What is Skin Redness?
Skin redness can occur from a sunburn to an allergic reaction, there are many things that can cause your skin to become red or irritated. It may be because extra blood rushes to the skin’s surface to fight off irritants and encourage healing.
It’s not always a reason for concern, but skin redness can also be irritating and uncomfortable, which may also be accompanied by other symptoms.
Rosacea
If you are experiencing redness, but also other symptoms, such as spots, visible blood vessels and dry and thickened skin, you could be suffering from a skin condition called Rosacea.
Symptoms include redness, flushing, hardening of the skin, spots, a stinging or burning sensation and the appearance of red broken blood vessels. Severe symptoms might include dry, sore eyes and a thickening of the skin, particularly around the nose. Most suffers report flare-ups, with symptoms worsening and reoccurring over time.
Rosacea affects more women than men, typically in their 30s to 50s; however symptoms can begin to show from early 20s. It is primarily seen on the nose, cheeks, forehead and chin, as well as the neck and chest and is often mistaken for acne, eczema or some other skin allergy. Left untreated, symptoms can worsen, so early action is advised. Sadly, there is currently no cure, only treatment, however treatment has evolved over recent years, allowing sufferers of Rosacea to enjoy clearer, smoother, stress-free skin.
Rosacea, also referred to as Acne Rosacea because of its similar appearance to acne, is a chronic inflammatory disease of the face. It is not known what exactly causes Rosacea but common factors involve malfunctioning of the facial blood vessels, sun damage, genetics and abnormal immune reactions, and is most prevalent amongst women as opposed to men. If left untreated Rosacea can lead to dry flaky skin and papules, which may sting and cause a burning sensation or tightness which can be aggravated by sensitivity to products, heat, alcohol, spicy food, stress and hormones.
Eczema and Dermatitis
Eczema is a nonspecific term for many types of skin inflammation (dermatitis). There are many different categories of eczema, which some include: allergic, contact, irritant, and nummular eczema, which can be difficult to distinguish from atopic dermatitis. These types of eczema are listed and briefly described below. Atopy is a medical syndrome that has three common conditions that tend to occur in the same individual, however not always present at the same time: atopic dermatitis, inhalant allergies, and asthma.
Types of eczema
- Contact eczema/dermatitis: a localised reaction that includes redness, itching, and burning where the skin has come into direct contact with an irritant such as an acid, a cleaning agent, or other chemical
- Allergic contact eczema: a red, itchy, weepy reaction where the skin has come into contact with a substance that the immune system recognises as foreign, such as poison ivy or certain chemicals or antibiotics in topical products and food allergies.
- Seborrheic eczema (also called seborrheic dermatitis or seborrhea) is a very common form of mild skin inflammation of unknown cause that presents as yellowish, oily, scaly patches of skin on the scalp, face, ears, and occasionally other parts of the body. Often this is also called dandruff in adults or “cradle cap” in infants.
- Nummular eczema: coin-shaped (round), isolated patches of irritated skin, found most commonly on the arms and lower legs, that may be crusted, scaling, and extremely itchy
- Lichen simplex chronicus (localized neurodermatitis): a dermatitis localised to a particular area induced by long-term rubbing, scratching, or picking the skin. The underlying cause may be a sensitivity or irritation that sets off a repeated itching and scratching cycles. It may be seen as scratch marks and pick marks. Areas of thickened plaques form on the skin of the neck, shins, wrists, or forearms. This condition has certain similarities to calluses, and it will resolve if once the irritation and aggravation stops.
Triggers
The trigger is what causes your skin to have a reaction. It could be a substance, your environment, or something happening in your body.
Common triggers for dermatitis that cause symptoms to flare include:
- stress
- hormonal changes
- the environment
- irritating substances
- food allergies
What are the risk factors for dermatitis?
Factors that increase your chances of getting dermatitis include:
- age
- the environment
- a family history of dermatitis
- health conditions
- allergies
- asthma
Some factors increase your risk for certain types of dermatitis more than others. For example, frequent washing and drying of hands will strip your skin’s protective oils and change its pH balance. Healthcare workers typically have hand dermatitis due to this.
