Don’t Ignore Allergies and Itchiness

An allergic woman

Pruritus is a constant fight for some people, which refers to itchy skin. The exact causes of skin itching can be difficult to understand.

Itchy skin may have a rash or other skin condition. It may also symptomatically be more severe, for example, hepatic illness or kidney failure. To be relieved, the problem and the underlying cause should be identified and dealt with.

Symptoms

You may have itchy skin over certain small areas, like your arm, leg, or the entire body. The skin can be itchy without noticeable skin changes. The experts at Oklahoma allergy and asthma clinic have recognized the symptoms of this skin condition:

  • Redness

  • Scaly skin

  • Bumps, blisters or spots

  • Dry, cracked skin

Itchiness sometimes lasts for a long time. It gets itchier when you rub or scratch the area. The more you scratch itches, the more it itches you. It could be difficult to break this itch-scratch cycle.

Causes

Dry Skin

Dry skin is a major cause of itchy skin. If a person does not notice a shiny red bump or a sudden change of skin, it's probably because of dry skin. Excessively warm and cold weather with low humidity is environmental factors which can lead to dry skin. Too much washing can also lead to dry skin. They can affect any age group, but their skin grows thinner and dryer as people grow old.

Eczema

The most frequent cause of skin rash in children is eczema or atopic dermatitis. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), one in 5 infants and 1 in 50 adults are affected by eczema. The cause has to do with the skin barrier's leakage. This dries the area to dry up and threatens it to irritate and become inflamed. Keeping skin hydrated is essential.

woman scratching an itch

Allergy

The skin can also be itchy due to irritation and allergic reactions. The skin is directly in contact with allergic contact dermatitis. A red, itchy rash with small blisters or bumps results from the skin's allergy. The rash occurs when the skin gets in contact with a substance that is attacked by the immune system. There is often a time delay between allergy exposure and rash.

Hives

Hives are a kind of skin inflammation caused by a chemical called histamine that is released into the body. Small blood vessels leak this release causes the skin to swell.

Testing before Treatment

The normal way to check if someone is allergic to an allergen is by a skin test (conducted by prick, scratch, or puncture). Skin testing can simultaneously test the allergic reaction of various substances (with a different needle or lancet for each allergen). Typically, a small mark is drawn on the skin, and next to each mark, a drop of the allergen extract is used.

Histamine is also applied to the skin surface to assess whether or not the skin of a person normally reacts, because it generates a skin reaction in the majority of people.

Your skin can affect the quality of your life for over six weeks by, for example, interrupting your sleep and causing anxiety or deposition. You may also have itchy skin. Long-term itching and scratching can intensify itching and can lead to skin damage, infection, and scars.

OKOA is an Oklahoma allergy and asthma clinic where you can get specialists to make the diagnosis and process the treatment smoothly.

**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctor's advice, nor does it create any form of patient-doctor relationship.