The immune system of a neurodermatitis sufferer reacts disproportionately to external stimuli due to a pathological genetic predisposition. The place where this exaggerated reaction becomes visible is the skin.
A chronic skin disease
Atopic dermatitis or atopic dermatitis often runs a chronic course, with recurrences of excruciating, psychologically distressing itching and dry, scaly, inflamed patches of skin occurring repeatedly after periods of relative skin health. Many environmental factors that exacerbate the symptoms of the disease are known. However, representative studies investigating the importance of each factor have been lacking. Therefore, J. R. Williams and colleagues surveyed schoolchildren in Wales aged 12 to 14 years to determine how a total of 19 environmental factors affect symptom severity (British Journal of Dermatology 2004; 150: 1154-1161). A total of 2501 schoolchildren participated in the survey, 250 of whom had atopic dermatitis.
Environmental factors: sweating, hot weather, and clothing.
Sweating, such as during school sports, was cited by most adolescents as a trigger for a disease flare-up (41.8%), followed by hot weather (40%) and textiles (39.1%). Steroid-containing creams had a symptom-relieving effect in 22.2% and moisturizers in 16.4%. Almost 60% of the adolescents answered that diet had no influence on the severity of the disease. According to the authors, the study cannot be used to infer the extent to which individual factors influence the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. “It does, however, provide information about which triggers sufferers perceive as significant for their disease in the first place,” they conclude.
The be-all and end-all: a consistent skin care regimen
A central and accompanying measure in the treatment of atopic dermatitis is consistent skin care, both for existing eczema and for follow-up treatment. Neurodermatitis sufferers who regularly apply appropriate skin care products to their skin are less likely to suffer recurrences, and their skin is less likely to become inflamed. In addition, skin care creams relieve itching and improve the barrier function of the affected skin. A suitable skin care product should supply the skin of a neurodermatitis sufferer with lipid-rich and moisturizing substances. It should also be free of allergens. Creams and skin care lines containing the substances urea and evening primrose oil have proven effective. Urea is one of the skin’s natural moisturizers and increases the hydration content of the horny layer. Evening primrose oil normalizes the hydrolipidic mantle of damaged skin and increases its ability to bind moisture and lipids. The benefits and effectiveness of an active complex of urea and evening primrose oil have been proven in numerous studies.
