Tag: atopic dermatitis

Tips for Treating Atopic Dermatitis in Dogs | Animal Wellness Magazine

[ad_1]

Atopic dermatitis in dogs is a common skin condition that can cause significant discomfort. This chronic allergic reaction often results in itchy, red, and inflamed skin, leaving dogs constantly scratching or licking affected areas. The condition can be triggered by environmental allergens, making it challenging to control. By using the right treatment, you can help manage these symptoms and provide relief. Using gentle, effective products designed for sensitive skin is the key to keeping your dog comfortable and healthy.

Understanding Atopic Dermatitis in Dogs

Atopic dermatitis in dogs is most often triggered by environmental allergies to things like:

However, certain foods, like various proteins, can also trigger it.

The exposure to an allergen causes an overreaction of the dog’s immune system, leading to inflamed and irritated skin, which is extremely uncomfortable. Dogs may also chew or lick their paws excessively when reacting to allergens in their system. If you don’t follow proper treatment, your dog may scratch and lick excessively, which can lead to open sores. Treatment not only relieves discomfort but also reduces the risk of complications and long-term skin damage.

Treatment and Management of Atopic Dermatitis

On top of dealing with the cause of the flare-up, you must also treat and care for the dermatitis itself. The first step is a trip to the vet, who will properly assist in the best treatment methods or aid in identifying the allergen or irritant. The approach usually involves a combination of various treatment and management methods to minimize symptoms and prevent flare-ups. Bathing with hypoallergenic shampoos regularly helps remove the allergen from the skin. Look for soothing ingredients like oatmeal. Aloe vera can also help naturally soothe itching and redness. At the same time, antihistamines can relieve itching.

One effective option for relief is the HICC Pet® 2X Power Pet Wound & Antimicrobial Spray, which contains hypochlorous acid. The 2x Power Pet Wound & Antimicrobial Spray has double the concentration and potency of the HICC Pet® Skin Care Spray for more effective healing, anti-biofilm activity, and instant relief. This gentle, non-toxic solution helps reduce allergic reactions, soothes inflammation, and prevents infections from scratching. Integrating regular skin cleaning into your dog’s routine, especially after exposure to potential allergens, is essential to keep their skin healthy and avoiding future flare-ups.

Conclusion

Prompt treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs is essential to prevent discomfort and secondary infections. Gentle yet effective products, like HICC Pet® sprays and rinses with hypochlorous acid, can soothe irritated skin, reduce inflammation, and protect against infections. Regular cleaning and proper care are key to managing symptoms, but it’s also important to minimize the use of harsh chemicals. For long-term success, schedule regular check-ups with your vet to ensure the best ongoing treatment for your dog’s skin health.

Cierra Voelkl is a seasoned pet professional with a decade of experience working with dogs and cats. Her expertise in the field is backed by seven years of writing about these beloved animals. Currently, she is utilizing her vast knowledge and skills in her role as the lead copywriter at HICC Pet®.

[ad_2]

Cierra Voelkl

Source link

October 1, 2024
Love the Skin You’re In: Relating to Your Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

Love the Skin You’re In: Relating to Your Atopic Dermatitis

091e9c5e820faac4091e9c5e820faac4FED-Footermodule_FED-Footer_091e9c5e820faac4.xmlwbmd_pb_templatemodule0144002/02/2021 01:57:340HTML

[ad_2]

Source link

January 2, 2024
Challenges of Severe Atopic Dermatitis – and How to Move Forward

[ad_1]

Challenges of Severe Atopic Dermatitis – and How to Move Forward

091e9c5e820faac4091e9c5e820faac4FED-Footermodule_FED-Footer_091e9c5e820faac4.xmlwbmd_pb_templatemodule0144002/02/2021 01:57:340HTML

[ad_2]

Source link

January 2, 2024
An Expert’s Perspective: Challenges for Those With Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

By Shilpi Khetarpal, MD, as told to Sarah Ludwig Rausch

The path to getting a diagnosis of atopic dermatitis (AD) can be long. Many times, people have tried over-the-counter treatments, home remedies, or products that are marketed for eczema that may or may not help.

It can sometimes be a long journey, with trying a lot of things that don’t necessarily improve or relieve symptoms because the condition isn’t being treated properly. For example, I’ve heard people say they’ve read about the benefits of using something like apple cider vinegar on their skin. Even though it’s natural, apple cider vinegar can actually make the skin worse and make it more uncomfortable by causing irritation called irritant dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis is a subset of eczema. We see it many times in people who have a personal or family history of eczema, seasonal allergies, or hay fever. Eczema is a broader term, but for the most part, the two terms are often used to mean the same thing.

Challenges and Changes

When you’re newly diagnosed with AD, there may be several challenges.

The first — and we see this all the time with our patients — is that you have to change everything you do in terms of caring for your skin. You may enjoy products that have fragrance, but you will have to switch them all to ones that are fragrance-free. This can be a real change for people, and often for everyone in the household too, since they’re going to have to change the soaps and moisturizers the family uses.

Another frustrating thing about AD is that sometimes, it’s really itchy and uncomfortable, but your skin looks normal. In dermatology, we sometimes call eczema “the itch that scratches.” It looks normal, but then it starts itching, so you scratch it, and then you get the rash or the typical appearance of eczema. Kids, especially, sometimes feel that their parents don’t believe them because the skin can look normal. Yet they get these sensations of itching and discomfort that may not show up as classic eczema for days to weeks after they get that sensation.

Continued

You’ll have changes to make after your diagnosis, too. Depending on how severe the eczema is, we give most of our patients prescriptions — medications to either put on your skin or take by mouth — to help calm down the inflammation.

But a big part of treatment involves changing your entire skin care routine. For example: Using specific moisturizers multiple times a day with ingredients like ceramide and hyaluronic acid. These ingredients trap water in the skin and repair that barrier.

You’ll need to use fragrance-free, gentle soaps and change your laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and fabric sheets to free and clear products. Everything that touches your skin will need to be changed to a simple, allergen-free product. For people with severe eczema, we recommend sticking with simple 100% cotton clothing because some of the polyester blends can actually irritate the skin.

You definitely have to be dedicated to stick with your treatment. You need to use your moisturizer after you shower and then use your prescription medications on the areas of eczema. All the changes can be a big challenge for some people or, at the very least, quite different from what you’re used to doing.

Misconceptions

There are a couple of mistaken beliefs when it comes to atopic dermatitis. The first is that it’s contagious. Kids at school might tease kids with eczema or say, “They have that rash; it’s contagious.” A married couple will say, “He has eczema. I don’t want to get it from him, so we sleep in separate beds.” We know that’s not the case. It’s just a defect in the skin barrier that makes it less able to trap water.

The other misconception is that people with eczema don’t have good hygiene — they’re not clean enough, or their skin is dirty — which is also not true. It doesn’t come up often, but we definitely do hear those two.

Education and Support

I think it’s important for people with AD to have a support group. There are some online resources for that. Education about the condition itself is crucial, too. I find that visual aids can help explain what it is and how it works.

It’s really important to teach people how to care for their skin to prevent flare-ups. Once it’s flared, we give them prescriptions, but what can they do to keep their skin healthy and prevent those flare-ups from happening? They need to be educated about the clothing they wear and the products they use, things that may not be as obvious as we think.

Continued

You Have Options

Trying all these new things can be very frustrating, so seek care from your dermatologist if you’re not sure what’s going on with your skin or your routine isn’t working. There are so many other conditions that can look like eczema that may or may not actually be eczema. Plus, there are a lot of new medications that are fantastic and can greatly improve your quality of life.

And don’t discount how much good skin care can actually help. Just following simple recommendations can go a long way in preventing flare-ups in the future.

WebMD Feature

Sources

SOURCE:

Shilpi Khetarpal, MD, dermatologist, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.

© 2021 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 19, 2023
My Daily Life With Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

By Jamie Hickey, as told to Kara Mayer Robinson

I’ve had atopic dermatitis (AD) as long as I can remember. The first time a doctor gave me a diagnosis was when I was 18 years old and in the Marines.

Having AD used to affect my mood a lot. When I was younger and more insecure, I wouldn’t wear short sleeves if I was having a flare-up. I hardly ever wore shorts. At the pool, I wouldn’t take my shirt off. I’d even cancel plans with friends.

Now that I’m in my 40s, I’ve gotten past all that. I care less about what people think. Now, when I choose what to wear, it’s based on how comfortable it is. My AD doesn’t really change my mood unless I’m having an episode that I can’t get under control and the itching is nonstop.

It’s taken some trial and error, but I’ve gotten better at managing my daily life with AD.

Daily Rituals

On a typical morning, I wake up and take a cool shower. I avoid hot showers because they increase inflammation, which makes my AD worse. Then I moisturize my body, focusing mostly on my arms and legs.

I make sure to drink a gallon of water every day. I’ve found that if I’m dehydrated, I get dry skin, which can make my eczema flare up.

When I leave the house, especially in the summer, I’ll take a bottle of lotion, itch cream, hydrocortisone cream, and allergy pills with me. It’s good to have them on hand in case I need them when I’m out.

I find that my AD gets worse in the spring. Pollen has a really negative effect on me and my AD, so springtime can sometimes feel miserable.

Treatment: Trial and Error

My AD mostly shows up behind my knees and on my arms, especially my elbows. But in the past few years, it’s started to show itself in my eyebrows. Heat, stress, and spring allergies cause it to flare more than other times of the year.

Continued

I’ve tried a lot of treatments and remedies. I’ve tried medical-grade lotions, oatmeal baths, oral allergy medication, anti-itch medication, warm baths, and mild soaps. I’ve even tried some late-night infomercial remedies, which never work.

I found that what works best for me, besides changing my diet, is hydrocortisone steroid cream. It reduces the inflammation, which eases the itching and allows it to heal faster. I use the steroid creams when I get a flare-up, and then I apply it twice a day for a few days.

When I’m about to get a flare-up, it’ll start to itch, and then my skin will become red and inflamed. I’ll put the steroid cream on and wait to see how bad it gets. If it doesn’t go away after 7 days, I’ll have to see my dermatologist to get a stronger ointment.

I owe a lot to changes I made to my diet. When I was in my late 20s, a friend and I made a bet to see who could lose the most weight. I started eating healthier and stopped drinking alcohol, and I noticed that my flare-ups and everyday rashes decreased. So I made the connection and never went back to my old habits.

I no longer drink alcohol. I don’t eat processed or greasy foods. These changes have helped more than any other treatment has, especially not drinking alcohol and eating a whole-foods diet.

(If you were wondering, I did win the bet.)

I’ve also stopped using things that cause flare-ups, and I’ve found a few tricks that make it easier. I shaved my head years ago because it kept me cooler, and I figured out that certain types of shampoo and conditioner would make AD flare up on my eyebrows.

Now that I know what I’m doing, my flare-ups are less severe. I think knowing your triggers and avoiding them makes a big difference. For me, it’s heat, dehydration, greasy or processed foods, alcohol, and spring allergies.

Continued

Getting Over the Hurdles

My biggest hurdle is being disciplined when it comes to my diet. If I have one day where I let myself eat greasy or processed foods, it can take me weeks to get my skin back to normal. I’ve become much better at staying on track as I’ve gotten older.

Stress is another hurdle. It definitely plays a role in my flare-ups. I’ve had to learn how to manage my stress and anxiety to keep it under control. My doctor prescribed a mood stabilizer to control my anxiety problems. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to always do what’s best for me and my family over anything else, which makes my worries and anxiety very low.

Every day is different, but it’s been a learning experience. Now I can say I’ve figured out how to live well with AD.

WebMD Feature

Sources

SOURCE:

Jamie Hickey, Philadelphia.

© 2020 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 19, 2023
Finding the Courage to Reveal My Bare Skin

[ad_1]

By Alexis Smith, as told to Keri Wiginton

I don’t really notice my atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema) anymore, which is completely shocking to me. I used to be the polar opposite. I spent so much time and energy worrying if people were looking at my face or wondering why my arm was red. Now, unless my skin gets itchy, I forget I have eczema.

For example, I went on a date recently with a rash on my face. I didn’t even think about what my skin looked like until afterward. In the past, I would’ve thought, “No, I’m not going out on this date. I have a patch on my face. I don’t look good, and I’m not going to make a good first impression. I don’t want them to see me like this.”

I started to feel more comfortable with my bare skin about 5 years ago, when I started posting about atopic dermatitis on Instagram (@eczemalove). And when I look in the mirror now, my eczema isn’t the first thing I see. That’s a huge relief, because it’s all I saw before.

Learning to Love My Skin

Technically, I had eczema as a baby. But I don’t remember that time because, well, I was a baby. I didn’t have symptoms again until I was 11 or 12. That’s when I was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis.

It wasn’t easy going through middle and high school with a rash covering my face. I was very self-conscious for a very long time. But I got tired of feeling down about it. So, when I was 19, I started sharing more about my real skin.

I took to social media because I wanted to normalize the condition. I think people view eczema as weird because they never see it and they don’t know anything about it. I wanted to change that.

Of course, I wasn’t confident right away. It was a process. My first posts included tips on the best makeup to hide eczema. I knew I shouldn’t be ashamed of what my face looked like, and I told other people the same thing. Yet there I was, covering up. I felt like a hypocrite.

Continued

I decided to practice what I preached and show my bare skin. Ever since then — and it feels like it happened suddenly — I’ve felt free not worrying about what other people think. That’s changed how I see myself, in a good way.

My symptoms got better, too. This probably goes without saying, but I’ve found that the less I put on my face, the better my skin feels.

I still love doing my makeup. I just put it everywhere except my eczema patches. That’s partly because it’s physically uncomfortable to cover up. It can make my skin very itchy, and it stings a lot of the time. All day, I just want to scratch my foundation off. If I do, my skin ends up looking and feeling worse.

Now, I want to put only helpful products on my skin, like a good moisturizer. That means I don’t have to worry about worsening my symptoms with stuff I don’t really need.

All About Comfort

I also think my symptoms got better because I’m less concerned about my appearance — and stress tends to trigger my eczema. I still worry about other things, just not whether someone is staring at my patches.

I’m not saying you have to uncover your eczema. You may not be able to do that, at least not cold turkey. If you want to show your natural skin, you can think about doing it gradually. Start to show a little more than you normally would, but always do what you’re most comfortable with.

My main advice is this: No one really cares about your eczema. At least they probably don’t care as much as you think they do. Take dating, for example. I thought guys wouldn’t want to talk to me or have anything to do with me. But the people I’ve met are fine with it. My boyfriends have been wonderful. It’s very refreshing.

Plus, I know I don’t focus on someone else’s skin condition. So many people have them. They might have acne, rosacea, vitiligo, or psoriasis. But, personally, that’s not something I pay much attention to.

Continued

The Positives

I honestly don’t think I would have this confidence without my eczema, which sounds crazy. But it gave me a reason to focus on my skin and think about what it means to hide it.

It’s also given me a lot of really cool opportunities. The first company that ever reached out to me was Dove. I was in their DermaSeries campaign about a year after I started on Instagram. That’s a line of products for people with psoriasis, eczema, or really dry skin.

I also work with a lot of other brands now. It’s nice that companies make an effort to feature people who actually have eczema. In the past, you’d see a skin care line where they’d show someone with perfect skin. That’s not realistic for people like me.

I no longer expect my skin to be perfect. It took me a long time to get out of that mindset. When you’re diagnosed with eczema, you think each new product might be the one that’ll make it go away. But the reality is, that’s probably not going to happen.

I’ve accepted this is a lifelong condition. I don’t need to hide it. And whatever makes my skin more comfortable is great.

Connecting With Others

I’ve seen that what I post helps other people. A lot of people tell me, “I’ve never seen anyone who has eczema like me. But yours looks exactly like mine. Thank you for showing people what it really looks like. I feel less alone.”

What I really love is when people message me and say, “You know, I really didn’t want to go to the beach. Normally, I cover up. But yesterday, I decided that I didn’t want to. And I went to the beach and had a really good time, and I didn’t feel self-conscious. It was great.”

When I see other people’s confidence, that boosts my own confidence. That makes me think maybe we’re on to something here.

WebMD Feature

Sources

SOURCE:

Alexis Smith, Forest Hill, MD.

© 2021 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 19, 2023
Advancements in Treating Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

By Amy Paller, MD, as told to Stephanie Watson

Atopic dermatitis treatments have come a long way.

In the past, we had to use immune-suppressing drugs in people with moderate to severe disease. Many doctors, especially those without expertise in skin care, have used oral steroids. But we can’t keep people on these drugs long-term. Steroids cause serious side effects like weight gain and high blood sugar. They also have a rebound effect: The atopic dermatitis comes back pretty quickly, and with a vengeance.

Other immune-weakening drugs like cyclosporine, methotrexate, mycophenolate, or azathioprine have been the favorite of dermatologists. But these are also strong medications that need frequent blood tests to watch for side effects.

We needed a new treatment approach. Atopic dermatitis is a serious problem. The itch can be so severe that it keeps people up all night scratching. Severe flares can affect your ability to go to school or work and to have a social life.

It’s exciting to live in an age where we can create medications to target the pathways underlying diseases. That’s being done right now with atopic dermatitis.

Finding the Cause

From studies, we found that people with atopic dermatitis have an immune system imbalance. Their bodies make too much of certain things that inflame their skin when they’re exposed to irritants, bacteria, or allergic triggers like pollen and pet dander.

We know that the skin barrier is flawed in atopic dermatitis, which makes our skin-based immune system react more than usual when triggered on the surface. In addition, many people with atopic dermatitis do not have enough of an immune response against bacteria on their skin. All of these factors work together to trigger atopic dermatitis flares.

By understanding the driving forces behind the disease, we’ve been able to develop treatments that target the out-of-control immune system. Now, we can manage atopic dermatitis much better.

New Treatments

The FDA has approved two new treatments for atopic dermatitis in recent years. Crisaborole (Eucrisa) is the first phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor. It’s a cream that blocks the enzyme PDE4 to reduce inflammation.

Continued

Dupilumab (Dupixent) is a biologic drug. It blocks the effects of proteins called cytokines that the immune system makes: interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13). These contribute to the inflammation, reduced skin barrier, and severe itch of atopic dermatitis. Blocking them reduces the inflammation and the itch.

This drug has transformed atopic dermatitis treatment. Though it doesn’t work for everybody, in those it does help, it is life-changing. Sometimes, it starts to work in the first weeks after starting it.

The other advantage of dupilumab is its safety, especially in children. Immune-suppressing drugs like cyclosporine come with long-term risks like kidney damage and high blood pressure. That’s why we have to do regular blood tests in people who take these drugs.

With dupilumab, we don’t need to do blood tests. The only side effects are reactions where the needle goes in and possibly inflammation in the eye, which an eye doctor can treat. So now we can feel more comfortable treating patients safely.

Dupilumab has really been a game-changer. My patients tell me how it has changed their lives. Some of them hardly have to use the thick creams anymore to control the itch. They can play sports and go to parties again.

Coming Soon

Dupilumab is just the tip of the iceberg. Two more biologics should be coming out in the next year or so. Like dupilumab, they also target the effects of IL-13, and they have a similar safety profile. That means we’ll have more safe choices to prescribe for our patients.

The other group of medications for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis that’s coming out is the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. These drugs block the messages that signal the immune system to make more cytokines.

Three JAK inhibitors are in development, and they look promising. One of them, abrocitinib, worked better than dupilumab in a head-to-head study.

Unlike injected drugs like dupilumab, JAK inhibitors come as a pill that you take daily. That is a huge plus for people who don’t want to get shots.

The big question is safety. Two JAK inhibitors that are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and are in development for atopic dermatitis have a black box warning on the label about serious risks like cancer, blood clots, and infections.

None of these risks has come up in the studies on atopic dermatitis. But JAK inhibitors can cause nausea, headaches, acne, and higher odds of herpes infections, with risks depending on the drug. Also, people who take them will need blood testing to watch for problems.

Continued

New Topicals

A few new topical drugs — meaning you put them directly on your skin — are in development, including a topical version of a JAK inhibitor. We’re excited about these drugs because they’ll offer an alternative to topical steroids.

Another PDE4 inhibitor is also in the works, and it may be more potent than crisaborole.

Tapinarof is the first in a new class of topical drugs called a therapeutic aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulating agent (TAMA). It works in a different way to reduce the inflammation and itch of atopic dermatitis.

One problem for many people who use nonsteroid topical drugs that are currently on the market for atopic dermatitis (topical calcineurin inhibitors like tacrolimus and pimecrolimus; crisaborole) is burning or stinging. All of these new nonsteroid drugs seem to be less likely to cause these problems than ones we have now.

Another new treatment is a skin spray with healthy bacteria. These good germs fight off the bad bacteria that make atopic dermatitis worse and cause infection.

A few of these sprays are in development, and I think they will be very interesting to watch. They may be able to reduce inflammation and improve atopic dermatitis. Plus, I think a lot of people will like the fact that they’re natural — replenishing the “good bacteria” on the skin.

WebMD Feature

Sources

Photo Credit: yalax / Getty Images

SOURCE:

Amy Paller, MD, professor and chair of dermatology and professor of pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Paller has done research on most of the medications mentioned in this story and has consulted for the companies that make them.

© 2022 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 19, 2023
Atopic Dermatitis: The Importance of Treatment Adherence

[ad_1]

Atopic Dermatitis: The Importance of Treatment Adherence

091e9c5e820faac4091e9c5e820faac4FED-Footermodule_FED-Footer_091e9c5e820faac4.xmlwbmd_pb_templatemodule0144002/02/2021 01:57:340HTML

[ad_2]

Source link

September 14, 2023
Doctors Suddenly Got Way Better at Treating Eczema

[ad_1]

Up until a few years ago, Heather Sullivan’s 14-year-old son, Sawyer, had struggled with eczema his entire life. When he was just a baby, most of his body would be covered in intensely itchy rashes that bled and oozed when he couldn’t help but scratch. His family tried steroid creams, wet wraps, bleach baths, and all of the lotions. They tore up their carpet and replaced their sheetrock in hopes of eliminating triggers. At 15 months, he went on cyclosporine, a powerful immunosuppressant usually given to organ-transplant patients. It cleared him up, but the drug comes with potentially dangerous side effects over time. Doctors, Sullivan recalls, were “just appalled that my child would be on this amount of medicine at this age”—but his eczema came roaring back as soon as he went off it.

When a new eczema drug called Dupixent finally became available to Sawyer a few years ago, his turnaround was fast and dramatic. Within a week, his itchiness and redness started calming down. He felt and looked better. The condition that had dominated their lives began to fade into the background.

Doctors who treat severe eczema now speak of pre- and post-Dupixent eras: “It changed the landscape of having eczema forever,” says Brett King, a dermatologist at Yale. Today, a half dozen novel treatments are available for the skin condition, all of which work by quieting the same biological pathway in eczema; dozens more are in clinical trials. Unlike older drugs, these new ones are precisely targeted and in many cases startlingly effective.

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is characterized by red, itchy, and inflamed skin. It’s a very common condition, estimated to affect 10 percent of Americans. Of those, a large minority suffer from moderate to severe eczema that seeps into everyday life. “Just imagine scratching endlessly,” King says. “You wake up from sleep scratching. Your sheets are bloody in the morning.” The most basic eczema advice is to moisturize, and moisturize often, to protect the barrier of the skin. But scientists now know that eczema’s cause is not in the skin alone. Many patients also have “an over-reactive or overzealous immune system,” says Dawn Davis, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic. Their immune cells release chemicals that irritate nerves, causing itch, and even degrade the skin itself.

Topical steroids, such as over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream, can tamp down the immune reaction that flares in eczema. If these fail, doctors have resorted to more powerful oral steroids, such as prednisone, or other oral immunosuppressants, such as the aforementioned cyclosporine. The drugs can calm eczema, but because they suppress the overall immune system, they also do much more. Prednisone, for example, makes you more prone to infections as well as bone fractures, high blood pressure, and glaucoma when taken in the long term. Of course, for many people, eczema is a chronic condition that requires long-term treatment. “Prednisone is kind of like carpet bombing,” says Peter Lio, a dermatologist at Northwestern University. It blasts eczema away, but at a cost.

In contrast, the newer drugs, Lio says, are more like shotguns that target specific parts of the immune system—with less collateral damage. They fall into two broad classes. Monoclonal antibodies, such as Dupixent, intercept the immune-signaling molecules that trigger itch and skin inflammation. And then JAK inhibitors, which include pills such as Rinvoq and the topical cream Opzelura, scramble the signal after cells have received it. The development of these drugs came after years of research zeroed in on some of the key immune molecules dysregulated in eczema. But serendipity played a role too: The first such drugs were originally developed for other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis—only to be repurposed when researchers realized that they targeted the very pathways involved in eczema. The breakthroughs in eczema treatment, in fact, are part of a broader revolution in treating inflammatory disorders; both classes of new drugs are now used to tune the immune system in a whole host of different conditions.

The monoclonal antibodies and oral JAK inhibitors may have their own serious side effects, such as blood clots, which, Lio says, give some doctors unfamiliar with the new drugs—especially the latter type—pause. But the traditional drugs are not great either. “I’m frustrated that a lot of clinicians are very cavalier about prednisone and cyclosporine … They’re like, ‘Oh, they’re our old friends,’” he told me. “Then they get nervous about JAK inhibitors.” In his mind, the new drugs are simply the better option in terms of safety and efficacy.

Jonathan Silverberg, a dermatologist at George Washington University who specializes in eczema, says he now rarely uses the old oral steroids and immunosuppressants. When he does revert to them, it’s not for medical reasons: He ends up prescribing older (that is, generic and therefore cheaper) drugs for uninsured patients who can’t afford the new ones, or for patients who have insurance but are nevertheless denied coverage. “Insurance says, ‘Can it be fixed with a $10 medicine? Or does it really need the $1,000 tube?’” King told me. Getting patients these newer drugs can mean a lot of time fighting with insurance.

For now, these drugs have most dramatically improved the lives of patients with moderate to severe eczema—at least those patients who can access them. But doctors told me that topical JAK inhibitors, which are safer than the oral version, could one day be first-line treatments for mild eczema as well. “In a perfect world, I would love it if I never had to prescribe a topical steroid again,” Silverberg said, citing the side effects that come with long-term use. Topical steroids can thin the skin, causing stretch marks, fragility, and poor healing. But at the moment, steroids are also cheap and easily available. They’re not going anywhere as long as the new treatments still come with hefty price tags.

[ad_2]

Sarah Zhang

Source link

August 4, 2023
How Do You Know Your AD Needs Advanced Treatment?
[ad_1]

The redness, discoloration, dryness, and itch of atopic dermatitis (AD) could send you to your dermatologist in search of solutions. Your doctor will start by taking stock of your symptoms.

“The first thing is assessing disease severity,” says Lindsay Strowd, MD, an associate professor of dermatology and vice chair of the Department of Dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Health.

Doctors figure out how severe your AD is by the amount of your body surface that’s affected. The more areas of inflamed skin you have, the more severe your condition. They also look at the area of your body where AD is located. Plus, severe AD also tends to be deeper red in color, Strowd says. But for some with darker skin, the skin may look discolored rather than red. It may even end up lighter in color after the acute inflammation goes away. Your skin may be thicker than normal and break open when you scratch it a lot.

Another sign that you need more intense treatment is that topical medicines haven’t controlled the redness, discoloration, and itch. AD itch can be intense enough to interfere with your sleep and work. Your doctor will ask how much you’re itching and how AD affects your daily life. “Those components will guide our treatment choices,” Strowd says.

Creams and Phototherapy

A topical treatment might be enough to treat a mild case of AD. Coal tar has been used for more than 100 years to treat AD and other skin conditions. Steroid creams help control the itch and give your skin a chance to heal. Calcineurin inhibitors like pimecrolimus (Elidel) and tacrolimus (Protopic) reduce the immune response to bring down inflammation in your skin.

A newer type of topical treatment is crisaborole (Eucrisa). This ointment helps ease inflammation, itching, and rashes in people age 2 and older.

A group of new medications called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors have been approved for AD. They block a pathway that leads to the release of inflammatory chemicals in the body. Ruxolitinib (Opzelura) is available as a cream.

Phototherapy, also called light therapy, is an option if you have AD on large areas of your body. Your dermatologist might also recommend this treatment for patches in places like your hands and feet that don’t improve with topical treatments. Phototherapy uses ultraviolet (UV) light to help clear your skin.

If you have severe AD or your skin doesn’t improve on these treatments, it could be time to think about more body-wide or advanced therapies.
Body-Wide Treatments

Systemic drugs work throughout your body to treat larger areas of AD. Dermatologists use a few medicines off-label, which means they’re approved to treat other conditions but they also work on AD.

One body-wide treatment is cyclosporine, which suppresses your overactive immune system response. “That’s a very potent drug that cuts down on inflammation in the skin,” says Jon Hanifin, MD, a professor emeritus of dermatology at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine.

Other drugs that work in a similar way include:

Azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran)

Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall)

Mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept)

One downside to these treatments is they can cause serious side effects, including:

Kidney or liver damage

High blood pressure

Shaking (tremor)

Muscle pain

Electrolyte imbalances
Newer Ways to Treat Moderate to Severe AD

In 2017, the FDA approved the first biologic drug for AD, called dupilumab (Dupixent). It treats moderate to severe AD in adults and children ages 6 and older.

Dupixent comes as a shot you get under the skin once every 2 weeks. It works by blocking two proteins that cause inflammation in AD: interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13).
“If you think of the skin as being on fire, a medication like methotrexate or prednisone [a steroid] act like a fire blanket. It smothers out the fire,” Strowd says. “Whereas a medicine like Dupixent is like taking a fire extinguisher and shooting the source of the fire. It’s a much more specific target.”

In studies, Dupixent cleared the skin, relieved itching, and improved quality of life in people with AD. More than half of those who took it for 16 weeks said they had 75% fewer symptoms. Those improvements last long-term.

Strowd calls Dupixent “a real game-changer.” “It has been very successful at causing rapid improvement, both in the skin disease and in the itch,” she says. (Strowd took part in clinical trials for Dupixent.)

Dupixent is also safe. The most common side effects are mild, including:

Skin reactions where you got the shot

Cold sores on the mouth or lips

Eye and eyelid redness, swelling, and itching

Pinkeye

One downside to Dupixent is its cost, which is more than $3,200 per shot. How much you actually pay depends on the type of health insurance you have. Your insurance company may want you to try less expensive drugs first before it will cover the cost of Dupixent, Hanifin says.
Another biologic, tralokinumab-ldrm (Adbry), was approved by the FDA in December 2021 for adults age 17 and older. It’s also an interleukin inhibitor that blocks IL-13. You take it as a shot every other week. The side effects are similar to those for Dupixent. The cost is similar, too, so you’ll need to check your insurance coverage to see if it’s covered for you.

Some JAK inhibitors can be taken as pills, which could be a plus if you don’t like needles. They include the medications abrocitinib (Cibinqo) and upadacitinib (Rinvoq).

Life-Changing Treatments

New treatments like Dupixent have improved the outlook for people with AD. They’ve made it possible for many people with this condition to have skin that’s clear or almost clear.

“It absolutely changes people’s lives when they have been suffering,” Strowd says. “It’s a very rewarding part of treating this disease in our modern era.”

[ad_2]

Source link
November 15, 2022
Finding Success With Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

By Karen Chen, as told to Stephanie Watson

I’ve had atopic dermatitis for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I remember getting a lot of rashes in the areas where my joints are — the insides of my elbows and knees. I was itchy all the time.

My pediatrician and the other doctors I visited at the time said it was normal for children to have eczema. They told me I’d eventually grow out of it.

Constant Itching

I was so itchy that I had trouble falling asleep. I wore long-sleeved shirts to bed so that I wouldn’t scratch at my skin during the night.

My whole life revolved around catering to my eczema. I’d check the weather every day. If it was very dry or windy, I wouldn’t go outside. Just my hair hitting my face in the wind would irritate my skin.

I used to wear mainly dark clothes. My skin would bleed because I always had open wounds from scratching, and I was afraid of staining my white clothes.

I was so self-conscious that I went to great lengths to hide my skin. I wore long sleeves, even in the summer. Sometimes I wouldn’t leave my house when my eczema looked particularly bad.

Missing Out

I felt excluded from normal childhood activities. Many of them would exacerbate my skin. For example, I couldn’t swim because it would dry out my skin and make my eczema flare up. And if I got too sweaty while exercising, I would break out in itchy hives. When my friends wanted to go out for something to eat after school, I felt too terrible to join them.

I didn’t grow out of my eczema as my doctors had predicted. Instead, it started to get worse in high school. I was so itchy that I couldn’t focus in class and I couldn’t sleep at night. I started falling further and further behind. Because I didn’t want to tell my teachers that eczema was to blame, I came across as a student who didn’t try very hard.

I wish people understood how chronic illnesses affect people. Whenever I had to miss class in high school, I would tell my teachers and friends that I was out because I was sick. For most other people, being sick happens for a finite period of time — as long as it takes to get over a cold or other infection. There was an expectation that I would fully recover within a week and be back at school. But because my condition was/is chronic, whenever I would become “sick” with a bad flare-up, I’d remain bedridden without any timeline for recovery. It could be days, but more likely weeks and months, before I stopped flaring up and could go outside again. And when I did return, I felt only slightly less terrible and was still barely able to function.

Few people realize that eczema is a disability. Those around me were constantly minimizing my experience, and the effect the disease was having on my day-to-day life. If I hid my condition people didn’t take me seriously, and if I was honest about it, they didn’t want to be near me. It was a lose-lose situation.

Eczema affected me so much that it took me an extra year to graduate from high school. It felt like the world was moving on without me.

Trying Everything

I have tried just about every medication, and a few alternative therapies, to manage my atopic dermatitis. I went to pediatricians, dermatologists, and allergists for advice. I rubbed on topical steroid creams of various potencies, and got steroid injections. I tried phototherapy, which is essentially a tanning booth that blasts UV rays at you. I used antihistamines and various lotions to try to tame the itch. Nothing helped.

I went on strong pills that suppressed my immune system. I remember the warnings on the bottles, which said these medicines were for people who had just gotten an organ transplant. That was pretty scary. I just wanted my skin to stop breaking out.

I also tried a lot of fad skin care trends over the years, like drinking 10 cups of water a day or rubbing coconut oil on my skin. None of them worked. Neither did the herbal remedies my family recommended.

My doctor tested me for allergies, pricking my skin to see if it broke out in hives. During one test, my doctor put patches of common allergens on my back. The tape irritated my skin so much that it itched for the entire 3 days that it took to do the test.

I took part in a clinical trial of a biologic drug used to treat psoriasis. I stayed in that study for a whole year, but the drug didn’t help me.

By the time I was 16, my doctors stopped telling me that my eczema would improve with age. At that point they realized it wasn’t going away.

Gradual Clearing

I was always looking for new treatments. One day, I saw a story about dupilumab (Dupixent) in the news, and it looked very promising. I reached out to my doctor, Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, at Mount Sinai in New York. I had moved to California by then, because I was hoping the warm climate might help clear my skin. I told Dr. Guttman-Yassky that I really wanted to get on this new drug, and she helped to expedite the process with my insurance company.

It’s a very expensive drug, so a lot of insurance companies want you to “prove” that you need it. They ask for an exhaustive list of everything you’ve tried, along with proof that nothing on the market has worked for you. I had to go through an extensive rejection and appeal process before I finally qualified for a patient assistance program.

Once I got on the medicine, it took a while for it to take effect. It was very gradual. But at some point, I realized that if I had a scab, it would go away in 3 months instead of the 3 or 4 years it used to take to clear up. And when I would apply steroid creams, for the first time they actually worked.

It took 6 months to a year for me to experience the full effects of the drug, but today I see a huge difference. When I was growing up, eczema was all over my body. Now I have only a few patches here and there. It’s very manageable. Most of the time I don’t even notice it’s there.

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for atopic dermatitis. I still get flare-ups, and I have to be careful about being outside for too long because the wind can dry out my skin. But compared to what I had before, it’s really manageable.

I feel better than I’ve felt in my entire life. The year before I started dupilumab, I was failing high school. Now I’m studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. It’s been night and day for me.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 27, 2022
My Life With Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis

[ad_1]

By Ashley Ann Lora, as told to Stephanie Watson

I was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis when I was 2 years old. I don’t remember much of it at that age, but my parents sure do. The redness and bumps on my face are obvious in almost every photo of me from back then. It’s very clear from those pictures just how much the condition truly affected me.

I remember sleeping with my parents to try to keep myself from scratching my skin all night. I missed a lot of days of school, especially when it got severe.

There were so many things I felt like I couldn’t do because of eczema. It stopped me from playing sports, hanging out with my friends, and doing what “normal” kids do. I shed a lot of tears during that time.

Finally, there was a moment when the eczema went dormant. It was the best 2 years of my life up to that point. For the first time, I was able to grow out my nails and wear short-sleeved shirts. I truly believed that my eczema was gone. But then, on a family trip to an amusement park, I got super sick and the eczema came back with a vengeance. My dream of being eczema-free was gone in a matter of hours.

Tests and Treatments

Because eczema and allergies are closely related, I went through allergy testing. My doctor made all these little pricks on my back and applied different substances to see if I was allergic to them. There must have been 50 or 60 different marks on my back. I was allergic to almost every one of them, including trees, grass, and even certain types of rubber.

I went to a lot of doctor appointments from elementary school all the way up to high school. But from high school to college, I had given up on doctors because every visit was the same. I’d go into the exam room, the doctor would look at my skin, and within 5 minutes I’d walk out with a prescription for topical steroids.

The steroids would help temporarily, especially when my atopic dermatitis got really bad. But it felt like a Band-Aid, because eventually it would come back even worse. Then I’d have to go through the whole process again.

I had a love-hate relationship with mirrors growing up. I didn’t feel good about myself for a very long time. It was hard. Eczema affected me physically, socially, and psychologically. It felt very lonely because I thought I was the only one in the world living with this condition.

My Healing Journey

November 2014 was the beginning of my healing journey. I was in the middle of one of the worst flares of my adult life. I tried going through the same routine of using topical steroids, but this time it didn’t work.

I said, “enough is enough” and started doing my own research on eczema. I learned about topical steroid withdrawal and started to go through that process. It was rough. I had used steroids for more than 20 years. When I went off them, I had severe withdrawal symptoms that left me bedridden for almost a year and a half.

I lost half of my hair and part of my vision. My skin looked like a combination of snake and elephant skin. I shed so much that I constantly had to vacuum my bed and every corner of my house. It was like my body was going through a process of transforming itself.

In the middle of withdrawing from steroids, I got into a clinical trial of the biologic drug dupilumab (Dupixent). That was a game-changer. With that drug, I was finally able to start enjoying life. My skin was the clearest it had ever been. I felt normal!

In 2017, my skin was doing so well that I started to withdraw from dupilumab. I wanted to see how my skin would do without it. I wouldn’t recommend that approach for everybody, but I had confidence that my body could heal itself.

I’m currently not taking any medication. I’ve been focusing on more holistic practices like meditation, therapy, exercising, and eating foods that make me feel good. I’ve learned what works for me by seeing what has worked for other people.

Regaining Control

The biggest lesson I’ve learned during my journey is that my eczema is correlated with my emotions. A lot of people say stress triggers their eczema. For me, anger, sadness, and depression trigger it, too. As I’ve become more aware of my emotions, I see how they affect me and I’ve learned to control them through meditation and breathing.

Years ago, I let eczema take over my life. I would get into an itching cycle and my whole world would crash down around me. I lost a lot of who I was because of it. I don’t remember much of my childhood because the eczema was so traumatic and it consumed so much of what was good about my life.

I’ve done a full 180 since then. When I began accepting my eczema and figuring out how I could work with it, I got my life back. There was even a point when I began referring to my eczema as “she.” She became my best friend. When she flared up, I would ask her how we could work together to heal. By personifying my eczema and relating to her instead of seeing her as my enemy, I started healing more quickly.

I still flare up, but atopic dermatitis no longer controls what I get to do on a particular day. My condition is no longer the deciding factor in what I wear, where I go, and who I hang out with.

In 2015, I started calling myself an eczema warrior. I am a warrior, in a sense, because I’ve courageously conquered my eczema (mentally more than physically) and continue to do so. I’ve come to terms with my eczema. I’m proud of her and I’m proud of how far we’ve come together.

[ad_2]

Source link

October 27, 2022
Which Atopic Dermatitis Treatments Work Best?
[ad_1]
There are many tools to treat atopic dermatitis (AD), both over-the-counter and prescription. You can try ointments and creams, or your doctor might suggest light therapy, or medications you take by mouth or get as a shot.

“There are constantly new treatments arising for atopic dermatitis that help lessen the burden and make treatment more effective,” says Geeta Patel, DO, founder of River Oaks Dermatology in Houston.

“Topical steroids are currently the mainstay of treatment, but they’re not always the most effective,” she says. What works well for one person doesn’t always work well for another. It may take time to find the right treatment.

Your doctor will make recommendations based on how severe your AD is and what areas of your body it are affects.

Best Treatments for Mild AD

“Mild atopic dermatitis usually involves topical therapy,” Patel says. If you have mild AD, your doctor may recommend one of these topical treatments:

Topical steroids. These creams or ointments relieve itch and ease inflammation. You put them on red or inflamed skin.
Topical steroids come in different strengths. Prescription steroids are usually more effective than over-the-counter products. The stronger it is, the more effective it may be to control inflamed skin. But it may have more side effects, like thinning your skin. Never use high-strength steroids on your face, armpits, or groin. For long-term use, get the lowest strength you can.

Topical calcineurin inhibitors. These creams and ointments have drugs that target your immune system to suppress inflammation and ease symptoms of itching in mild to moderate AD. They’re safe to use long-term. You put them on after you moisturize your skin, but some have rules about how soon you can use them afterward, so check the prescribing info. Examples are pimecrolimus (Elidel) and tacrolimus (Protopic).

Topical PDE4 inhibitors. These topical medications put the brakes on inflammation by blocking PDE4, an enzyme that triggers it. They reduce itching, redness, thickened skin, and oozing in mild to moderate AD. Right now there’s only one FDA-approved PDE4 inhibitor. It’s called crisaborole (Eucrisa). It’s approved for people ages 3 months and older, and you can use it long-term on all body parts.

If you have mild AD, your doctor may also tell you to:

Avoid triggers

Moisturize after bathing

Eat well

Manage stress

Sleep well
Best Treatments for Moderate to Severe AD

If you have moderate or severe AD, your doctor may recommend:

Wet wrap therapy. With this treatment, you wrap the affected skin with wet bandages after you apply moisturizers or topical corticosteroids. “Wet dressings help relieve itching, heal your skin, and help your creams or ointments to be more effective,” Patel says.

Your doctor will tell you how to do it and how often.

Oral medications. If creams don’t work, your doctor may recommend oral medication. “These work by slowing your immune system response, which can help to reduce the severity of symptoms,” Patel says.

Ultraviolet light or phototherapy. “Light therapy is often used to treat severe eczema that doesn’t respond to creams,” Patel says. The treatment exposes your skin to a controlled amount of natural sunlight, UVA, or UVB light to help with symptoms.

It usually involves going to your dermatologist’s office 2-3 times a week. Try to be patient. “It can sometimes take 1-2 months to take effect,” Patel says.

Dupilumab (Dupixent). This new lab-made medication can lessen inflammation, itching, how severe the disease is, and how far it has spread. You get it as a shot. Your doctor may recommend it if other treatments don’t work or if you can’t use products you rub onto your skin.

“Trials have shown that most people experienced clear skin and reduced itching after about 16 weeks,” Patel says.

Complementary Treatments for AD

These treatments may help ease your symptoms:

Mind-body practices. “Stress can worsen atopic dermatitis,” Patel says. Managing it can help cut down on flares. Try mindfulness meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupressure, hypnosis, or biofeedback, where you learn how to control things your body does, like your heart rate, to help you relax. These practices may also help if you scratch a lot.

Massage therapy. Massage is known to relieve stress, so it may cut back on flares. Choose a therapist who’s accredited and has experience working with people who have similar skin conditions. Make sure they don’t use oils or lotions that might trigger your AD or make it worse.

Coconut oil. Studies suggest applying coconut oil to your skin may lower staph bacteria and help prevent infection. “Apply it once or twice a day to damp skin,” Patel says. Choose virgin or cold-pressed oils, which don’t have chemicals.

Sunflower oil. “Sunflower oil boosts the skin’s barrier function, helping it retain moisture. It also has anti-inflammatory properties,” Patel says. Put it on twice a day, once after bathing so your skin is wet.

You may have heard that vitamins, supplements, and probiotics help with AD. But there’s not enough research to support taking them, and they may be harmful if you’re taking certain medications.

Lifestyle Tips for AD

Take these steps to help your treatments work better and relieve symptoms:

Take a lukewarm bath. Keep it to 10-15 minutes. Then pat your skin dry and apply moisturizer while it’s still damp.

Moisturize twice a day. Apply moisturizing cream at least twice a day to strengthen your skin’s barrier.

Prevent scratching. If your skin is itchy, try pressing it instead of scratching. “Covering the itchy area also helps stop you from scratching it,” Patel says.

Use a humidifier. “Hot, dry indoor air can dry out sensitive skin and worsen itching and flaking. A portable home humidifier or one attached to your furnace adds moisture to the air inside your home,” Patel says.

Avoid irritants. Choose mild soaps and detergents without dyes or perfumes. Avoid fragrances and cosmetics with chemicals, wool and synthetic clothes, and smoke. Keep your home clear of dust mites. Avoid foods that might trigger a flare.

Take allergy medication. Over-the-counter antihistamines like cetirizine (Zyrtec) and fexofenadine (Allegra) may help with itching. If your itch is severe, you can try diphenhydramine (Benadryl). It may make you drowsy, so take it at bedtime.

[ad_2]

Source link
October 26, 2022
Is It Dry Skin or Atopic Dermatitis?
[ad_1]
For years, George Kramb, who’s 29 and lives in San Diego, CA, thought he had a severe case of dry skin.

“I had dry skin basically my whole life. It was always flaky, irritated, and even got to the point of cracking,” he says. Sometimes, in the winter, his fingers were so cracked and dry that he couldn’t open his hands.

Kramb tried over-the-counter ointments like Aquaphor, Cetaphil, and Gold Bond. “I used practically every single lotion and ointment that CVS sells, and nothing worked. It would offer temporary relief but didn’t address the underlying problem,” he says.

What Kramb didn’t know was that he didn’t just have dry skin. He had atopic dermatitis. “It wasn’t until I was a teenager and saw a dermatologist that I got a proper diagnosis,” he says.

What Is Atopic Dermatitis?

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin condition where itchy rashes come and go. It’s usually associated with some type of allergy.
“Unlike dry skin, AD is a chronic inflammatory disease,” says Annabelle Garcia, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and owner of Sonterra Dermatology in San Antonio, TX. “Symptoms often appear as a rash on your skin. In its moderate-to-severe form, AD can cause constant itching, which can lead to cracking and bleeding of the skin.”

Common AD skin symptoms include:

Dry, discolored skin

Itching

Painful or sore skin

Rashes that may ooze fluid or bleed from scratching

Sleep problems from itching

Thick, hardened skin from scratching

Experts don’t know exactly what causes AD, but it may be related to your genes and environment. If you or your family members have asthma or allergies, you’re more likely to get AD.

“Atopic dermatitis typically begins in childhood but can appear at any age,” Garcia says. For some people, it tapers off when they get older. Others have it their whole life. AD may get better at times and then flare up at other times.
How Is AD Different From Dry Skin?

AD is more than dry skin. “While both dry skin and AD can make your skin flaky, AD can also include red or dark rashes and persistent itch that can lead to oozing and bleeding skin lesions,” Garcia says.

If you have AD, you may have an itch-scratch cycle. Your rash is itchy, so you rub or scratch your skin. That causes more irritation and itching, so the cycle of itching and scratching keeps going.

With AD, a chronic condition drives your symptoms, Garcia says.

Getting the Right Diagnosis

Atopic dermatitis can be difficult to diagnose, Garcia says. Your rash may look like psoriasis or poison ivy. If you have dark skin, it may be less noticeable, and it may take longer to get the right diagnosis.

If you have an itchy rash, see your doctor. “It’s important to know if you’re living with AD so you can take the necessary steps to control your skin health and find a proper treatment,” Garcia says. Topical creams may help with dry skin symptoms, but you might need a stronger treatment to target the cause.

Kramb had a feeling his dry skin could be AD because some flare-ups were severe. “My theory was confirmed when I met with the dermatologist, they prescribed my first steroid ointment, and it did wonders,” he says.

Treating AD

Finding a treatment that works for you is a process. If one doesn’t work, your doctor may recommend another.

It took Kramb a while to find the right mix. He tried a range of over-the-counter and prescription treatments, but they didn’t help. Later, he found that steroid ointments and creams work best.

Kramb says learning that his dry skin was atopic dermatitis inspired him to help others. He created PatientPartner, which helps people who have similar health conditions connect so they can learn from each other.

“A lot of people are nervous and scared to share their health conditions with others,” Kramb says. “I wanted to create a safe place for them to share with one another so they can learn and build a community.”

[ad_2]

Source link
October 17, 2022