Facial Eczema Facts

Find out a few things you might not have known about facial eczema:

Facial eczema is a surprisingly common problem, one that affects a lot of people around the world. The itchy, dry, scaly, and red skin on your face may be a sign that there is something wrong with your immune system, and it’s hard to get rid of the infection.

But there’s a lot that people don’t know about eczema. Here are a few facial eczema facts you might like to know about:

It’s most common during the early years of life — While eczema can affect anyone at any time, it’s most prevalent during early childhood. Children between the ages of two and six months old are most susceptible to the infection. Most of the time, it is gone by the time a child is six years old. More than 50% of those suffering from eczema show signs of it within their first year of life. 20% of eczema cases are in children under the age of five.
It’s one ANNOYING problem — Not only does your skin turn red, but it becomes VERY itchy (the itch is moderate in some few cases). The skin also cracks and turns patchy, feels thick and leathery, and may even “weep” a sort of watery liquid.
The cause of eczema is not known — As with a surprising number of other health conditions, science has not yet established the causes of eczema. Factors that can trigger it are stress, food sensitivities, irritants, and allergies.
If your parents had it, you’re likely to have it too — Facial eczema is often passed down from one generation to the next. If you have a family history of eczema, you’re likely to develop it. If both your parents have had it at some point, you have an 80% chance of developing the skin condition.

READ MORE: Itchy Penis: 10 Reasons Why

It can be debilitating — That may be a bit hard to believe, as it’s just a rash, right? Well, the itchiness of the skin infection can make it hard to sleep, leading to fatigue and reduced physical and mental function over time. Some facial eczema sufferers actually have to be hospitalized, and all spend a fortune on medicated treatments.
It can’t be cured — Seeing as the cause is unknown, it’s difficult to find a cure for the problem. That being said, the skin condition can be managed with proper lifestyle, hygiene, and health habits.
It’s not just on the face — While facial eczema is one of the more common forms of the disorder, your skin can break out in eczema just about anywhere–your hands, your wrists, your neck, your knees, and your elbows.
Stress makes it worse — While stress isn’t the cause behind the disease, it’s one of the known triggers that can cause a flare-up in the skin condition. To ensure that you avoid facial eczema flare-ups, avoid stress!
It’s not going to leave permanent scars — Thankfully, eczema that is treated properly will not leave any scars or do serious damage to your skin. It’s unusual for any marks to be left, so you won’t have to worry.
It’s a lot more common than you might think –– It is estimated that roughly 230 million people in the world are affected by eczema. That’s 3.5% of the world’s population–a pretty startling number, all things considered!