What are the Different Types of Eczema

Atopic eczema is related to allergies in a person's family medical history and is an inherited type of eczema. People with this type of eczema have allergies or have relatives who have allergies. Atopic eczema shows up during infancy and continues to flare up.
Seborrheic eczema is often treated as if it is only dry skin but it has nothing to do with that. This form of eczema is thought to have a genetic component. People with seborrheic eczema display scaly skin in places like the top of the head, near the eyebrows, the ears, and the nose, as well as on the chest.

This form of eczema affects women more often than it affects men and shows up after puberty. Once it shows up, seborrheic eczema comes back often and is often found in people who suffer from mental or neurological issues.

Treating seborrheic eczema on the head involves washing daily with special shampoos that have tar, sulfur, selenium, or salicylic acid. For the skin, you can use hydrocortisone creams or antibiotic creams.

Many infants suffer from cradle cap, a form of seborrheic eczema that causes thick yellow scales to develop on the head or in the diaper area, face, or neck. This is will go away with treatment. You simply wash the areas with baby shampoos and massage it with a soft brush. If it continues, call the doctor.

People often develop varicose eczema during menopause or pregnancy or because of obesity. This form of eczema affects the skin on the lower legs. Women do not usually get this type of eczema until they are middle aged. It is important to treat this properly or you can develop skin ulcers, which ca be dangerous. Treatments include emollients and steroid creams.

Discoid eczema shows up as round patches the size of a coin on the arms, legs, and truck. These patches itch and can seep liquid at times. No one knows what triggers this form of eczema and it shows up mostly in men middle age.

Contact dermatitis is a form of eczema that occurs when the skin touches an irritant. The area becomes inflamed and irritated. This is the result of the skin being exposed to some sort of toxic chemicals and usually happens right after the exposure. A single exposure causes acute dermatitis.

A cumulative case of contact dermatitis occurs when you are exposed repeatedly to mild toxins like those found in soaps, detergents, urine, or saliva. The longer the exposure, the worse the problem gets. This can result in red, dry skin that cracks and forms papules that are difficult to treat.