What Are the 8 Different Types of Eczema?

Different Types of Eczema, Causes, and Symptoms

Learn the different types of eczema, as well as causes and symptoms.

When you think of eczema, you might think of skin that is itchy, red, dry, scaly, or thickened.

Even though that’s true, people with medium to dark skin may not notice it as much because it can make their skin look brown, purple, or ashen. brown and Black skin are also more likely to get small bumps on their arms, legs, and torso.

Children often get this skin condition, but adults can also get it. In fact, 10 percent of people will get eczema at some point in their lives, according to the National Eczema Association.

Eczema can happen to anybody. Some races and ethnicities are more likely to have a high rate of:

• 11 percent of white people
• 10 percent of Black people
• 13 percent of Asian or Pacific Islander people
• 13 percent of Native American people

Some people call the most common type of eczema “atopic dermatitis.” “Atopic” means “allergic.” People with eczema usually have itchy, red, or very dark skin, as well as allergies or asthma.

Eczema can also show up in a few other ways. Each kind of eczema has its own set of signs and causes.

There are also some signs of eczema that are the same for all types:

• dry, scaly skin
• redness
• hyperpigmentation
• itching, which may be intense

1. Atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is the type of eczema that most people have. Most of the time, it starts in childhood and gets better or goes away by the time the person is an adult.

Atopic dermatitis is a part of the atopic triad, which is a group of diseases that are linked to allergies. The word “triad” means “three.” Asthma and hay fever are the other two diseases in this group. People with atopic dermatitis often have all three.

Symptoms

With atopic dermatitis:

• Most of the time, the rash shows up in the folds of your elbows or knees.
• In places where the rash shows up, the skin may get lighter, darker, or thicker.
• If you scratch them, they might turn into small bumps that leak fluid.
• Usually, the rash shows up on a baby’s head and cheeks.
• If you scratch your skin, it can get sick.

Causes

Atopic dermatitis happens when your skin’s natural protection from the outside world gets weaker. This means that your skin can’t protect you as well from things that bother you or make you allergic.

Atopic dermatitis is probably caused by a number of things, like:

• genes
• dry skin
• an immune system problem
• triggers in the environment

2. Contact dermatitis

If you have red, irritated, thick, scaly skin that is caused by a reaction to things you touch, you may have contact dermatitis.

There are two kinds: The immune system reacts to an irritant, like latex or metal, which causes allergic contact dermatitis. Irritating contact dermatitis happens when a chemical or other substance irritates your skin.

Symptoms

With contact dermatitis:

• Your skin burns and stings, itches, turns red, turns pink or magenta, and becomes hyperpigmented.
• Your skin may get hives, which are red, itchy bumps.
• There may be fluid-filled blisters that may ooze and harden.
• Skin can get thicker and feel scaly or leathery over time.

Causes

Contact dermatitis happens when you touch something that irritates or makes your skin react to an allergy. Most of the time, it’s because:

• detergents
• bleach
• jewelry
• latex
• nickel
• paint
• poison ivy and other poisonous plants
• skin care products, including makeup
• soaps and perfumes
• solvents
• tobacco smoke

3. Dyshidrotic eczema

Dyshidrotic eczema causes your hands and feet to get small blisters. Women are more likely to have it than men.

Symptoms

In dyshidrotic eczema,

• fluid-filled blisters form on your fingers, toes, palms, and the bottoms of your feet.
• Sometimes these blisters itch or hurt.
• Scales, cracks, and flakes can appear on your skin.

Causes

This type of eczema can be brought on by:

• allergies
• damp hands and feet
• exposure to substances, such as nickel, cobalt, or chromium salt
• stress
• smoking tobacco products

4. Seborrheic dermatitis

Seborrheic dermatitis makes skin patches that are scaly, oily, and flaky, like dandruff. Most of the time, these spots show up where the body has more sebaceous glands, which make oil. This means the hairline, the scalp, the upper back, the nose, and the groyne.

When this kind of dermatitis happens to babies, it’s called “cradle cap,” and it doesn’t come back later. But seborrheic dermatitis is likely to last for a long time in teens and adults.

Symptoms

In seborrheic dermatitis,

• patches of flaky, white or yellow scales form on oily skin, like on the scalp, hairline, upper back, mid-chest, armpits, under the breasts, or near the groyne.
• The patches may cause skin to flake off. This happens more often on the head and face.
• People with dark brown or black skin may have patches that are darker than their skin, but patches can be lighter on people with white skin.

When this kind of dermatitis affects adults and teens, symptoms may come and go. They may also go away for a while, usually in the summer, but come back when the season changes and the air is once again cold and dry.

Causes

Seborrheic dermatitis is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors.

First, something like stress or illness sets off a reaction in the skin that makes it red and swollen. This makes the glands in your body that make oil work too hard and make too much Malassezia yeast. This is something that lives on the surface of the skin.

When yeast grows too quickly, the immune system responds by causing a number of changes in the skin. This makes the skin patches that are a sign of seborrheic dermatitis appear.

Some other causes are:

• hormonal changes
• illness
• harsh detergents or chemicals
• cold, dry weather
• certain medical conditions, like Parkinson’s disease, psoriasis, HIV, and acne
• medicines, including interferon and lithium

5. Neurodermatitis

Neurodermatitis is like atopic dermatitis in many ways. It makes your skin break out in thick, scaly patches.

Symptoms

• Neurodermatitis causes thick, scaly patches to form on your arms, legs, back of your neck, scalp, bottoms of your feet, backs of your hands, or genital area.
• When you are relaxed or asleep, the patches can be very itchy.
• If you scratch the patches, they can bleed and get sick.

Causes

Neurodermatitis usually starts in people who have other kinds of eczema or psoriasis. Doctors don’t know what causes it exactly, but stress can make it happen.

6. Nummular eczema

This kind of eczema makes your skin get round, coin-shaped spots. In Latin, “nummular” means “coin.”
Nummular eczema This kind of eczema looks very different from other kinds, and it can itch a lot.

Symptoms

In nummular eczema,

• your skin gets round, coin-shaped spots.
• The spots might itch or get rough.

Causes

Nummular eczema can be caused by an allergic reaction to a bug bite or to metals or chemicals. It can also be caused by dry skin.

If you have another kind of eczema, like atopic dermatitis, you are more likely to get this kind.

7. Stasis dermatitis

Stasis dermatitis happens when fluid leaks into your skin from veins that aren’t strong enough to hold it.

This liquid leads to:

• swelling
• redness in lighter skin tones
• brown, purple, gray or ashen color in darker skin tones
• itching
• pain

Symptoms

• In stasis dermatitis, your lower legs may swell, especially if you’ve been walking a lot during the day.
• Your legs might hurt or feel really heavy.
• You’ll probably also have damaged veins in your legs that are thick and ropey, called varicose veins.
• The skin around those varicose veins will be dry and itchy.
• Your lower legs and the tops of your feet may get open sores.

Causes

People with poor blood flow in their lower legs can get stasis dermatitis. If the valves that normally push blood up through your legs to your heart stop working, blood can pool in your legs.

Your legs can swell, and you might get spider veins.

8. Hand eczema

Hand eczema is eczema that only shows up on your hands. If your job, like hairdressing or cleaning, involves using chemicals that irritate the skin, you may get this type.

Symptoms

• When you have hand eczema,
• your hands become red, dark, itchy, and dry.
• They might crack or get sores.

Causes

Chemicals are what cause eczema on the hands. People are more likely to get this form if they work in jobs that expose them to irritants like:

• cleaning
• hairdressing
• healthcare
• laundry or dry cleaning

Seeing a doctor

See your doctor if the itching, redness, hyperpigmentation, dryness, and scaling don’t go away or are making your life hard.

Eczema can be diagnosed and treated by a dermatologist, but other health professionals may also be able to help.

Consider keeping a diary to figure out what makes your eczema trigger so you can explain it to your doctor. Take note of:

• what you eat and drink
• what skin products, chemicals, soaps, makeup, and detergents you use
• what activities you do, such as taking a walk outside in the woods or swimming in a chlorinated pool
• how long you spend in the bath or shower and the temperature of the water
• when you’re under stress

You should start to see links between what you do and when your eczema gets worse. Bring this journal to your doctor so they can figure out what makes you upset.

A patch test can also be done by an allergist. In this test, small amounts of substances that make your skin feel bad are put on patches and put on your skin. The patches are left on your skin for 20 to 30 minutes to see if you have a reaction.

This test can help your doctor figure out what makes your eczema flare up, so you can avoid those things.

Treatment

Eczema comes and goes a lot. When it shows up, you may need to try different medicines and other treatments to get rid of it.

• The itch can be stopped with antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl).
• The itching can be relieved with a corticosteroid cream or ointment. For a more severe reaction, you can control swelling by taking oral steroids like prednisone (Rayos).
• Calcineurin inhibitors, like tacrolimus (Protopic) and pimecrolimus (Elidel), stop the immune response that makes skin itch.
• Skin infections are treated with antibiotics.
• In light therapy, your skin is exposed to UV light to help heal your rash.
• When you use corticosteroid cream, putting a cool compress on your skin before you rub it in can help the medicine work better.
• Itching can be soothed by lotions or baths with colloidal oatmeal.

If an allergic reaction causes your eczema to get worse, you should stay away from the thing that causes it.

Tips for reducing outbreaks

Here are some ways to keep eczema from flaring up and take care of its symptoms:

• To stop the itch, put cool compresses on your skin or take a bath with colloidal oatmeal or baking soda.
• Use a rich, oil-based cream or ointment every day to keep your skin moist and to protect it from the weather.
• Apply the cream right after you get out of the shower or bath to seal in the moisture.
• Pat your skin gently with a soft towel after you bathe. Never rub.
• Try not to scratch. You could make someone sick.
• Use detergents, cleansers, makeup, and other skin care products that don’t have a scent.
• Whenever you work with chemicals, wear gloves and clothes that protect you.
• Wear clothes that fit loosely and are made of soft materials like cotton.

Outlook

Most cases of eczema come and go. Most of the time, atopic dermatitis is worse in children and gets better as they get older. Other types of eczema may last for the rest of your life, but you can take steps to make the symptoms less severe.