Dermatitis
What are the symptoms of dermatitis? Learn about the causes, characteristics, and treatments of this condition.
Symptoms and Causes
Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin that causes itching, dryness, scaling, and, in some cases, blisters that ooze and subsequently form crusts. Despite its appearance, it is not a contagious disease, even when there is direct contact with the affected area.
There are different types of dermatitis depending on their causes and characteristics. The most common include:
- Atopic dermatitis: This is a chronic condition and is usually associated with an allergy. It typically begins in childhood and persists into adulthood. Although skin condition improves in many cases, it may lead to other conditions such as rhinitis or asthma.
- Seborrheic dermatitis: This is a type of eczema that affects the oilier areas of the skin, such as the scalp, eyebrows, the area behind the ears, eyelids, the lower part of the face, or the chest.
- Contact or allergic dermatitis: This is a skin reaction to a foreign agent (soaps, perfumes, cosmetics, metals, detergents, or dust).
- Diaper dermatitis: This is the most common form of pediatric dermatitis, although it can also occur in adults who regularly use diapers. It causes redness and inflammation of the buttocks, genital area, lower abdomen, and thighs due to contact with urine and feces when diapers are not changed frequently, or because of skin sensitivity or friction.
Each type of dermatitis presents different symptoms; therefore, personalized treatments are the most effective.
Symptoms
The main symptom of dermatitis is skin swelling, regardless of the type of condition involved. Other common signs of this disorder include:
- Atopic dermatitis: itching, skin thickening, dryness, and scaling.
- Seborrheic dermatitis: redness, itching, white or yellow scales, and dandruff on the scalp as well as on the eyebrows, mustache, sides of the nose, or beard.
- Contact or allergic dermatitis: dark patches, rash, itching, fissures, scaling, and blisters.
- Diaper dermatitis: irritation, stinging, tenderness, discomfort, and crying.
Causes
Dermatitis is usually caused by contact with an irritating agent. In some cases, such as seborrheic dermatitis, the exact cause remains unknown.
Risk Factors
Some factors that increase the risk of developing dermatitis include:
- Age: although this condition affects people of all ages, children are more likely to develop it. In addition, chronic cases usually begin during the first year of life.
- Family history.
- Allergies, which may manifest as skin inflammation.
- Exposure to irritant substances.
- Stress.
- Sweating.
- Sudden temperature changes.
Complications
As a general rule, dermatitis does not usually lead to complications. However, there is a risk of developing an infection if the affected area is scratched.
In cases of persistent and chronic scratching, the skin may undergo lichenification (becoming thicker and developing deeper skin folds). Changes in pigmentation (hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation) may also occur, and scarring can develop as a result of intense scratching.
Prevention
Dermatitis is not easy to prevent, but symptoms can be minimized by avoiding irritants or, at least, limiting exposure to them.
Which specialist treats dermatitis?
Specialists in Medical-surgical dermatology and Venereology diagnose and treat dermatitis.
Diagnosis
Dermatitis is diagnosed through medical history taking and clinical examination of the skin. When another condition is suspected, a differential diagnosis is performed. If uncertainty remains, a skin biopsy may be required.
To identify the agent responsible for the condition, a patch test is performed. This consists of applying a potentially irritating substance to polyethylene patches that are placed on the skin (generally on the back) and assessing the skin reaction over the following days.
Treatment
To treat dermatitis, regardless of its etiology, topical corticosteroids are prescribed. Oral or injectable corticosteroids are recommended only in the most severe cases.
Treatment with antihistamines may also be necessary to relieve itching, or antibiotics if any lesions have become infected due to scratching.
Some symptoms improve when the affected area is moisturized, covered with wet dressings, or exposed to sunlight for short periods of time.
