We offer atopic dermatitis treatment at Vujevich Dermatology Associates for patients of all ages.
What is Atopic Dermatitis?
Atopic dermatitis is a common skin condition that makes your skin red and itchy. While atopic dermatitis cannot be cured, there are atopic dermatitis treatment options available to manage this disease.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is common in children but is a chronic condition that has flare ups throughout your life. AD is a genetic variation that affects your skin’s ability to protect you from allergens, irritants, and bacteria, so this causes your skin to easily become affected by them. You are more likely to be diagnosed with AD if there is a family history of atopic dermatitis, hay fever, asthma, or allergies. However, AD is not contagious.
While there are many different types of eczema, what’s the difference in eczema and atopic dermatitis? Atopic dermatitis is the most common form of eczema. Eczema is a name used to refer to atopic dermatitis, nummular eczema, dyshidrotic eczema, and contact dermatitis.
What are the Symptoms of Atopic Dermatitis?
Atopic dermatitis symptoms can vary from one person to another, and symptoms are often different depending on your stage of life.
In infants, AD is a rash that is dry and scaly and most often occurs on the baby’s cheeks. This rash can bubble up and leak fluid. In children, AD often occurs in the crease of the elbows or on their feet. The rash is itchy and scaly and can become bumpy or change colors, becoming lighter or darker based on your skin tone.
While AD most often occurs in infants and children, 2% to 3% of adults still have AD flare ups. Atopic dermatitis in adults rarely results in a rash and more often creates dry skin, hand or eye eczema, and skin that is easily irritated. If someone has dealt with AD for years, they may have skin that has become leathery and thick. Thickened skin is due to excessive scratching and is often itchy, creating a continual cycle of thickening skin.
Since AD affects people of all ages, there are symptoms to watch out for that can occur at any life stage. These symptoms include:
- Raw skin that bleeds or oozes
- Deep lines in your palms
- Skin infections
- Depression, anxiety, isolation
Depression, anxiety, and isolation may not be symptoms that one often correlates with AD. Many people who experience AD must deal with the social aspects of the disease as well. Many children and adults feel socially excluded due to other people’s misunderstanding of the disease. This can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. Sleep deprivation is also common in people with atopic dermatitis, and lack of sleep drastically affects every aspect of a person’s life.
What Triggers Atopic Dermatitis?
Atopic dermatitis flare-ups are often caused by physical irritants, exposure to allergens, and stress. Common household items that may trigger your AD are wool, synthetic fibers, soaps, detergents, and cleaning supplies. Dust and cigarette smoke can also cause flare-ups.
Allergies also often cause AD flare-ups. The most common environmental allergies that cause flare-ups include mold, pollen, animal-dander, and dust mites. These types of allergens are often found in your home, libraries, and vintage shops. Food allergies, although they do not cause atopic dermatitis, can cause flare-ups. These typically include milk, wheat, soy, seafood, eggs, and peanuts.
Heat, humidity, and temperature can also trigger an AD flare-up. Hot water leaves your skin lacking moisture, which is a trigger for a flare-up. Overheating when physically active or outside can also cause an occurrence of AD. Sunburns almost always result in an AD flare-up.
Stress is one of the most common AD triggers. Emotions that cause your skin to blush trigger the itch-scratch cycle. Excessive itching then leads to a flare-up.
What is the Best Treatment for Atopic Dermatitis?
The first step in your atopic dermatitis treatment is to verify your AD diagnosis. To determine an AD diagnosis, your dermatologist will discuss your family’s medical history and will examine your skin. Your dermatologist may take a skin biopsy to verify the diagnosis.
There are both at-home and professional options for atopic dermatitis treatment. It is important to know that eczema treatment can only control the disease, not cure it. A treatment plan can help reduce the number of flare-ups, ease symptoms, lower your risk of infection, and keep skin moisturized. Your treatment plan may change throughout your lifetimes based on triggers and how well different products work for you. Understanding your triggers is an essential part of atopic dermatitis treatment.
A large portion of your atopic dermatitis treatment plan will be at-home remedies. This will often include moisturizing your skin twice a day using a combination of products that work for you, applying an anti-itch cream to the area or taking anti-itch medication, or applying bandages to the affected area to protect it while it’s healing. Other options will include taking warm baths and showers rather than hot ones, using a humidifier, and choosing facial and skin products that are gentle or mild.
Managing your stress and anxiety is also a large part of an atopic dermatitis treatment plan. While strenuous exercise may cause flare-ups, gentle exercise such as walking, yoga, and meditation can help aid in stress management to manage AD.
If at-home remedies are not sufficient in treating your AD, a dermatologist will prescribe medications to aid in managing the disease. Prescription topicals that control itching, reduce redness, and help repair the skin are often prescribed. These topical medications are only available through a physician and include corticosteroids, PDE4 inhibitors, skin barrier creams, and topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs).
Your dermatologist may prescribe other medications such as antibiotics, prednisone, or immunosuppressants to aid in managing severe atopic dermatitis. Antibiotics and prednisone cannot be taken for a long period of time but are helpful in managing severe flare-ups. Immunosuppressants help slow the symptoms of AD.
Phototherapy, or light therapy, is also used for severe atopic dermatitis treatment. A narrowband UVB light is used to reduce inflammation and itching and increase bacteria-fighting systems in the skin, as well as increase vitamin D production. This type of atopic dermatitis treatment is not often used in infants or children.
Consult a Dermatologist
The best atopic dermatitis treatment plan is a combination of the above types of treatments. Working with your dermatologist to figure out which treatment options are best for you will give you the best results in managing your atopic dermatitis.
Have questions or need to schedule an appointment for you or your child’s atopic dermatitis? Contact us at Vujevich Dermatology Associates today.