Associated skin problems with asthma

Vikas Sharma

ASTHMA has a strong link to a skin condition called eczema or atopic dermatitis. Various studies have found that over half of patients, particularly babies/young children, with moderate to severe eczema have or will develop asthma.

Those having one atopic condition are at a higher risk and have a tendency to develop asthma, eczema and allergies. In many cases, intially a patient develops eczema, followed by food allergies, asthma and allergic rhinitis (excessive sneezing, runny nose). This progression of atopic conditions during childhood is called atopic march.

Because this atopic march begins with eczema in most patients, research has focused on how eczema might influence the development of later symptoms. Evidence suggests that early eczema treatment can help prevent subsequent allergies and asthma by avoiding exposure to allergens through a damaged skin barrier. Eczema, common in babies and children, is a risk factor for developing allergies later.

All three conditions — asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergies — cause inflammation. The immune system overreacts to harmless substances and secretes inflammatory cytokines in excess that cause the body to attack itself — bronchial mucosal cells in asthma and skin cells in atopic eczema.

Eczema causes dry, itchy and inflamed skin. In some patients, this overreaction occurs in response to an environmental trigger, or an allergen. Symptoms can appear anywhere on the body. They include dry, cracked skin and itchiness; rash on swollen skin that varies in colour; small, raised bumps, on brown or black skin; oozing and crusting; thickened skin; darkening of the skin around the eyes, and raw, sensitive skin from scratching.

— The writer is head, dermatology, National Skin Hospital, Panchkula