There are a number of diseases that have no cure; several of them are acute while others simply tend to complicate our lives. Their symptoms can be managed, but the scientific community has yet to discover a true cure for them. The majority of these diseases are not associated with each other in any way; developing one won't cause someone to develop another. However, in certain circumstances, like when it comes to asthma and eczema, there's grounds to suspect that having one will trigger the other one also.
Eczema is a disorder that has an effect on the skin - the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis), gets inflamed and can prove to be highly uncomfortable. The symptoms can run the gamut from rather mild to extremely severe, and comprise blisters on the skin, crusting, cracking, flaking, itchiness, swelling, and redness, and even bleeding and oozing in more advanced situations. There are various medications which can be useful to heal eczema, and they are called corticosteroids. These kinds of medications are highly successful at managing someone's eczema; yet the affliction cannot be entirely cured at this point in time.
Asthma, on the other hand, consists of chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways end up narrowed so that breathing becomes difficult or nearly impossible. Around 7% of the population in America experiences asthma and 300 million people worldwide suffer from it. Symptoms of asthma consist of shortness of breath, even if resting; nocturnal coughing; a persistent cough that sounds similar to throat-clearing; and tense muscles in the chest. Asthma has assorted severity levels too; attacks range from minor to moderate. Although in most instances it can be kept under control with drugs, it is also incurable.
So how do these diseases, which are apparently so different, have any relationship to each other? The relationship isn't totally understood, yet it's been concluded that 50% of all young children who develop eczema will go on to acquire asthma too. Health care providers have found that when eczema occurs, it triggers a substance to be released by the body's injured skin. This substance ends up circulating in the bloodstream and through the lungs, and then triggers asthma-like problems that eventually grow into the full-blown disease. This is why young children who develop eczema will often go on to have asthma as well.
For the healthcare community, this is a big advance. They now think that if they begin aggressively treating eczema and make certain that the body doesn't begin producing that substance to begin with, then many of the children who have eczema won't go on to develop asthma. If they are successful, tens of thousands of children will be able to live their lives without this devastating sickness.
Eczema is a medical condition that encompasses a wide range of skin problems, from dyshidrotic eczema to atopic dermatitis. It's evidenced by red, flaky patches on the skin that are very itchy, as well as unsightly. Learn how to get relief from eczema symptoms at our Eczema Treatment site.
