the transition from acute eczema that appears quickly to chronic eczema that can later last for years.
Eczema in the subacute stage has typical symptoms such as:
- The problem skin becomes dry,
- Problematic skin crusts or forms ulcers, as well as
- The itching begins to decrease.
Characteristics of chronic eczema
Chronic eczema is eczema that has persisted or recurs repeatedly. At this stage, the itching has decreased, but the habit of scratching or rubbing the inflamed skin in the long run leads to lichenification.
Lichenification is a condition of the appearance of thick and rough skin patches. This is why eczema in the chronic stage is usually characterized by a change in skin color to dark.
Eczema symptoms are so diverse that sometimes the results of the diagnosis can vary. The doctor may diagnose this disease as impetigo, psoriasis, scabies, or other dermatitis diseases such as contact dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis.
Characteristics of eczema complications
When the disease has reached the chronic stage, sufferers are more at risk of developing eczema infection. This complication is caused by the reduced layer of protective skin damaged by inflammation.
The characteristics of infected eczema are skin that parades open or peels off. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses can infect parts of the skin that experience inflammation. Bacterial species that often infect are staphylococcus and streptococcus.
Eczema infection will be difficult to stop because this disease usually also has an impact on the immune system and makes it difficult to fight the cause of infection. If not treated quickly, infected eczema can cause various complications.
Some of the complications that may occur due to eczema infection include:
- Impetigo,
- Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection,
- Molluscum contagiosum, and
- Eczema herpeticum.
Symptoms of infected eczema
Symptoms of eczema on the skin that has an infection will usually appear more severe and show the following general characteristics.
- Blistered skin.
- The skin is very itchy.
- There is a burning pain on the skin that has an infection.
- Severe infections can make a person have a fever and chills.
- Discharge from the skin affected by eczema, can be clear or pus that is white and yellow.
- Swelling of the glands in the armpits, neck, and groin.
When you experience various symptoms of infection above, you should immediately see a doctor before the infection gets serious and causes other complications.
Eczema that has been infected, but not treated or not getting proper treatment can cause the following complications.
- Eczema is long and prolonged so it is difficult to treat.
- Itching and blisters is getting worse by the day.
- Resistant (immune) to topical steroid creams because they are used for a long period of time.
- The onset of scar tissue / keloids in the skin.
- The presence of growth disorders in children due to prolonged steroid use.
- Sepsis (blood poisoning).
