The symptoms of eczema are: redness, edema, itching, small papules and small vesicles. The vesicles develop into small or larger superficial sores that cause weeping, oozing and crusting.

Dryness in the skin is actually two different factors that can occur alone or togeather: Lack of oily substances and lack of water. Lack of oily substances can however cause the water to diffuse out of the skin too rapidly, and therefore also cause the lack of moisture.

Later these symptoms can occure: Scaling, lichenifications and pigmentation.

Atopic eczema , or atopic dermatitis has internal causes that are poorly understood. Heridity pays a role.

- Common symptoms of atopic eczema is dry, red and itchy skin. Later on the other symptoms listed above can occur.

- Discoid eczema ( nummular eczema., exudative eczema., microbial eczema.) gives round spots of oozing or dry rash, with distinct boundaries, often on lower legs. It is usually worse in winter. The cause is unknown, and the condition tends to come and go.

Topic or allergic eczema is caused by allergy, often to food, such as milk, fish and eggs or to substances in contact with the skin.

There are many types of allergic eczema or eczema caused by irritants. Here are three variants:

- Contact dermatitis is caused by exposure of the skin to irritant substances or substances that the skin reacts allergic against.

- Xerotic eczema (Also called aka asteatotic, craquele, craquelatum, winter itch, pruritus hiemalis) begins with dry skin and turns gradualy into eczema. It most often occur on limbs and the truck It is common in dry winter weather.  The condition gives dry, hardened and cracked skin areas. Old people are most often affected.

- Seborrhoeic dermatitis begins with dry or greasy skin and develops into an eczema with dry or greasy scaling. The skin can by dry becasue of lack of water and greasy at the same time. It occurs in the scalp and wyebrows or adjacent areas.  Infants and even newborns are often affected.

- Dyshidrosis (dyshidrotic eczema., pompholyx, vesicular palmoplantar dermatitis, housewife’s eczema) is seen on palms, soles, and sides of fingers and toes. Tiny opaque bumps vesicles, thickening, and  itching which worsens at night are the symptoms

- Venous eczema (gravitational eczema, stasis dermatitis, varicose e.) occurs in people with impaired circulation, varicose veins and edema, and is particularly common in the ankle area of people over 50. There is redness, scaling, darkening of the skin and itching. The disorder predisposes to leg ulcers.
 

- Dermatitis herpetiformis (Duhring’s Disease) causes intensely itchy and typically symmetrical rash on arms, thighs, knees, and back. It is directly related to celiac disease and can often be put into remission with appropriate diet.

- Neurodermatitis (lichen simplex chronicus, localized scratch dermatitis) is an itchy area of thickened, pigmented eczema patch caused by an habbit of rubbing and scratching.

- Autoeczematization (id reaction, autosensitization) is an eczematous reaction to an infection with parasites, fungi, bacteria or viruses and is cured together with the infection.

An important mechanism of this disease is inflammation.

An important component of this inflammation mechanism is realease of the substanse histamine from certain cells in the skin. This substance stimulates the skin to react by the early symptoms of eczema.

THE TREATMENT OF ECZEMA

By eczema caused by allergy or irritation from a substance, removal of exposure to that substance is an important measure that can cure the condition. This may sometimes be difficult because the substance is a part of the environment or because it is not allways quite clear what substances that is causing the condition.

Dotors can often test solutions of the most common allergens on the skin, and thereby detect the causing agent. However, often one must try out removing several factors one is exposed to before there is a positive result.

Try to remove or change out soaps and cosmetics used on your skin. Also try to take away or exchange washing media used on interior surroundings and furniture.

Try to cut out fore some period these food types one after the other: Milk and dairy products, wheat products, acidic fruits, eggs, nuts and seafood, Also try to avoid food containing chemical additives, preservatives and colorings.

A more rigorous cleanng of your clothes and inside your home can take away mites, moulds and dust that your skin react against.

If yo use special chemicals in your work and are exposed to those, install measures so that the cemicals will not come in contact with your skin or do not come out in the air that you breath.

If the surroundings in your daily life is unnormally dry, unnormally humid, cold, warm or full of sun-shine, try to change these conditions. If that is not possible, creams to protect your skin can be of help.

You can find creams and lotions to help against eczema by excerting many simultaeous actions: softening the skin, protecting the skin from external impacts, reducing inflammation, moisturizing the skin, reducing itching, killing bacteria or fungi and induce healing of sores and damages.

Some of the topical remedies are wholly composed of natural ingredients, others can contain natural and synthetic ingrediets in combination. Oils of several types are important effectors in these creams that gives many of the listed effects simultanously. Analgesic (pain killing ingredients) and antibacterial substances can also be ingredients in these products. They can further contain herbal ingredients that accelarate tissue growth and thereby help healing.

There are also oral pills made of natural ingredients available in the market to treat eczema. Such pills work by reducing inflammation, stimulating the healing and the building up of a better skin integrity and supplying materials for skin healing and regrowth. Ingredients found in such pills can be: selenium, zinc, Omega-3-oils, Artichoke extract, Grape Seed Extract, Milk Thistle, Olive Leaf Extract, gamma linolenic acid, collagen Type II, hylaronic acid and chondrotin Sulfate.

By severe eczema that cannot be remedied by milder means creams containing steroids and anti-histaminic oral drugs can be useful for some time. However, prolonged treatment by steroids can cause skin athrophy or other damages.