DEFINING RED, ITCHY IRRITATED SKIN

Dermatitis is classified as an inflammation of the skin. Dermatitis manifests as a rash, and the symptoms can include swelling, redness, itching, cracking, and pain. Dermatitis is the skin's reaction to chemicals or environmental elements. It causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed, itchy and red, dry and flaky. When certain substances contact the skin and causes an allergic reaction, it is called "contact dermatitis". Examples of substances causing contact dermatitis are: deodorants, metal, chemicals, clothing dyes, cosmetics, detergents, hair coloring, hair perm solutions, leather processing chemicals, nickel in jewelry, perfumes and fragrances, poison ivy, solvents, wrist watches and zippers.

 Rosacea's more pronounced symptoms can vary in intensity when exacerbated. It consists of small, red, solid bumps called papules and pus-filled pimples called pustules may appear on the skin. These can easily be confused with acne pimples, but unlike acne, rosacea papules and pustules have no blackheads. Rosacea typically occurs between the ages of 30 and 50 and affects more women than men. Because the symptoms emerge slowly, rosacea may initially be mistaken for sunburn, leading to a delay in treatment. The redness can come and go, but eventually it may become permanent. Furthermore, the skin tissue can swell and thicken and may be tender and sensitive to the touch.

Acne is a common skin condition affecting the oil producing glands of the skin. Acne occurs primarily on the face and sometimes on the back, shoulders, cheat, and arms. The incidence of acne is greatest during puberty, adolescence, and when hormones influencing the secretion of oil glands are at their peak level of activity such as during stress, emotional problems, menstruation, and exercising. Another cause of acne can be dirt, oil and dead skin, accumulated inside the pores, plugging the pores and preventing the flow of sebum. When bacteria builds up, pimples can form and acne may develop, often as an indication of an internal toxin condition. Other causes or contributing factors include allergies, a poor diet, dehydration, environmental pollution, heredity, sun over exposure, and weaken immunity.

Eczema can occur anywhere on the body. The symptoms of eczema include itching, redness, dry/flaky skin, and even blisters.  Eczema is a common skin disease. Eczema is dry, rough, red, itchy, skin dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. The most common symptom that people complain about is the itch that is a side effect of eczema. It's sometimes called the 'itch that rashes', meaning that once you start scratching, you develop a rash.

Psoriasis is a non-contagious disorder, which affects the skin. As a result, itchy, scaly red patches appear, often on the elbows, hands, feet, and scalp, but they can show up on other parts of your body. Usually, what happens is new skin cells take about a month or so to move from the deepest skin layer where they're produced, to the surface where they die and flake off. With psoriasis, the entire skin cell life cycle takes only days.

Seborrheic dermatitis causes yellowish scales to develop on the scalp, the chest, ears, face, nose, the hairline and the eyebrows. Seborrhea affects areas of the skin with abundant oil glands - When oil glands secrete abnormal amounts of oil glands secrete abnormal amounts of oil and skin cells grow at twice the normal rate, the skin produces red eruptions with thick crusting and scaliest. The oily, pinkish - yellow scales resemble dandruff and may itch and flake.

Living With Nummular Eczema

 The word "nummular" comes from the Latin nummus, meaning coin, and is characterized by round plaques of eczema. The cause of nummular eczema is not known, although minor skin injury such as an insect bite or a burn may be reported prior to the onset of the condition.

Nummular eczema also called Discoid eczema, or gravitational eczema is usually found in adults and appears suddenly. It can be complicated by a bacterial infection, which results in these areas becoming itchy with possible weeping fluid and crusting. Eruptions of nummular eczema are often recurrent and chronic and usually appear in people who are in their 60s but can occur at any age. Dry skin is brittle. Moist skin is more supple.

Other factors that can aggravate this condition include:

1) Hot weather causes sweating.

2) Stress - Emotional stress comes from many situations.

3) Fabric softeners - fabric softener is the most toxic product produced for daily household use. Fabric softeners have been found to be associated with numerous illnesses and chronic conditions. The effects of its toxicity are insidious; a user becomes "chronically mal-adapted" to it. The exposure is so constant that it can be difficult to connect the product with the signs of reactivity it causes. The toxins used in fabric softeners are known to produce an addictive-type response. Regular users of fabric softeners (and perfumes) also often claim they "can hardly smell it". This is a direct effect of chemical ingredients on neural receptors. Listed here are the toxic ingredients and it’s effect on the skin; Alpha-Terpineol causes edema or redness of the skin. Limonene is a skin and eye irritant, sensitizer, and carcinogenic. Always wash hands thoroughly after contact, especially before eating, drinking, applying cosmetics. Do not inhale. Prevent contact with skin or eyes. Contact with Pentane can cause eye or skin irritation."

4) Allergens do not irritate, but may trigger a flare-up in those who have become allergic to it from prior exposure. When exposed to an irritant or allergen to which they are sensitive, inflammation-producing cells come into the skin. There, they release chemicals that cause itching and redness. Further damage occurs when the person scratches and rubs the affected area.

5) Soaps and detergents- Many laundry soaps contain chemical additives which are the actual irritants (e.g., sodium silicate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate). Hand cleaner soaps contain small harsh particles to assist in grease removal, such as pumice, talc, borax, corn meal or wood flour. These are sometimes irritating. Some yellow laundry soaps contain "rosin" to make the bar more soluble, which is also a sensitizers.

6) Wool clothing – Natural fiber clothing, made from wool or mohair, been shown to be sensitizers. Dermatitis may occur more frequently from the use of dark clothing. Heavy perspiration causes more bleeding of the dye (e.g., widow's dermatitis). Fabric finishes which are used to increase durability, to soften of stiffen a fabric, or to impart waterproofing, crease resistance or other properties to the fabric. Stoddard solvent or other dry-cleaning solutions will occasionally produce a clothing-oriented dermatitis, as will moth crystals. Airing the clothes for a few days before wearing them will usually prevent this.

7) Bathing more than once a day - Take short baths or showers with warm water. Hot water can make you itch more. Ask your doctor about the use of oatmeal soaking products in your bath to help control the itching. After bathing, don't rub your skin dry with a rough towel. That just irritates your skin more. Gently pat it dry to get the water off. Then put on some jojoba oil to help keep your skin from getting too dry. You can spread the jojoba oil on several times a day.