Complications and what can make eczema worse

Introduction
Eczema is a condition that has a tendency to flare up and settle. It
will often seem manageable and tolerable, but there may well be
times when the skin becomes more red and inflamed, with weeping
areas and general background dryness. The chapters on treatment
will help to give guidance on managing such flares, so this chapter
will concentrate on some factors that may tend to make eczema
worse or that may trigger a flare. Eczema can vary in severity from
one individual to the next: some readers will find that they have
eczema affecting their whole body, whereas others may have it
only on specific areas such as the hands, legs or scalp. A ‘flare’
describes a worsening of the eczema. An acute eczema flare can
cause you to feel generally unwell, which may in some cases require
hospitalisation, but the majority of cases can be self-managed at
home.There are some triggers that can make existing eczema worse
even though they do not cause it to start in normal skin. The reason
for this is that our skin acts as a barrier, but when it is inflamed
and dry, it stops working so well. Imagine your skin as a brick wall
with faulty cement between the bricks: gaps then appear, and items
can pass through the wall. This allows water to leak out of the body
and the skin to be rather oversensitive and susceptible to things it
comes into contact with. This might be items such as woolly
clothes, perfumes or cosmetics, or microscopic factors that act as
triggers, for example bacterial or viral infections.