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Although people of all ages are affected by eczema, genes seem to have the final word in the spreading of the disease. Where does eczema appear? Well, it can be seen almost everywhere on the skin.
You can recognize eczema by the following symptoms: dryness of skin, repeated rashes, redness of the skin, skin swelling/edema, itching, crusting, blistering, flaking, oozing, cracking and even bleeding. Besides these, occasionally, temporary skin discoloration might appear due to lesions that have already healed. However, scarring, very seldom accompanies eczema.
The hand eczema is a very common condition. It affects 10% of women and 4% of men, according to Ronald Vender, MD, FRCCP. Apparently, hand eczema is reported in relation to some special kind of physical work being usually encountered with people with small children and with mechanics, hairdressers, surgeons, dental workers, homemakers and others. What is the common trigger in all these situations? The answer is that they work in wet environments; therefore, humidity is a favoring factor for this skin condition.
Approximately 75% of people who experience eczema have the type known as contact dermatitis. This can be irritant or allergic although the difference is hard to tell sometimes. Hand eczema differs in severity from individual to individual but it usually becomes apparent by skin redness and dryness.
Initially it manifests between fingers and on them with the possibility for the skin to become scaly and itchy. Like the other types of eczema, in time, hand eczema may also develop cracking, swelling and blisters on the skin of the hand. If it is not treated properly and in due time, it will probably spread to arms and feet.
The most common cause of hand eczema is therepeated wetting and drying of hands. Three situations favor the development of the problem: if you had previous episodes of atopic eczema, if you suffer from asthma or hay fever, and in case you have psoriasis. Hand eczema can be eliminated if you pay attention to the following elements. Besides the practical advice that any health care provider will give you in such situations there are also some pharmaceutical products from which your doctor will surely select the best. It is good for you to try to avoid washing dishes by hand, but if this is not possible, use loose rubber gloves with a pair of cotton gloves inside to avoid both contact with water and detergents and sweating of the hands caused by the rubber or vinyl gloves worn directly on the hands.
Co-published by: Hand Moisturizing, Pankrella Christina.