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Is it rosacea or eczema? Another point of confusion regarding the diagnosis eczema is whether or not it may be a similar-looking skin condition called rosacea. Rosacea is actually an enlargement of the skin’s blood vessels, producing redness and a flushed appearance.

Differences in Causes

Eczema triggers come from environmental factors and are tied to genetics as well. Rosacea is sometimes brought on by menstruation in women, and may also be affected by drastic temperatures, high levels of stress, and some medications.

Differences in Appearance

Both eczema and rosacea produce an unwanted appearance. However, the actual appearance of eczema and rosacea reveal a difference. Eczema may appear in a variety of forms—itchy skin, scaly skin, blistering, red bumps, etc. Rosacea has only one appearance—redness. A closer look at rosacea reveals that the redness actually comes from the inflammation and enlargement of blood vessels very close to the surface of the skin. When you closely examine rosacea, it is sometimes possible to identify individual blood vessels that are close to the surface of the skin.

Difference in Symptoms

Rosacea occurs only on the face, while eczema can occur anywhere on the body. The most common places that eczema occurs are on the flexors (outer surface of elbows, and knees) and extremities (hands and feet). Rosacea is confined to the face, and in more severe cases, it affects the eyes.

Difference in Subjects

Nearly half of those who have eczema are under the age of six. With rosacea, nearly 100% of subjects are adults. Rosacea tends to affect more women then men.

Since rosacea and eczema are entirely different conditions, they should be treated in different ways.

What is the difference between eczema and psoriasis? Both are skin conditions, both are chronic skin diseases, the symptoms of both seem to be similar, and the overall effect is also the same. Here is how to determine whether your skin condition is eczema or psoriasis.

Differences in Causes

Both skin conditions are a result of genetic factors. Psoriasis, however, is more commonly linked to a genetic root than eczema is. Much of eczema has to do with response to environmental factors.

Difference in Symptoms

It is more difficult to distinguish between the effects that psoriasis and eczema have on the skin. More often, eczema produces dry skin that looks like blisters or even acne. Psoriasis favors symptoms that are characterized by rough patches of skin, usually red and itchy. Sometimes the lesions developed by psoriasis are covered with silvery scales. Many people who suffer from psoriasis also have a condition called psoriatic arthritis. While eczema can occur anywhere on the body, psoriasis most commonly affects the outside of the knees, elbows, (flexor joints) and the scalp.

Difference in Subjects

Eczema is most common among children and infants. Psoriasis, on the other hand, is confined nearly exclusively to the adult population. It is true that eczema can afflict anyone at any age, but one can be fairly confident that children do not suffer from psoriasis.

Difference in Treatment

Just as the causes and symptoms vary between psoriasis and eczema, so do the treatments. The major treatment for serious eczema is steroid treatment such us corticosteroids or even immunosuppressants. The treatment for psoriasis may sometimes involve the use of steroid treatment such as retinoids, but the most effective form of treatment is simple topical applicants and even phototherapy.

Whenever I get a disease or illness, one of the first things I want to know is, is it contagious? Incidentally, anytime one of my friends, colleagues, or family members gets sick, I want to know the same thing. Should people stay away from me? Should I stay away from them?

Let’s talk about eczema. Is it contagious? Can you get eczema by touching someone else? Or will you get eczema if your eczema-suffering baby drools on you?

The Answer: Eczema is Not Contagious

Thankfully, it’s an easy question to answer. Eczema is not contagious.  “Contagious” simply means “able to be transmitted from person to person,” but no matter how hard you try, you cannot pass your eczema off to anyone else.

The Causes:  Eczema is Impossible to Transfer

It all goes back to the causes of eczema. At its core, eczema is a genetic condition. Genetic disorders can be transmitted only through reproduction…but that’s not exactly what we call contagious.

The Effects:  Eczema-Related Infections May Be Contagious

But here comes the disclaimer. Although eczema itself is not contagious, some infections from eczema may be contagious. Because eczema affects the skin so severely, to the point of crippling the skin’s immune system, the skin’s surface is more susceptible to various diseases such as staph infections. These types of infections are contagious, so if you or someone you know has infections as a result of their eczema, they must exercise extreme caution around other people.

Since eczema is not contagious, you can interact with others who have it and not worry about getting it. If you have eczema yourself, you can assure those around you that they will not get eczema by being around you. It’s not contagious. Nonetheless, you owe it to yourself to do what you can to treat the eczema and minimize its adverse effects.

So, how scary is eczema, really? I mean, with a name like eczema, plus the fact that I still forget how to spell it, surely it’s got to be a pretty violent and horrifying disease. Right?

It’s a question worth asking. Is there anything to be afraid of with eczema? Will it have long-term effects? Will I be scarred for life?

First, let’s face the facts.

1. Eczema is a chronic skin disease. Chronic means that it hangs on for a long time—always recurring.
2. Eczema has no known treatments. Sorry to disappoint you, but so far we haven’t found the wonder-cure for eczema. There is nothing that actually cures eczema once and for all.
3. Eczema is ugly and uncomfortable. Eczema is not pretty. Redness, scaly skin, itchiness, oozing, blistering, and redness are all part and parcel with eczema. And it all comes with a lot of discomfort. Besides, there exists the emotional stress of dealing with something potentially unsightly and embarrassing.

Next, let’s be realistic.

1. Eczema will not cause death. There are no known incidents of death from eczema proper. While there are extremely dangers and rare conditions that include eczema as part of their symptoms, eczema itself is not a life-threatening condition
2. Eczema may cause scarring. The worse the eczema, the stronger the possibility of long-term scarring. Scarring from eczema is rare, but it does occur. Thankfully, medical technology has discovered ways to eliminate even very serious scars from the skin.
3. Eczema may cause infection. Another possible effect of eczema is disease. Disease sets in if the eczema is particularly severe or if it is untreated and carelessly handled. Any related diseases are usually mild and short-term.

The bottom line is this. Eczema is a frustrating and painful condition. It can definitely be painful, distracting, and embarrassing. Yet thankfully, it is not a disease, which is life threatening. Eczema should not keep you from enjoying a healthy and fulfilling life.

One of the best ways to understand something is to find out what causes it. When I was a kid, I used to take things apart—cameras, toy cars, musical instruments—trying to find out what made them work. Since deconstructing Hot Wheels are a bit below my thrill level now, I’ve given some serious attention to finding out why people get eczema. What causes it?

There are several causes. Some general. Some specific. Some simple. Some technical. But the bottom line is, we don’t really know what causes eczema—the root cause, that is. Here’s an overview of the two major causes of eczema. These are general categories. The specific mechanics—the technical how-it-works-stuff—will be explored in more depth in separate articles.

• Genetics. Everything your body is and does goes back to one simple component: genes. Your genes are the body’s programming language. That’s why you have the hair color you have, the four moles on your left forearm, and weird-shaped toes. Genes affect everything. Everything includes eczema. Your genes can be blamed for nearly every kind of eczema, except of course for the kind caused by physical stressors. Genes are integrally linked to every body system, so saying that eczema is caused by genetic factors means that a lot more than genes is involved—things like hormones, peptides, bacteria, and other similar actors participate in the eczema outbreak.
• Environment. The environment has a role, too. Your skin is the your body’s major shield. It keeps the stuff inside from falling out, and it keeps the stuff outside from coming in. Your skin is under a lot of stress from both internal and external factors, and occasionally it responds accordingly—meaning that you get eczema. Some of those external factors can be dry skin, constant rubbing, emotional stress, strong odors, irritating fabrics, and even different types of soap.

Part of the challenge of reaching a conclusive answer to “what causes eczema?” is the amazing complexity of the human body and the bewildering array of types of eczema. Science is getting us closer and closer to answers, but we may never really be 100% confident of the causes of eczema. What we can do is find the best way to treat it.

In a discussion of acne, the answer to “who gets it”?” is pretty obvious. Although it can occur at just about any age, acne is mostly a teen skin problem. What about eczema? Who gets it?

The short answer is, a lot of people. According to the National Institute of Health and other investigations, approximately 10% of the U.S. population has, have, or will have eczema of one form or another. No one, regardless of age, health, gender, or lifestyle, is immune to eczema.

Infants

The age group most subject to eczema is the youngest among us. Infants have the highest rate of eczema occurrences, usually affecting 20% of all infants. In most cases, the eczema is mild to medium in its severity, and will vanish in the first few years of the child’s life.

Elderly

The elderly population, those over age 65, is also commonly subjected to eczema. For this group, dry and cracked skin is the common complaint (the condition is called eczema craquelé) and usually occurs in the extremities. It is caused by a decrease of moisture in the outer layers of the skin, and as would be expected, usually sets in during the dry winter months.

Genetically Predisposed

Like many diseases, no one knows exactly what causes eczema. There are, of course, culprits that are viewed as highly suspicious, but the exact cause or trigger has yet to be determined. One indisputable fact is that those who most commonly get eczema have a family history of eczema.

In this way, eczema is similar to hay fever and asthma, and interestingly enough, is located on the same gene that carries these illnesses. The hereditary form of eczema is one of the most common forms of eczema. It is called atopic dermatitis.

Despite these two groups, which are most likely to have eczema, the skin disorder can crop up in one form or another upon anyone at anytime in life.

As common as it is, there is a surprising misunderstanding of what eczema really is. Prior to my in-depth research of the subject and personal experience with eczema, if you would have asked me, “so, what’s eczema,” I probably would have responded with a blank stare and an awkward moment of silence. So, in a nutshell, what is eczema? And if you don’t understand words like atopic, vesiculation, dermatitis, pruritic, exogenous, and papulovesicular (yet), that’s ok. This is intended to be basic.

It’s a skin problem.

Like I said, this is basic. First, you should understand that eczema is a skin problem. Although it can have severe side effects, eczema does not affect the internal organs, nor is it caused by internal conditions. Skin only.

It’s a generic term.

It’s important to note that the word “eczema” doesn’t apply to just one specific skin problem. Like “cancer,” it can be applied to many different varieties of skin conditions. That being said, there are several symptoms that most forms of eczema have in common. That’s why we can lump most forms of eczema under one general word.

It only affects certain areas of the body.

Eczema usually does not affect one’s skin from head-to-toe. It tends to be concentrated on certain areas of the body. It can occur anywhere, but usually not all at once, or on the same individual. Eczema most commonly affects the face, hands, arms, feet, and legs.

It causes redness and inflammation.

Most forms of eczema are accompanied by inflammation and redness of the skin. Obviously, these symptoms are not unique to eczema. Those who have acne, psoriasis, and rosacea often complain of the same symptoms. However, eczema suffers usually have this condition in common.

It causes drying.

Often, eczema affects the pores and oil-producing glands underlying the outer layer of the skin. This leads to drying, cracking and itching of the skin.

It causes other uncomfortable symptoms.

The symptoms of eczema are many, but it can also cause crustiness of the skin, flaking, oozing, blisters, other types of skin lesions, and even bleeding in its later stages. In some rare cases, those who suffer from severe forms of eczema eventually develop scars.

So, there you have it: a nutshell definition of eczema:  It is a general term for a localized skin problem characterized by redness, inflammation, dryness, and other uncomfortable symptoms.

What it is not.

Eczema is one of those words that no one really learns how to spell in school. It is variously slaughtered as exzema, ecsema, exsema, and ekzeema. The real spelling, of course, is e-c-z-e-m-a. Chances are, you have an inkling of an idea of what eczema is. Just in case you don’t, eczema is not a plant, animal, fungi, or planet. I’ll explain more about what it is in another post.

How to pronounce it.

If you’re going to do more than just read about it, it helps to know how to pronounce it, so here’s to saying the word right. There should be little confusion about how to make the right sounds. What isn’t so easy is where to place the emphasis in the word. Grammarians, doctors, and phonics teachers alike all agree that the emphasis should be placed on the first syllable:  EC’-zema. If you slip up, and call it ecZEE’ma, that’s ok because it’s considered one of the accepted pronunciations. However, in order to look most intelligent, stress the first syllable when you say the word.

What it means.

The origin of the word gives a pretty good idea of what it means. The word eczema is actually derived from a Greek word: ekzein, or ekzema. The Greek word was formed from two components. Ek means “out” and “zema” means to boil. Thus, at its grammatical roots, the word means “to boil out.”

That gives the picture of what eczema looks like—a breaking out or boiling out of the skin. The word picture, ascribed by ancient neologists, was probably just their description of what the condition looked like, and perhaps their understanding that the blood was boiling, as it were, out of the skin.