Eczema and Allergies
Understanding the Relationship

Eczema and allergies are some of the most common topics of conversation amongst mothers of young children. When my son started to show symptoms of eczema I quickly tried to understand if the rashes on his skin were because of an allergic reaction to a particular material, chemical, soap or food.

In understanding the relationship between eczema and allergies I found very important to learn what allergies are.

Allergies are undesirable reactions the immune system produces against an allergen. These reactions can be damaging, discomfort-producing and sometimes can cause death.

How does an allergy happen? When a person is exposed to an allergen the mast cells, which are a kind of white cells, suffer excessive activation from an antibody called IgE, which causes an inflammatory response.

Common allergies include hives, eczema, hay fever, food allergies, asthma attacks, and reactions derived from the venom stinging insects inject on the victim, like in the case of wasps and bees.

The relationship between eczema and allergies is simply that eczema is an allergy. Here is another interesting fact I learnt, eczema in most cases happens simultaneously with other illnesses or problems that you should know about.

Other Problems That Appear in a Child With Frequent Eczema Flare Ups

Asthma and hay fever occur with more frequency amongst children who suffer from atopic eczema. Children with eczema are more prone to develop other allergies than kids without atopic eczema.

Children with atopic eczema are shorter in height than children their same age who don't suffer from dermatitis. The interesting fact is that when the child is properly treated for eczema he catches up in height over time with kids his same age.

People with atopic eczema are prone to allergic rhinitis, which produces similar symptoms to those of a simple cold. What causes rhinitis is dust, animal dander, and mildew.

If you have a child with eczema check his neck, armpits and groin lymph nodes. Why? Because children with eczema are prone to swelling of the lymph nodes in these three areas. This is because people with eczema have to work harder to drain lymph node liquid from the areas affected by eczema.

Stomachaches are also very common amongst children with eczema. In some cases these children also have a swollen abdomen. Doctors don't quite know the reason for the stomachaches but some say is due to "intestinal eczema" which they think may be related to food allergies.

In some cases patients with eczema have a swollen urethra creating irritation and burning while urinating, that is why many may confuse it it cystitis.

Anaphylaxis occurs in some children with eczema due to an insect bite, a food allergy like after ingesting shrimp or milk for example or after a shot. Under this condition the immune system reacts violently against these substances causing dizziness, headaches, chest oppression, difficulty to breathe and swollen eyelids and mouth.

When our son got stung by a bee the first thing we did was apply tea tree oil. It helped a lot to soothe and maintain the skin clean as it acts as an antiseptic. To know more about the benefits of tea tree oil for eczema sufferers read my article on Tea Tree Oil and Eczema.

Now that you understand the relationship between eczema and allergies, don't forget to be in the lookout for other illnesses that occur at the same time in many children with eczema.

I realized how important this knowledge was when my son had frequent stomachaches and we didn't know why. Well, after discovering the relationship between eczema and stomachaches we finally understood the connection, and anytime his eczema tries to flare up we notice the stomachaches start before the eczema flare up happens.