Introduction
Neurodermatitis is a chronic disease that runs in waves. This means that between longer symptom-free phases, acute flare-ups occur again and again. Up to now it has not been possible to cure neurodermatitis, which is why symptomatic therapy with anti-inflammatory and itch-relieving creams is in the foreground. In many cases, the disease can be treated well and the quality of life of those affected can be improved. In addition, the symptoms usually disappear by themselves in the course of life: more than 60 percent of children with neurodermatitis no longer have any signs of the disease as adults.
Why neurodermatitis cannot be cured
The skin disease neurodermatitis (medically also called atopic eczema) develops in people with a genetic predisposition due to hypersensitivity to certain substances. Up to now, a complete cure for neurodermatitis is not possible. Even if patients are free of symptoms for a very long time (often over several years), conventional medicine does not consider them to be cured, but rather that they are in a “symptom-free interval”.
In order to answer the question why neurodermatitis is not considered curable so far, one must first deal with the pathomechanism, i.e. the development of the disease process. Patients with neurodermatitis suffer from an imbalance in the immune system, whereby the body’s own structures in the skin are falsely recognized as “foreign” and attacked. As a result, inflammatory skin changes and eczema foci develop, which are accompanied by severe itching.
Neurodermatitis should therefore not be seen as a skin disease, but rather as a kind of allergic reaction against the body’s own structures. Studies have shown that genetic predisposition plays an important role in the development of neurodermatitis. People who show certain changes in their genes are therefore more susceptible to developing neurodermatitis once in their life.
But as with many chronic diseases, it is not only the genes that play a role. Living conditions and environmental factors also contribute to whether or not genetically predisposed persons suffer from neurodermatitis. This circumstance is called “multifactorial”: the onset of the disease depends on the interaction of several factors.
This is precisely why it is so difficult to cure neurodermatitis completely. While certain triggers that trigger new disease outbreaks can be avoided by the patient, the genetic component of neurodermatitis cannot yet be treated. However, research into new therapies is raising hopes for new treatment options for neurodermatitis in the near future. Do you suffer psychologically from the symptoms of your neurodermatitis?
