Is there a link between asthma and eczema? Eczema is a horrible condition which is very common, and is characterized by red itchy skin that becomes sore and crusty when scratched. There is a lot of information available about eczema, and many treatment options available. However, one possibility often overlooked is the possible relationship between eczema and asthma.
Eczema is thought to be an allergic condition which a person genetically inherits. The skin reacts to external stimuli by causing an overproduction of a particular protein which alters the skin’s protective barriers. If this protective barrier is damaged, chemicals and allergens which stimulate the immune system will then be able to get into the skin and then an inflammatory reaction occurs. The skin of an eczema sufferer is more porous, meaning more impurities are able to get through the skin than a normal person’s skin.
There has been shown to be a link between eczema and other allergic health conditions, including hay fever and asthma. Many families that suffer from eczema also suffer from these other allergic health conditions. So eczema can be seen as a dysfunction in how the body reacts to its environment, causing it to overreact to a lot of them as if they were a problem.
One possible cause of these allergic health problems is a weakened immune system. So a person inherits this tendency towards a weakened immune system, and then depending on the environmental factors they are exposed to, they may go on to develop allergic conditions such as eczema, asthma and hay fever.
However the good thing is there is a lot of great information around these days about eczema and other health problems.