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Eczema's Effect on the Face |
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One of the worst places to develop eczema is on the face because faces are visible all the time. Having to endure eczema's itchiness, redness, dryness, and inflammation is difficult enough but having it front and center on your face often affects a person's self image and self confidence, making it an even more miserable skin disorder. Eczema of the face has similar symptoms to eczema that affects other body parts. There is often redness, dryness of the skin, and occasionally, if the eczema is severe enough, cracking of the skin, scabbing, scaling and oozing or weeping of fluid. Some patients suffer eczema only on their faces, while others experience it other places as well.
Atopic eczema is the most prevalent variety of eczema; it typically begins in infancy and childhood. Many babies suffer it beginining between the ages of one to six months. Frequently the forehead and cheeks are the first areas to be affected and then it can spread to other parts of the face and sometimes all over. Some children have a localized form of eczema limited to their face, while others have a more generalized type that affects their whole body.
The three most common symptoms of facial eczema are redness, dryness and constant itchiness. Giving in to the desire to scratch could cause the affected skin to thicken and, in some people, especially those with a darker complexion, the skin actually becomes darker as a result of the skin disorder. When facial skin thickens, the visibility of the skin's normal markings increases; this is called lichenification. The sufferer's eyelids often suffer problems when this happens. Thickening of the eyelids, called blepharitis, can be a persistent, recurring problem for those who suffer facial eczema.
Seborrhoeic eczema is another common facial eczema that plagues both many adults, as well as many children. When adults develop it, the scalp, the inner eyebrows and creases by the nose are affected. Sometimes the eyelids display signs of blepharitis as well. In this instance, the scalp sheds dandruff and the facial skin is red and displays yellowish types of flakes. Seborrhoeic eczema is thought to be connected to a yeast allergy. This yeast is naturally found in the seborrhoeic or greasy areas of both the scalp, as well as on the face. This is a very frustrating variety of eczema as it commonly recurs over and over again.
Seborrhoeic eczema differs slightly in babies from how it presents in adults. If an infant will develop this type of eczema, he or she generally will suffer from it before they turn three months old. This variety, often referred to as cradle cap, causes thick yellowish flakes on the baby's scalp as well as flakes behind the ears but it rarely affects any other facial feature. The good news on this type of eczema is that it normally goes away by the end of the child's first year of life and it does not itch. However, approximately twenty-five percent of children who develop seborrhoeic eczema are at a higher risk of developing atopic eczema later in life.
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