Eczema historical perspective

Ebers Papyrus (1500 BCE)

• This is the earliest medical document about dermatology that was compiled in Egypt. ^[2]

• Wind-heat or damp-heat were used to treat eczema
• Nai hsien, tai lien chung, and Hsin-san-miao-san are herbal remedies for infantile eczema that was known to have anti-inflammatory and moisturizing effects. ^[3]

Hippocrates (400 BCE)

• He explained the importance of skin manifestations in the identification of internal humoral medical conditions. ^[4]

Celsus (AD)

• He is a Roman physician who described the existence of a dermatological condition as a:

 " certain degree of hardness of the skin with pustules, some humid and some dry  "

Suetonius (AD)

• The atopic syndrome found in Emperor Augustus was described in The Twelve Caesars

Avicenna (980-1037 CE)

• He described the association of skin dryness and bathing ^[5]

Girolamo Mercurialis (1572)

• He is an Italian physician who wrote the very first dermatological text De morbis cutaneis which pertained to an oozing and pruritic condition on infant‘s head.^[6]

• Pustular lesions or scabs on forehead, brows, and face were accounted by him.
• In one of his writings, he described how physicians were reluctant to provide medications for itching or eczema as they believed that this would make the condition worse.

• He is a French dermatologist who had noted the occurrence of an oozing, pruritic skin lesion in infants which he called “teigne muqueuse“, or also translates to “mucosal ringworm“.

• They are English physicians who devised a dermatological classification according to the type of primary lesion.
• They coined the name “eczema” derived from the Greek word ‘ekzein which means to erupt or to boil over.

• Restoration of equilibrium.

• He introduced the concept of chronicity of eczema.

• He is a Viennese dermatologist who came up with a novel disorder which was known as “Hebra’s prurigo”.
• This was described as itchy papules found on the limbs and trunk.
• Characteristics include symmetric lymphadenopathy, excoriations, and thickened, darkened and roughened skin.

• He used topical remedies which include soap, lotions, oils, tars, and ointments.

• He was credited with the discovery of infantile eczema, which was similar to the concept by Wilan and Bateman.
• The lesion was said to be pruritic at night time.

• He introduced the systemic management via use of arsenic and more focus on diet.

• He was a French physician and medical director of Hospital Saint Louis.
• He introduced the current perception on atopic dermatitis.

• He described the concept of allergy, which meant an abnormal reaction of the body to any substance.

• They proposed the concept of atopy.

• They used the concept by Coca and Cooke,and was able to conceptualize the atopic dermatitis.

• They reported the effectiveness of hydrocortisone for management of erythema, pruritus and scaling.

• They discovered the importance of testing for presence of food proteins, and restrict them, if possible, to prevent hypersensitivity reactions.

• They were known for making the widely used diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis.