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What Makes Eczema Worse?

The exact cause of an eczema is not yet known, but the factors that can make your eczema worse are known. These factors can be devised into two categories: allergens and irritants.

There are a lot of conditions of factors that can worsen your eczema. They trigger your immune system that is already overactive thus increasing the damage of your skin and aggravating the itch. The two main categories of factors that can make your eczema worse are allergens and irritants.

Allergens

These are substances that inflame your skin because your body overreacts to them, making your eczema much worse then it already is. These substances can be found in the air, in plants, food or animals. It does not matter how long you are exposed to them or the quantity of the substances. If your body is allergic to them, your eczema will flare up right away. It is known that these allergens can make your eczema symptoms worse, but there is still a doubt where they can harm you if you inhale these substances or the eczema triggers from the penetration of your skin by these allergens. When eczema patients are exposed to allergens, their cells produce chemicals that cause redness and itching. Because the first response of the eczema patient is to scratch, more damage can occur to the already damaged skin.

Irritants

These are the substances that affect your skin directly. Opposed to allergens, irritants must be in high concentrations and the contact must be longer for the eczema person to be affected by them. When this happens, the skin becomes more itchy and red. Certain irritants affect eczema patients in different ways. Some people that suffer from an eczema may be more sensitive to some irritants and have a more serious reaction to them, whereas others may not. In time, most of the people that have an eczema come to identify the irritants that cause trouble. For example some people may be more sensitive to synthetic fibres or wool and these materials may trigger the eczema flare up. Exposure to substances like solvents, sand or dust can trigger a flare up of an eczema in some people. Others can make their eczema worse by using make- up or perfumes. The effects that irritants have on a person that suffers from an eczema vary. This is the reason why eczema patients themselves must find out what they are most affected by and try to avoid those substances.

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