Eczema natural history, complications and prognosis

Eczema has regarded as a medical condition with a natural history that occurs consistently. It is characterized as a disease with an early onset, mostly during the childhood period, and remits during the adolescence period. If eczema is left untreated, it can lead to viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Psychological problems could also arise brought about by constant itching.

• Eczema has regarded as a medical condition with a natural history that occurs consistently.
• It is characterized as a disease with an early onset, mostly during the childhood period, and remits during the adolescence period. ^[1]

• Individuals suffering from eczema often have comorbidities like asthma ^[2], allergic rhinitis ^[3], contact dermatitis ^[4], food allergy, ^[5] and atopy-associated eye diseases.^[6]
  • Peanut allergy is the most common form of food allergy associated with eczema. ^[5]
  • The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 2017 guidelines recommend that all infants suffering from severe eczema should undergo skin prick testing or peanut-specific IgE evaluation to assess for possible occurrence of peanut allergy and be prevented as early as possible. ^[7]
• Eczema is also associated with metabolic problems such as obesity. ^[8]

• Eczema can lead to viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
• Psychological problems could also arise brought about by constant itching.
  • 92,642 children participants with eczema in a cross-sectional study were observed to have a two-fold increase in having an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ^{[9] [10]}
  • A higher incidence rate of anxiety disorders in adolescence is observed. These include generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder.
  • The elderly people with eczema are the most commonly affected with depression. ^[11]

• In those patients who have an onset of eczema during their first two years of life, a higher remission rate is expected than those who have a later onset of disease. ^[12]
• Hand eczema has poor prognosis with accounted 44% manifestation of symptoms in a 15-year follow-up study. ^[13]
• In another study, complete healing was only observed among 19.3% of the patients after a 5-year follow-up. ^[14]