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What
is Atopic Dermatitis?
Atopic
dermatitis is a chronic,intensely pruritic(itchy) skin disease that
affects genetically predisposed individuals with a family history of
atopic diathesis.
Atopic
diathesis include, in addition to topic dermatitis, a group of
allergic disorders like bronchial asthma,hay fever, allergic
rhino-conjunctivitis and urticaria.
It
has onset age of 3-6 months in infancy and has varied morphology as it
passes through infantile, childhood and adult phases. It runs a
chronic course of intermittent attacks of itching and excoriations and
life time suffering for the individual and family
Will my atopic dermatitis continue
throughout life?
This is a question that troubles most patients.
Here is a rough estimates of the % of cases through different ages:
- 20 % of cases become free by the age of 4-6
years
- 20% become symptom free by the age of 8-10
years
- 20% stop getting recurrences at the age of
12-14 years
- 20% get relieved of their disease by the
age of 21 years
- Unfortunately, the remaining 20%
suffer throughout life.
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There is no way to predicting to which group you will
fall into, but a general rule of thumb the dermatologists follow is:
Your chances of getting relieved earlier are
better if:
- The age of onset is later than 2 years
- There is no definite family history
- Extent of involvement is less
- There is no associated asthma, hayfever or
rhinoconjunctivitis
Tips on Dealing With Atopic
Dermatitis
- Always keep the skin moist and supple with
regular use of emollient cream applications immediately after
washing
- Do not use abrasive soaps
- Avoid irritating food habits: spicy, hot, fried
food should be avoided
- Avoid chocolates, icecream etc
- Keep a diary with columns for food taken, time,
activities, grade of itching and the peak and low periods of
itching etc. Such diaries are excellent ways to find out and
eliminate any aggravating food or activities.
- Take an antihistamine to relieve itching
- Use only cotton clothes
- Avoid contact with dust and chemicals
- Try meditation or
stress
management techniques
- Treat any flare ups immediately with the help of
a dermatologist. Special care should be taken to treat any
secondary infections
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Dr.Hanish Babu, MD
