Normally our skin has the ability to maintain moisture, however, when Atrophic Dermatitis occurs the skin’s behavior is disrupted and results in very dry, inflamed skin
Atrophic dermatitis is actually a common form of eczema. It is rather severe and is usually chronic in nature. Atrophic dermatitis usually occurs in skin folds and creases, like the insides of elbows, the backs of knees and hands and many different parts of the face and head. Due to constant scratching and contact with clothes, the sores often weep or may crust and become painful skin lesions.
Atrophic Dermatitis is more common during early childhood up to early adulthood but there are cases of older adults having this skin condition. Adults that do retain Atrophic dermatitis do not usually manifest the inflamed skin and flakes but only suffer extremely dry, sensitive skin which can be easily irritated.
What Triggers Atrophic Dermatitis
There are three trigger classifications of atrophic dermatitis that are very common. These are:
1. Allergens: Allergens are either ingested in the form of food, beverages or medications. Other types of allergens in the environment are animal dander and pollen. Medication that may cause an allergic reaction in an individual include but are not limited to antibiotics, anesthetics, sleeping pills, aspirin, laxatives, anti-depressants and many more
2. Irritants and : Irritants of atrophic dermatitis are smoke, fumes, solvents, chemicals, soaps and detergents, alcohol based products and many others. Dust can also make the rash worse and so can stress and climate changes.
3. Infections: Infections of bacterial, fungal or viral, can cause flare ups although not as common as the other triggers
Treating Atrophic Dermatitis
Owing to the nature of this condition the only way to treat atrophic dermatitis is to prevent scratching since this can lead to further skin complications and result in infections and, veryh rarely, life threatening conditions. The idea is to keep the individual’s skin moist. This can be efficiently done by applying prescribed ointments and lotions several times a day even if there are no flare ups. Naturally, vigilance is needed in monitoring the environment of the person who suffers from atrophic dermatitis.
As contact with clothing and bed linen can also cause irritation to the patient Allclothes and beddings need to be washed with special detergents that are hypo allergenic to prevent flare ups. The same applies for the soaps and shampoos that the patient uses it is important that they contain little or no allergens to avoid allergic reactions. Bath water must not be too hot as this can dry skin and provoke flare ups.
What else can be done? It is highly recommended that the patient embark on a dietary change, avoiding all processed, fatty foods and concentrate on eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables as this will provide the body with all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and elements for good health, ridding the body of any toxic build up.
Unfortunately, we can only hope to control and manage atrophic dermatitis. Scientists continue to work on a cure or means of prevention but no conclusive results have been made yet..
