Daily Archives: July 7, 2013

Fatherhood Treating Eczema

By: YukMOBI

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Fatherhood Treating Eczema - Video

Doctors in the UK are blaming a preservative chemical used in a wide range of skincare and cosmetic products, for sparking an epidemic of allergic reactions.

Used to prolong the shelf life of products such as face creams, wet wipes, bubble bath and shower gels - even those marketed as being kinder to skin such as Nivea body lotion, Wet Ones wipes and Boots men's face wash - methylisothiazolinone is now being targeted by skin experts.

Also known as MI, methylisothiazolinone has been used in cosmetics since 2005 to help prevent the growth of unhygienic bacteria and yeasts. Good, right?

But despite the chemical being tested for toxicity and found safe for use, European regulations now allow greater concentrations of the chemical to be used than ever before. Which dermatologists claim, could be triggering the biggest epidemic of eczema, dermatitis and skin allergies our generation has ever seen. Yikes.

So what's happening now? The use of MI will be adressed at the British Association of Dermatologists conference in Liverpool this week, while the European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) has written to the European Commission, calling for an investigation into what levels are safe.

If you've been struggling to get your own skin allergies under control, check the ingredient list on the back of any products you use.

If it's overly complex or contains MI you'd be wise to take a break from it or book an appointment with your doctor.

Though not all preservatives are bad news, this could be yet another case to support the simplification of skincare products. What do you think?

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See the article here:
Is this the skincare chemical flaring up your eczema or dermatitis?

In a new review of previous research, children who took antibiotics in their first year of life were about 40 percent more likely to develop eczema, an itchy skin disorder.

Kids' exposure to antibiotics taken by their mothers during pregnancy was not tied to the common rash, however, according to the results published in the British Journal of Dermatology

Experts said the new study supports the idea that antibiotics destroy intestinal microbes that play an important role in the immune system's development after birth.

The "hygiene hypothesis" suggests that babies and children whose immune systems are not exposed to enough challenges because their environment is too clean may be prone later in life to immune overreactions like allergies and asthma.

This study brings us closer to understanding the possible link between antibiotics and eczema, Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of the program for maternal and child health at Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, told Reuters Health by email.

"They may be linked through the hygiene hypothesis," said Gupta, who was not involved in the new study. Throwing one element of the delicate developing immune system off-kilter could result in allergic skin reactions like eczema, she said.

Eczema is a common skin disorder, especially among children, marked by itchy, red skin. Between 10 and 20 percent of children experience symptoms of the disease, and more than half of them continue to have symptoms into adulthood, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Patients are often prescribed steroid medications to treat the problem.

Previous research had suggested that early life exposure to antibiotics may lead to an increased risk for eczema, but the new review is the first to consolidate available results from several studies.

Researchers led by Dr. Teresa Tsakok of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London, UK, evaluated the results of 20 studies of antibiotic use, either prenatally or in the first year of life, in connection with later skin problems.

Read more:
Antibiotics in infancy linked to eczema