Content
An allergic reaction has many faces, and some of its external manifestations can be very similar to the symptoms of other diseases. So, acute rhinitis and cough can be mistaken for SARS, and lacrimation - for the onset of conjunctivitis. And such a manifestation of an allergic reaction as a rash on the skin, an inexperienced person can easily mistake for another disease or, even worse, ignore it, and then the consequences can be very serious.
So how does a skin allergy occur, how to recognize it and how to treat it?
Origin mechanism
As a result of contact with the allergen, our immunity begins to actively fight: a large amount of histamines are released into the blood, designed to neutralize and remove the provoking substance from the body. However, a side effect of the activity of histamines is an increase in the permeability of the walls of blood vessels and the expansion of the vessels themselves, which leads to the appearance of redness, swelling, itching, and various types of skin manifestations.
The most common places for skin allergies to appear are: face, arms, legs, abdomen, physiological skin folds, ears, scalp.
Causes
One of the common misconceptions is that skin allergies can only occur as a result of the allergen getting directly on the skin. This is wrong. Rashes on the skin can cause absolutely any allergen, regardless of how (contact, food or respiratory) it entered the body. It can be any of the stimuli:
- food allergen;
- household dust;
- animal hair;
- plant pollen;
- medicinal product;
- household chemicals;
- insect bites;
- cold, sun.
Sometimes a person, especially when faced with an allergy for the first time, is not able to determine the substance that caused an acute immune response. In such cases, it is recommended to seek help from an allergist.
Types of manifestations
Skin allergies can look different, but the most common types are:
- Atopic dermatitis
- contact dermatitis
- Hives
- Eczema
Let's consider them in more detail.
Atopic dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is more often diagnosed in people with a genetic predisposition to atopic diseases (bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, hay fever). The appearance of atopic dermatitis is more typical for children (up to 12 years old), starting from 2 months of age. Externally, AD is manifested by dryness, redness of the skin, accompanied by severe itching. In the acute stage, swelling of the affected area, a rash may appear. As a result of combing - weeping wounds. In most cases (with proper treatment) atopic dermatitis goes away by about 2-3 years of a child's life. Sometimes AD flows into a chronic form. However, manifestations of AD can also overtake an adult who did not suffer from dermatitis in childhood. Most often, atopic dermatitis affects the face, neck, wrists, hands, feet, and elbows.
contact dermatitis
- Contact dermatitis (CD) occurs when the allergen comes into direct contact with the skin. Substances of various nature can cause CD:
- chemicals (acid, alkali, metal, latex, etc.);
- cosmetics (cream, decorative cosmetics, etc.);
- household chemicals (washing powder, fabric softener, cleaning powder, etc.);
- synthetic materials from which clothing is made;
- ultraviolet, etc.
Contact dermatitis looks like local redness with characteristic swelling and itching, bubbles of various sizes appear with transparent contents, after which yellowish crusts remain.
Hives
Urticaria got its name due to its resemblance to traces obtained from nettles - red, itchy blisters of various sizes appear on the skin, which can merge, forming a large blister. There are cases when edema occurs on the lips, mucous membranes, larynx (angioedema), which can cause suffocation and require immediate medical attention. Most often, hives are a symptom of a food allergy. It is also not uncommon for it to occur in response to exposure to cold (cold allergy).
Eczema
Eczema is accompanied by redness, swelling, itching of the affected area, a rash in the form of small blisters with transparent contents. Bubbles burst, leaving behind small erosions, scales, crusts. Often, in addition to itching, there is also a strong burning sensation, which gives the patient severe discomfort. Eczema, like any other skin allergy, can result from contact with any allergen, regardless of how it enters the body.
Treatment of the disease
The main principle of treatment is to eliminate the irritating factor. This is not hard to do when the allergen is known. In cases where the nature of the allergy is not clear, you should consult an allergist.
Treatment of skin allergies, depending on the severity, can be carried out in several directions at once:
- symptomatic treatment.
- Medical treatment.
- Physiotherapy.
What methods of treatment to use, in what doses and in what combination - only the doctor should decide!
Symptomatic treatment
Skin allergies in mild forms respond well to symptomatic treatment and do not require additional measures. Symptomatic treatment involves the use of external topical agents that relieve itching, redness, swelling and eliminate dry skin. These drugs can be in the form of a gel (Fenistil Gel), cream (Advantan, Gistan, Elocom, Bepanten, etc.), emulsions (Lipobase, Emolium, etc.) .) or ointments ("Skin-cap", "Epidel", "Triderm", "Akriderm", etc.).
Medical treatment
Drug treatment involves the appointment of antihistamines that block the production of histamine and reduce its level in the blood. Such drugs ("Suprastin", "Fenistil", "Zirtek", "Tavegil", "Claritin", "Erius", etc.) can significantly reduce the manifestations of allergies and prevent the occurrence of an allergic reaction. In parallel, the doctor may prescribe a course of enterosorbents ("Entorosgel", "Polysorb", etc.) for the speedy removal of toxins and allergens from the gastrointestinal tract.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy for skin allergies is aimed at correcting the symptoms of the disease. Physiotherapy can have a sedative (electrosleep), vasoconstrictive (UHF therapy), decongestant (galvanization), immunocorrective (laser therapy), antipruritic (electrophoresis, darsonvalization), antihypoxic (hypoxic therapy) action. The type and duration of the course of physiotherapy can only be selected by a doctor.
Allergy on the skin is a very unpleasant symptom. To get rid of it, it is necessary to stop the allergic reaction itself, identify the provocative substance and further apply preventive measures. Self-medication in matters of allergies is unacceptable, if skin manifestations occur, you should seek help from a specialist!
