Eczema is a well known skin condition. Someone thinking of eczema pictures a scaly rash and red, irritated skin. Anyone who has experienced eczema probably remembers the itchiness and soreness if the rash is scratched open. However, beyond the rash, many people do not realize the causes or other facts about the condition. Many people have misconceptions about eczema.

Eczema is more than a rash or dry skin. The characteristic dry skin and rash is typical. If someone is unfamiliar with this condition, they can find eczema pictures on the Internet. Unlike a common skin rash or irritation, eczema is often a recurrent condition that is heredity or contact with something to which the person is allergic.

Different forms of eczema have different causes. Some cases of eczema are genetic. Atopic dermatitis is a genetic form of eczema. Most people may not realize that some types of eczema are caused by the immune system. It may be difficult to understand how the immune system could cause a skin irritation. People who have allergies and develop rashes or hives may be able to understand this connection easier.

Eczema can affect people of all ages. Though most cases of atopic dermatitis affect infants, this condition affects approximately three percent of the adults in the United States. Some forms of eczema are most common in older adults.

People may think that eczema is just skin that needs moisturizer. This is not true. The dry skin is one of the symptoms of eczema, not the cause. Though the treatment of eczema may include the use of moisturizer to treat the dry rash itself, more treatment methods are used to target the cause. Corticosteroid ointment or oral medication may be prescribed to treat eczema. Antihistamines may be used to reduce itchiness. Another eczema treatment is the use of an ultraviolet light.

Some may think that eczema is contagious. Eczema is hereditary and often caused by a reaction to an allergen. Therefore, one person cannot get eczema from someone else by casual contact. People who work with chemicals or other irritants may develop hand dermatitis. If one person develops the condition first, it may seem as though other people who develop hand dermatitis got it from the first person. However, breakouts of dermatitis in the workplace are a common result of multiple people working with the same chemicals and skin irritants, not from working with someone who has dermatitis.