Eczema is an inflammatory condition of the skin. The most common type is atopic eczema, but there are several other rarer types. The latter are often referred to as dermatitis rather than eczema, but reczema and dermatitis describe the same condition.
"By far the most common type of eczema is childhood eczema, which tends to start in the first few years of life," explains Professor Hywel Williams, director of the University of Nottingham's Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology. "Around 50 per cent of people grow out of it by their teenage years, but it can persist in others. Other types of eczema include seborrhoeic eczema (healthy young adults with slight redness on sides of nose) and contact eczema (also known as contact dermatitis).
"Contact dermatitis can be due to either exposure to irritants like detergents and water or due to allergies, for example nickel dermatitis, which can be a reaction to costume jewellery, a jean buckle or a perfume."
Read the article "Dealing with Eczema" on MSN Wellbeing.
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