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Atrophic dermatitis (AD) is the most common, severe and chronic form of eczema. It results in skin inflammation and interferes with the skin's ability to retain adequate moisture. Actually, atrophic is the term originally used to describe the allergic conditions asthma and hay fever. AD was included in the atrophic category because it often affects people who either suffers from asthma and/or hay fever.
AD is characterized by inflamed, dry, extremely itchy skin and typically affects the insides of elbows, the backs of knees and hands, and the face, eyelids, and neck. The condition alternately improves and worsens. During flare-ups, open weeping and crusted sores may result from constant scratching or infection.
AD affects more than 15 million adults and children in the United States. It can occur at any age but is most prevalent in infants to young adults. Approximately 10 percent of all infants have AD. By early childhood, approximately 40 percent of them will lose most of the features of the disease. For the other 60 percent, some features of the disease will extend into adulthood and old age.
There are typically three stages in atrophic dermatitis each with distinctive features. The first is the infant stage appearing between birth and the age of two, the second is the childhood stage appearing between the ages of two and 12, and the third adult stage appears from the age of 12 and up.
About sixty percent of AD develops in the first year of life. The rash usually starts on the face and places that are easy to scratch and rub, like the elbows and knees. Eighty-five percent of the time it develops before the age of five. In older children, atrophic dermatitis commonly appears in the eyelids, neck, behind the ears, at the elbows, and behind the knees. Often the tendency to have atrophic dermatitis fades during childhood but it can cause a life-long tendency to have dry skin that is easily irritated. The face and hands are more likely to be affected in adults.
Seventy-five percent of those who have eczema also have other allergic disorders. Approximately 30 percent have asthma and up to 60 percent experience hay fever. This is often referred to as the atrophic triad.
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Posted by adamsmith on 2008-08-06 02:16:52 | Rating: | Views: 12
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