Allergic dermatitis it is a type of dermatitis caused by the body’s immune response to certain allergens. Contact triggers symptoms that involve the appearance of inflammation, swelling, irritation and scabs.
Allergic dermatitis can affect the hands, arms, feet and face. The treatment consists in the use of cortisone drugs.
What are the various causes, symptoms and remedies? Let’s find out more about it.
What is allergic dermatitis
The allergic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disorder also known asallergic eczema”.
It is a non-contagious disease, because it is an immune response of lymphocytes to substances foreign to the body which are considered dangerous by the body itself.
Contact with an allergen considered toxic triggers a series of attacks by antibodies against healthy cells in the body. This leads to itching, redness, bubbles, blisters and scabs. Let’s find out how to recognize this type of dermatitis.
How to recognize skin allergies: types and symptoms
You can recognize allergic dermatitis by the characteristic symptoms, which can be:
- Intense itching;
- Irritation;
- Inflammation;
- skin redness;
- Swelling;
- Formation of scabs;
- vesicles;
- burning;
- Itchy flakes;
- Pain in the affected part.
The lesions present may concern some areas or extend to the whole body. Like atopic dermatitis, this also occurs a symptomatology characterized by itching, inflammation, irritation and swelling. The modality of presentation can vary according to the degree of individual sensitivity to the allergen, as well as to the localization of the skin reaction and the triggering substance.
When the allergy is caused by a food (such as dermatitis herpetiformis, caused by gluten), additional symptoms may also occur such as:
In children, not only atopic dermatitis can be present, but also allergic dermatitis. It usually occurs due to a food allergy.
In more severe cases of allergic dermatitis, more dangerous symptoms may arise such as the following:
- Swelling of the mucous membranes;
- Respiratory disorders;
- General malaise;
- Anaphylactic shock;
- Death.
That is why it is very important to timely make the right diagnosis and proceed with the correct treatment.
Causes of allergic dermatitis
The causes of allergic dermatitis can be found in the contact between the skin and the allergen: proximity is enough for the cells of the immune system to activate.
With each further contact with the allergen, the dermatitis worsens. Typically, lesions occur in areas that have come into contact with the allergen.
Sometimes, it happens that dermatitis – also called “eczema” – appears in areas very far from the contact area and it is not known with certainty why this can happen: probably, the allergen manages to penetrate deeply and spreads in the organism.
Among the risk factors there is also the weakening of the immune system and bacterial infectionswhich pose a risk for the appearance of allergic dermatitis.
When the intake of certain foods causes allergic dermatitis, we speak of food allergic dermatitis.
Allergic contact dermatitis, on the other hand, is caused by a skin reaction to exposure to certain artificial or natural chemicals:
- lattice;
- nickel;
- cosmetics;
- detergents;
- soaps;
- creme;
- cobalt;
- mercurio;
- fleas;
- antibiotics;
- cortisone.
Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that every part of the body can be affected by tiredness, stress and fatigue and, also in this case, signs can appear on the skin for dermatitis da stress.
The advice is to immediately contact a dermatologist specialist who will establish the appropriate diagnosis and therapy to the specific case. Your doctor might prescribe even more tests such as, for example, those for food intolerances.
Allergic dermatitis: treatment and natural remedies
What are the remedies for allergic dermatitis? Treatment will depend on the underlying cause.
Of vital importance, however, is prevention which should consist inavoid, as far as possible, contact with the allergen.
Your doctor may also prescribe some antihistamine drugs to be ingested or corticosteroids to be taken or applied topically.
Also the use of some specific, cortisone-free moisturizers, such as a liporestoring anti-irritation creamcan give relief, reducing itching and inflammation.
When it comes to food allergic dermatitis, the solution lies in avoiding the consumption of the offending food: the doctor, however, will be able to tell you if it is a temporary or permanent solution.
In the most serious cases – that is, in which the symptoms mentioned above as serious appear – it is necessary to request immediate intervention: one will intervene with injections of adrenaline to avoid a cardio-circulatory collapse.
For a positive prognosisare very important there timeliness of interventionthe severity of the condition and the underlying cause, as well as the patient’s age and state of health.
Unfortunately, allergic dermatitis, once developed, tends to persist for life.