Eczema

With colder weather around the corner, eczema flares tend to be a more common concern we see at the clinic. The cold tends to exacerbate those itchy, dry and irritated patches of skin that many eczema sufferers find some relief from in the summer months. But what causes some of us to experience this frustrating condition?

Eczema is classified as an "inflammatory" or "atopic" skin condition. Atopy refers to an allergic component, either due to something environmental or food related. Other common atopic conditions include, food allergy, asthma, or allergic rhinitis (think: typical environmental allergy response, runny nose, stuffy, sneezing in response to dust or ragweed). Sometimes, people will suffer from more than one of these atopic conditions at the same time.At the foundation of all allergies is an overreaction of our immune system - a reaction above and beyond what is necessary.Why we develop atopic disorders (especially with an increased rate in North America, and since 1960) - is unclear.

One of the major hypotheses that underscores it is the "hygiene hypothesis." Essentially, that our modern environment is much cleaner and more sterile than it was in the past and as we grow and develop we encounter less pathogens and microbes that challenge our immune system to mount a response. This is especially true for some we may have had to develop alongside in the past. This might result in us having less microbial diversity, which is important for proper immune functioning and without which could result in subsequent allergy.

Our skin is a function of our immune system, both acting a physical barrier to keep pathogens out, but also from a physiological perspective as it mounts inflammatory responses and wound healing when we get a cut/bite/hive. When we have symptoms of eczema, there is an inflammatory response occurring at the level of the skin, and this inflammatory response continues to drive a disturbance of the barrier!

New research explores the potential for epithelial barriers (a type of barrier that lines both our skin and our digestive system!) to be implicated in many health concerns. It’s thought that perhaps eczema is a result of skin irritation as well as some disturbance to the lining of our gut. This makes sense in the context of our whole system working together - as we know that a major part of our immune system resides in our gut! If you think about it, our gut lining acts as our "inside skin," one of the only other parts of our bodies that is exposed to the outside environment (largely through the food we eat!). Both the skin and our guts have a range of bacteria that live on or within them!

When we treat eczema, we work with our patients to support their entire health picture - including their immune system, gut health, skin health and stress management.