19 April 2024
What is the root cause of eczema? That’s a question that parents of children with atopic dermatitis would dearly love to know, especially when they see their little one in the persistent pain and discomfort that the condition causes. Roughly 20% of children have eczema around the world, so it’s a problem of which many have first-hand experience.
The symptoms of eczema can be extremely unpleasant, with red, dry, itchy skin that causes ongoing irritation. When you go to the doctor about the issue, they overwhelmingly tend to prescribe paraffin-based emollient creams rather than actually taking the time to look into the root cause of eczema for your child.
What this means as a parent is that you’re only able to manage the problem rather than treating it in a way that leads to the skin recovering back to its pre-eczema state. At HappySkin, our eczema clothing offers an effective solution, which we’ll go into a little later. First, though, we examine the reasons why the problem occurs.
What Causes Eczema?
It’s important to state at the outset that eczema is the external manifestation of a problem that’s occurring within the body – more pointedly, inflammation. When your child becomes chronically inflamed inside, their immune system is triggered and ends up attacking the skin.
With this information in hand, it becomes obvious that treating the root cause of eczema would be preferable to treating the symptoms.
So, let’s take a look at those root causes, of which there are more than you might think.
Food Intolerances
Especially true in children is the fact that food intolerances are known to cause eczema. Most often, you’ll find that dairy and gluten are the offending items, with the immune system responding negatively to their presence in the body. Don’t confuse intolerances with allergies, though, as the latter cause immediate and often severe symptoms, such as anaphylaxis.
We’re talking about food sensitivity, which can (but not always) take a while to build up. The symptoms of food intolerances can take as much as 3 days to present, meaning they often get missed and not considered when trying to identify the cause of the issue. The more this inflammation occurs inside your child’s body, the more likely that eczema will be triggered.
Hereditary Genetics
When searching for the cause of your child’s eczema, one particular factor should not be overlooked – genetics. You see, if one or more parents has atopic dermatitis themselves, their child has an increased likelihood of developing the problem. This also extends out to other close family members who might also have eczema.
So, if you, your partner, or any of your siblings suffer with eczema, this could point to the root cause of eczema for your child being genetic.
Stress
Another possible root cause of eczema for your child is stress, which is known to suppress the immune system. While you might think that stress is mainly restricted to adult life, you’d be mistaken, as there are many factors that can cause your loved one to experience the kind of stress that might cause an eczema flare-up.
They could be upset about:
- Vaccinations
- Stressed parents
- Going to school
- Problems with friends
- Family problems
- Moving home
Whatever the reason, stress is known to be a significant eczema trigger, so watch out for and talk to your little one about anything might be worrying about. A simple chat can often be enough to reassure them that everything’s going to be ok.
Chemicals In Everyday Products
As humans, we’re surrounded by more toxins and chemicals than ever before, and many of them exist in the products we use daily. What’s more, these chemicals can cause an eczema flare-up without you even knowing about it until it’s too late.
These products include:
- Household detergents & cleaners
- Laundry detergents & powders
- Lotions & shampoos
- Soaps
Even baby wipes can cause an issue, as some contain antibacterial compounds known as Isothiazolinones that can trigger a reaction. These things are all around us every day, so always be mindful when switching to new washing/shampoo/cleaning products.
Gut Problems
Another possible root cause of eczema in your child is the health of their gut. Whether talking about conditions like leaky gut (a.k.a intestinal permeability) or gut infections, the problem is essentially the same. What occurs are small openings in their intestinal wall, which allow viruses, toxins, bacteria and even food into the bloodstream.
When this happens, the immune system springs into action, viewing all these foreign bodies as invaders that need to be destroyed. This then results in a big inflammation spike, not only causing eczema to rear its head but also making your child more susceptible to other, more serious problems later on in life.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Having a nutritionally balanced diet is something we’re all aware is a good thing, however, many don’t realise how important it is for healthy skin. Everyday minerals and vitamins play a big part in our overall immune health, although a few, in particular, are linked to inflammatory issues like eczema.
Vitamin D, for example, has been shown in studies to make a person more predisposed to developing eczema. Vitamin A is also known to play a big role in the repair and turnover of skin cells, with a deficiency sometimes being seen as a root cause of eczema. The good news is that by giving your child supplements or taking them outside (with sunscreen on, of course), you can provide some relief.
HappySkin - Helping Skin to Recover
What is the root cause of eczema? Well, as we’ve seen here, there’s a whole host of reasons why your little one might have atopic dermatitis. The good news is that thanks to HappySkin eczema clothing, there is gentle, effective relief available from the discomfort that eczema brings, and you can measure the effectiveness of our clothing in the smiles of your children.
When inflammation strikes due to any of the root causes listed and eczema affects your child’s skin, it loses the ability to regulate moisture – which is why it becomes so dry. The sensors that exist below the skin’s surface and regulate moisture become dormant, with traditional emollient creams doing nothing to relieve the problem.
HappySkin eczema clothing has been designed to effectively treat eczema, with our proprietary DreamSkin coating helping to reawaken these skin sensors and restore healthy skin function. Moreover, when worn regularly next to the skin, the super-soft cotton/TENCEL fabric is so comfortable, they won’t even know they’re wearing it!
So, before you go down the route of paraffin-based creams and steroid medications that do nothing to improve eczema, we encourage you to try our garments. The vast majority of people who use them for their children see results in just 7 days, and you could be next! For more information about anything discussed here or want more of a scientific explanation on what is eczema, just take a look around our website or give us a call today on 01707 260505.
