One very common condition that affects the skin with itchiness, blisters, and redness is eczema. Somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of people begin to develop this condition in early childhood. While some of these people will outgrow the condition, others will be afflicted by it for the rest of their lives. Doctors cannot cure this skin disease; instead they can offer help deciding the treatment plan to use. Such plans will range from using steroid creams and emollients to eating a special diet.
Yet for those cases that are severe, primary care providers will prescribe either oral or topical antibiotics. The antibiotics will work to block the cracked skin from becoming infected. How effective an antibiotic treatment will be will vary between individuals.
Here’s a closer look at Eczema:
Types:
Eczema comes in several forms. The most common of these is atopic dermatitis, and it is most commonly associated with asthma and hay fever. Here’s a look at the others:
- Contact Dermatitis – This occurs when skin comes in direct contact with a known allergen like fabric dye, perfume, biological laundry detergents, nickel, and many more.
- Irritant Contact Dermatitis – This type occurs after skin has contacted a harsh chemical. Such symptoms will last for what seems like a long period of time.
- Stasis Dermatitis – This type is mostly found in elderly patients, and has symptoms like itchy, dry skin on the lower legs.
- Seborrhoeic Dermatitis – You’ll find this type of eczema on the ‘hairy’ parts of the body; it looks a great deal like dandruff.
Causes:
Since there are many things that can trigger the onset of an eczema outbreak, you will want to see a dermatologist for a proper diagnosis. Here are the causes for each type:
- Atopic Dermatitis’ cause is unknown, but it’s exacerbated by allergens like pet hair and dust.
- Both Contact Dermatitis types are brought on by contact with a certain substance.
- Seborrhoeic Dermatitis could be caused by a kind of yeast called ‘Malassezia’. However, it can also be worsened by stress.
- Statsis Dermatitis results from blood circulation that is poor.
The Role of Antibiotics:
In severe cases of eczema, the skin will crack, and subsequently bleed. This leaves it more vulnerable to infections. For this reason, dermatologists will commonly prescribe antibiotics that will not only cure infections, but also prevent them and decrease the inflammation in the skin. These medicines can be taken orally in pill form, or be topically applied as a cream or ointment. Common oral antibiotics used are flucloxacillin, penicillin, and erythromycin. When it comes to topical types, you’ll see mupirocin and fusidic acid.
Always remember that antibiotics are antibiotics. Therefore, keep in mind that the more you take, the antibiotic-resistant your infections may become. This means that one day your treatment will stop working, and at that point the treatment will need to be increased. The other thing that you should be aware of is that oral antibiotics may interact with other pills, such as birth control.
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