Is Eczema Contagious?

Is eczema contagious?  This is one of the most common question eczema experts encounter on a daily basis.  The short answer to that question is no, eczema is not contagious.  Although the exact cause of eczema is still unknown, there is enough scientific evidence that proves you can’t catch eczema.  However, this misconception still persists.  Why do a lot of people still believe that eczema is contagious?

This belief is not entirely without basis.  Eczema does display certain characteristics that would lead people to believe that it can be contagious.  Below are some of the reasons why people believe eczema can be contagious and the truth behind the lie.

  1. Eczema looks like a contagious skin disease.  The symptoms of eczema do resemble those of a skin infection.  The skin redness, itching, blisters, sores, inflammation, and skin flakes are just some of the symptoms that eczema shares with contagious skin diseases.  One reason why eczema looks like a skin infection is because of inflammation.  Inflammation is the skin’s way of protecting itself against infection.  When the skin is inflamed, it produces the symptoms mentioned above.  When a person has eczema, his skin becomes inflamed when it is triggered by certain factors like stress, change in weather, or skin irritation.

Skin infection can also trigger an eczema flare up.  But unlike a skin infection, which is localized to certain areas of the body and can change locations, eczema usually appears in several places and they appear in those places every time.

Another reason why eczema can be mistaken as a skin infection is because infections are common complications of eczema.  Skin affected by eczema can be very itchy.  Excessive scratching can injure the skin and make it more susceptible to infections. 

  1. Eczema occurs more often during cold weather, a lot like coughs, colds and the flu.  Infectious diseases like cough, cold, and flu actually happen all year round.  They seem to happen more during cold weather because during those times people are more likely to stay indoors which makes spreading the viruses that cause these diseases faster.

 

Eczema is more prevalent during cold weather because changes in temperature and humidity are common triggers of eczema.  It can also be because certain fabrics like wool used in coats and jackets can irritate the skin and trigger eczema.  Eczema can also occur when the weather is hot because perspiration can irritate the skin and trigger a flare up.

 

  1. Eczema seems to spread among children.  Children are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases. The increased incidence of eczema among infants and children has lead a lot of people into believing that eczema can also be an infection.  The exact cause of why more children have eczema now is still unknown but there are several theories.  The most popular theory is that the increase in incidence of eczema may be related to the increased incidence of allergy and atopy in children.

 

  1. Eczema is more common in sickly children and adults.  People who have immune system problems like allergies are also more prone to infection.  Infections are caused by either bacteria, fungi, viruses or parasites.  The symptoms of eczema are the result of inflammation due to immune system problems and not due to infections.  It just so happened that people with eczema do have weakened immune systems and are more susceptible to infection.

 

  1. Eczema is common among siblings.  Siblings that share the same house tend to share the same infections.  Eczema can be shared between siblings but it’s mostly through genetics.  Eczema tends to run in families and can be passed from one generation to another.



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