Does Eczema Go Away With Time?
If you're a parent or guardian of a child with eczema, you're probably all too familiar with the itchy ins and outs of the inflammatory skin condition — and with how tricky it can be to diagnose. Perhaps you noticed a dry, scaly rash crop up across your child's arms or legs, or maybe you sensed a flare-up creeping over their hands or face.
And yet, despite its prevalence, eczema is still something of a mystery for patients and medical professionals alike, largely because there's no cure — though there are many treatments available that can control and manage it to the point that the patient won’t even realize they have it.
Growing Out of Your Eczema: Myth or Truth?
For those younger folks dealing with eczema’s sensitive, swollen skin and small, raised bumps, there's good news: Atopic dermatitis traditionally disappears almost entirely by the time children reach adulthood, with the exception of an occasional flare-up here and there, depending on one’s level of sensitivity. And when it does appear in adults, it tends to be milder.
Many children's eczema improves after age three, and even more so into young adulthood. Almost two-thirds of children's eczema will resolve. However, their skin usually remains dry during the winter, with occasional patches appearing.
Eczema — also known by its clinical name, atopic dermatitis — most often appears in the first six months to five years of a children's life, according to the National Eczema Association. And the condition is especially common among children: While an estimated 31.6 million people in the U.S. have some form of eczema, approximately 9.6 million of those cases occur in individuals under the age of 18.
So, can people grow out of eczema? Technically, yes — usually if they had it as children first. In a study from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 80 percent of childhood eczema was gone eight years after its initial diagnosis, and less than 5 percent of cases persisted longer than 20 years. Plus, if you were one of those 9.6 million Americans who experienced the condition as a child, "it may be milder" if it returns in adulthood.
But atopic dermatitis can also be a lifelong condition, and in certain instances of adult-onset, eczema does develop after individuals turn 18. In fact, the National Eczema Association finds that roughly one in four adults with eczema report initial symptoms coming on later in life. There's also another peak of diagnoses that appear around age 50. Though no matter the age at which patients are first diagnosed, treatment options abound.
Controlling Your Symptoms
Eczema is impacted by your genetics, your immune system’s response, the environment, and stress. Minimizing your exposure to triggers will help. For example, there are two almost-too-easy ways to calm the skin’s barrier: The first is to switch to gentle, soap-free cleansers and fragrance- and dye-free detergents, and the second is just as simple: to keep skin adequately moisturized with creams and emollients.
Dry air, heat, and sweat are also frequent triggers, so be it a child or adult, use a humidifier to add moisture back to the air and wear loose-fitting cotton clothing while exercising.
Whether you’re one of those caretakers of a child with eczema, or an adult who just got diagnosed at age 60 yourself, remember: There are ways to keep the redness, dryness, and itchiness under control — even if eczema is something you can’t grow out of.
Using Eczema Skin Care Products
The best ways to keep the symptoms of eczema at bay is handling the surface dryness and patches. With so many drugstore brand lotions with the “eczema” on the label, that might be your instant solution. However, most of the ingredients outside of colloidal oatmeal can actually be very damaging.
What you need are ingredients that bring back moisture into your skin, not block your skin from breathing like petroleum and mineral oil do. Wild Naturals eczema products are formulated with severe skin conditions in mind so you can finally feel relief from the itch and dryness! With manuka honey, shea butter, and coconut oil, to name a few of our star ingredients, you can expect to see the transformation you’re looking for from your eczema skin.
It’s even pH balanced for skin, which many skin care products never take into consideration! Shop the Wild Naturals Eczema & Psoriasis line today and ease your eczema for nourished and hydrated skin!
