Have you got eczema?

You probably have an ALLERGY

When Body Language went live this topic had more hits than any other, and I can understand why. My oldest son has suffered from Eczema all his life, and if we can do anything to help sufferers here, the work that went into the site has been worth it.

The problem is many doctors don't understand. You have to heal yourself.

What is an allergy?

An allergy is everything from a runny nose, itchy eyes and palate to severe skin rash. It aggravates the sense of smell, sight, tastes and touch causing irritation, extreme disability and sometimes fatality. It occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to normally harmless substances.

Allergy is widespread and affects approximately one in four of the population in the UK at some time in their lives. Each year the numbers are increasing by 5% with as many as half of all those affected being children. No wonder it's a HOT TOPIC

What causes Eczema?

Allergic reactions are caused by substances in the environment known as allergens. Almost anything can be an allergen for someone. Allergens contain protein, which is often regarded as a constituent of the food we we eat.

The most common allergens are:

pollen from trees and grasses,
house dust mite,
moulds,
pets such as cats and dogs,
insects like wasps and bees,
industrial and household chemicals,
medicines,
foods such as milk, eggs, lupin flour, potatoes
less common allergens include nuts, fruit and latex.

There are some non-protein allergens which include drugs such as penicillin. For these to cause an allergic response they need to be bound to a protein once they are in the body.

Eczema is often worse at night, because the skin gets moist in bed, and the surface allergens turn into a concentrated liquid that aggravates even more.

An allergic person's immune system believes allergens to be damaging and so produces a special type of antibody (IgE) to attack the invading material. This leads other blood read more