Eczema by location of occurrence
Eczema occurs on the face as well as other parts of the body. In the facial area, eczema occurs mainly on the cheeks or around the nose. Acute and chronic facial eczema must be distinguished.
Potential triggers of eczema in the face are all kinds of exogenous chemical and natural substances. In most cases, the skin of the affected person has never come into contact with them before. In the face, cosmetics such as skin creams, powder or make-up are often the cause.
In this case, the only thing left to do is to immediately discontinue the product in question if there is any suspicion. As they often use many more cosmetics, women suffer from eczema on the face somewhat more frequently. Likewise, children are affected more often than average, whereas older people suffer less frequently from facial eczema, which is related to the reduced activity of their immune system.
In addition to discontinuing the triggering product, further treatment may be necessary depending on the severity of the condition. In the acute stage with reddening and severe itching, ointments containing cortisone are mainly used. Especially in the face, however, the correct dosage and application duration are of great importance.
In later stages with weeping blisters, moist pads of moisturizing lotions or soothing ingredients such as chamomile or black tea should be used.
- Acute eczema of the face is usually caused by certain substances that cause an allergic skin reaction. Typical of this are the successive occurrence of reddening of the skin, itching and blistering.
- In chronic facial eczema, on the other hand, the symptoms of redness, swelling and blistering occur simultaneously, and the immune system is activated in a different way.
Eczema can also occur in the ear.
The outer auditory canal, the inner or outer part of the auricle can be affected. The symptoms are the typical ones that also occur with eczema on other parts of the body. These include itching, a redness and swelling and blistering.
A distinction is made between weeping eczema and dry eczema, and acute eczema and chronic eczema. If the eczema occurs on the earlobe or the pierced ear, a nickel allergy can be the trigger. In this case it is recommended to remove the plug immediately and switch to nickel-free jewelry.
If, on the other hand, the eczema is located further inside or reaches into the ear canal, it is recommended to consult a specialist for ear, nose and throat medicine. Eczema of the eye, especially of the eyelid (lid eczema), occurs less frequently than in other parts of the body, but is not uncommon. The causes of eyelid eczema are manifold.
A distinction is made between a chronic and an acute form of eyelid eczema. It can be distinguished from dehydration dermatitis, which is characterized by regularly running lines in the epidermis. It occurs more frequently in older people and is caused by a lack of fluid in the skin.
Acute eyelid eczema is often triggered by contact allergies, but non-allergic, congenital skin diseases can also be the cause. Since the skin around the eye is the thinnest skin of our body, some substances can trigger eczema only at this point, even if other parts of the body have much more contact with the corresponding substance. By involuntary eye rubbing, theoretically all substances with which our hands come into contact can be considered.
Most frequently, however, these are cosmetics, body care and cleaning products which are well tolerated on the rest of the body skin but can cause eczema on the eyelid.Also contact lenses or the contact lens fluid can cause such eczema. For treatment, the triggering substance, if known, should of course be avoided. Furthermore, it is recommended to use cosmetic products and ointments that are labeled as non-allergenic and unperfumed.
The use of cortisol on the eye should be evaluated critically. If it cannot be avoided, the application period should be limited to a few days. In addition, caring ointments and compresses made of chamomile or black tea can provide relief.
Eczema can also occur at the corner of the eye. The causes can be allergic reactions, but also viruses such as herpes zoster. Depending on the cause, treatment is carried out with different ointments, which may contain antibiotics or medication against viruses.
Eczema of the buttocks, i.e. anal eczema, is an inflammation of the skin of the anus and/or the surrounding skin (perianal region). The course of the disease can be acute, subacute (somewhat more insidious) or chronic. Anal eczema always occurs as a consequence of other dermatological or microbial diseases or in the context of other diseases of the rectum or anus.
For example, the cumulative toxic eczema, which is characterized by a weeping, highly itchy anal region, occurs mainly in hemorrhoidal disorders or intestinal parasites. The most important treatment step is therefore the recognition and treatment of the underlying disease. Contact allergic eczema, on the other hand, is triggered by allergens found in toilet paper or skin care products, for example.
On the appropriate products should be renounced in the future, for care should be used best only water and pure olive oil or Vaseline to avoid a further irritation by potential allergens. Temporarily the skin can be treated with local glucocorticoids. A somewhat smaller proportion of anal eczema is atopic eczema, better known as neurodermatitis.
