Seborrheic dermatitis in infants: what to watch out for and how to protect your baby

Classification of the disease

There are four main types of miliaria, which differ in the nature of the rash, the duration of development and the severity of symptoms:

• Crystalline. It is accompanied by the development of a blistering rash, which most often appears on the head, behind the ears, and on the neck. Other localization of rashes is also possible. 2-3 days after the appearance, the blisters dry out and begin to peel off. Since irritation is not accompanied by inflammation or infection, the crystalline form is the simplest and most harmless.
• Red. A more complex type, in which sweat acts on the skin for a longer time and, accordingly, causes more severe irritation. A rash in the form of small inflamed tubercles provokes slight swelling and is accompanied by itching, burning, and discomfort. Lasts about two weeks.
• Miliaria alba, or vesiculopustulosis. With this type, blisters with a whitish or yellowish filling appear on the skin. When the bubble bursts, it leaves behind a light coating. The presence of color in the bubbly fluid indicates that the rash is accompanied by an infection, often staphylococcal.
• Deep. In most cases, prickly heat causes only superficial damage to the skin. With a deep form of pathology, the deep layers of the skin are affected. The disease is accompanied by blisters filled with light contents, which resolve or burst spontaneously.

The structure of the skin

The skin is the largest integral multifunctional organ, interconnected with all other organs and systems of the body. In direct contact with the external environment, it performs a barrier-protective function. On the surface of the skin there is a complex pattern in the form of triangular and rhombic fields, formed by numerous grooves. Coarser grooves form folds in the palms, soles, scrotum, and facial wrinkles.

Histologically, three layers of skin are distinguished (Fig. 1):

• epidermis;
• derm (dermis);
• subcutaneous fatty tissue (subcutis), or hypodermis (hypodermis).

Rice. 1. Skin structure

The epidermis is the epithelial part of the skin, and the dermis and hypodermis are connective tissue. The border zone between the epidermis and dermis has the appearance of a wavy line due to the presence of outgrowths in the dermis - papillae, which cause the formation of ridges and furrows on the surface of the skin, forming a skin pattern. The connective tissue part of the skin (dermis and hypodermis) contains nerves, blood and lymphatic vessels, and muscles. In addition, the skin has its own appendage structures, which include hair, sebaceous and sweat glands, as well as nails.

Symptoms

The main and most obvious symptom of the pathology is a rash. Most often, rashes appear on the head, chest, back, groin, armpits, and buttocks. The rash appears as scattered blisters with clear, white or yellow contents, or as small grains with an inflammatory outline.

During the day, the rash may intensify or decrease, and the severity of its manifestation depends on changes in temperature and care for the baby’s skin. In some cases, the child does not show concern, but sometimes may experience itching, pain and demonstrate discomfort with whims, unstable sleep, and lack of appetite.

In mild forms of the disease, other symptoms may not occur. But in more advanced cases, which are accompanied by complications and infection, clinical manifestations may be supplemented by:

• elevated temperature up to 38 degrees;
• the appearance of light plaque, ulcers, ulcers;
• the formation of weeping cracks with an unpleasant odor;
• general deterioration of condition.

When assessing symptoms, it is important to prevent the development of advanced forms of prickly heat and consult a doctor promptly, without waiting for complications to develop. Source: Skin care for a newborn. Solntseva O.A. Medical Council, 2014. p. 35-39.

Symptoms (signs)

At an early stage, immediately after blockage of the gland, the child may complain of pain and/or itching, lacrimation, increased sensitivity to light; the eyelid becomes locally red, inflamed, swollen, and the lesion actually closely resembles a newly formed stye. Many experienced parents at this stage take decisive and sometimes quite competent measures to stop its further progression, but in the case of chalazion these measures turn out to be ineffective. A dense nodule is formed, which upon palpation rolls freely and almost painlessly inside the eyelid. Usually the skin in this place is slightly hyperemic and the internal conjunctiva is significantly hyperemic; a light gray center of swelling may be observed at the exit point of the gland.

When a secondary bacterial infection occurs, the encapsulated nodule can become quite inflamed, turning into a suppurating internal “true” stye; such a microabscess can grow, bursting the eyelid from the inside and causing pain, and then spontaneously open with the leakage of contents and infection of surrounding tissues (primarily the conjunctiva). With a large volume of the chalazion and its posterior (near the inner wall of the eyelid) localization, mechanical irritation of the eye membranes by an unnaturally protruding portion of the eyelid can also lead to inflammation.

Causes

Most often, parents who do not adhere to the basic rules of caring for the child turn to doctors with complaints about heat rash in their baby: they bathe him with soap every day, wrap him up excessively without taking into account the real ambient temperature. Children with skin allergies, diabetes mellitus, rickets, seborrheic dermatitis or frequent diarrhea are also at risk. Chubby, overweight and bottle-fed babies are especially at risk of developing rashes.

Among other reasons for the development of prickly heat in children are:

• non-compliance with normal temperature conditions;
• too hot, tight clothes or shoes that do not allow air to pass through and do not create natural ventilation;
• excessive use of skin cosmetics that disrupt the acid balance and cause increased sensitivity (soaps, baby creams, oils, etc.);
• rare change of diapers or their poor quality, lack of care;
• viral diseases that are accompanied by fever.

Causes of disease in children

As you know, our organs of vision (which includes the eyelid) are a rather intricate evolutionary “construction”, consisting of many elements - usually small or microscopic, highly specialized, normally carefully “tuned” for coordinated teamwork. But it is also known that the more complex the system, the higher the likelihood of failures, failures, breakdowns and other dysfunctions. In the structure of the eyelid there is a special type of sebaceous glands - the so-called. meibomian glands (on behalf of the German scientist Heinrich Meibom, who discovered them back in the 17th century).

The oily mucous secretion produced by these glands protects the eyelid from excessive wetting by tear fluid and, at the same time, from drying out and friction. The outlets of the meibomian glands are located along the edges of the eyelids at the ciliary bases, closer to the “contact” surface of the eyeball; there are a little more of them on the upper eyelid, less on the lower eyelid, but in total their number is 60-70 per pair of eyelids.

In some cases, a “congestion” occurs at the mouth of the meibomian gland - the exit is blocked, and since the secretion simply has nowhere to go, it begins to accumulate, thicken, then breaks into the surrounding cartilaginous space and is encapsulated there. This is the general algorithm for the formation of a chalazion.

In any age category, the main reasons for the development of chalazion include previous infectious and inflammatory processes: conjunctivitis, blepharitis, and, among other things, hordeolums (styes); “oily skin” syndrome (hypersecretion as an individual feature of the entire sebaceous gland system); gastroenterological diseases; eye injuries, incl. thermal. However, in children the range of possible immediate causes is wider; it includes chronic tonsillitis and other ENT inflammations, untreated caries, helminthiasis, decreased immunity (for example, with spring hypovitaminosis), allergies, age-related abnormalities in the structure of the meibomian gland (narrowness of the ducts) or dysfunction of their secretion at the cellular level.

In addition, refractive error (especially farsightedness) contributes to the development of chalazions if it is significantly pronounced and is not corrected by glasses or lenses. Contact lenses, however, are also risk factors... Finally, the reappearance of a chalazion in the same place may be due to the fact that the previous “hailstone” was undertreated or not completely removed.

How to distinguish heat rash in a child from allergies and other diseases

When a rash appears on the skin, the most difficult thing for parents is to distinguish prickly heat from other diseases: allergies, chicken pox, measles, etc.

First, you should examine the location of the rash. In the first case, the rashes are located in hard-to-reach places: in the area under the diaper, in the folds of the skin, in the hairline. In this case, the rash almost never appears on open areas of the skin that are well ventilated. But if the rash appears on the face, open parts of the arms and legs, most likely it is an allergy.

A simple home test will also help make a differential diagnosis. You just need to undress the baby and leave him without clothes or a diaper for several hours. If the rash appears as a result of prickly heat, during this time it will decrease and become paler. If it is an allergy, no changes will occur to it.

Additional symptoms will help distinguish the disease from measles, chickenpox and other viral pathologies. With infectious diseases, the temperature always rises, intoxication appears, and the rash quickly spreads throughout the body. In turn, the main symptom of prickly heat is just a rash.

What does a mother need to know about her newborn baby?
The questions are answered by the chief freelance neonatologist of the Ministry of Health of the Amur Region, assistant of the Department of Childhood Diseases of the Faculty of Pedagogical Training and Pedagogical Training of the AGMA, Ph.D. Kharchenko Maria Vitalievna.

Any question you have, you can ask through our {rokbox text=|form|}index2.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=2{/rokbox} feedback.

My baby was born weighing 3 kg 600 grams, and in the maternity hospital he lost 250 grams. Is this normal or not? After all, I breastfed him at the “child’s request,” as recommended by the pediatrician. Maybe I should have supplemented him with formula. ?

Don't worry, everything is fine! During the first 5 days of life, a newborn may lose up to 10% of its birth weight.

Your baby has lost 7% of his original weight. This weight loss is normal and is called physiological weight loss . It can be caused by several reasons: the passage of meconium, quite significant losses of fluid through the skin and lungs (during the baby’s breathing) and insufficient nutrition in the very first days of life. Colostrum, which a child receives in the first days of life, cannot fully compensate for the child’s energy costs. However, if mother and baby are in the same room, then she will be able to put him to the breast every time he demands it (free feeding mode). In this case, the mother’s milk comes in much faster and the newborn’s weight loss is unlikely to exceed 5-7%. Most babies, with this type of feeding, regain their original weight by the time they are discharged from the maternity hospital or during the first days (week) of being at home.

What is colostrum and why is everyone so in favor of early breastfeeding?

Colostrum is a secretion of the mammary gland, which is a yellowish thick liquid with a salty taste and a specific odor. Colostrum production begins a few days before birth (with the exception of premature birth) and continues for 3-4 days after birth. Colostrum differs from milk in its increased acidity, higher content of proteins (mainly albumins and globulins), fats, minerals and vitamins and less sugar.

In terms of the set and combination of nutrients, colostrum is an indispensable food for newborns. It contains a large number of immune bodies and antioxidants that protect the baby from various infections that his immune system does not yet produce. Colostrum also stimulates normal intestinal activity, helps cleanse the newborn’s digestive system of meconium and fills it with bifid flora, thereby facilitating the baby’s adaptation to extrauterine existence.

Early latching is the latching of the baby to the mother's breast in the delivery room 20-30 minutes after birth. The first contact between mother and child is extremely important. It is believed that the sooner a mother can touch her baby, hold him close, the better for establishing emotional connections between her and the child, the sooner the mother’s maternal instinct awakens, and the child’s love for his mother. It is at this moment that the child begins to recognize you by your voice, absorbing the warmth of your body with his whole being, learns that you are a source of food for him, his protection, and begins to love you. The first, so early application of a child to the breast can be considered the first vaccination, because Colostrum contains a large amount of antibodies (immunoglobulins) that protect the baby from various infectious agents of the surrounding world. Breastfeeding a baby in the delivery room is also very beneficial for the mother, because... When a baby sucks at the breast, the mother's body actively produces a hormone - oxytocin, which causes contractions of the uterus and helps prevent postpartum uterine bleeding.

Please tell us about birthmarks, and which ones should we be “afraid of”?

Quite often, birthmarks of various colors and types can be observed on the skin of a newborn baby. Some birthmarks remain with a person for life, while others disappear after a while.

Congenital age spots can vary in color: from barely noticeable light brown to dark brown and even black. The shape, size and number of pigment spots are different. It happens that pigmented birthmarks have the same shape and are located in the same places on the body as those of the child’s parents. Pigmented moles (nevi) rise above the surface of the skin.

In addition to pigmented birthmarks, there are vascular birthmarks - hemangiomas . They can be of different color saturation: from pale pink to dark crimson, sometimes with a purple tint. Hemangiomas are quite common, but at birth they can be very pale and flat, and therefore almost invisible. Some time after birth, the spots may increase in size and rise above the surface of the skin. With age, some hemangiomas disappear on their own, but more often “port-wine stains” remain for life.

Most newborns with yellow and dark skin (having Asian and/or Negroid blood) have rather large gray-blue spots that never rise above the surface of the skin between the shoulder blades, along the spine or in the sacrum, buttocks. These are “Mongolian blue spots”. Most of these spots disappear by 5-6 years, but some “Mongolian” spots remain.

In addition to birthmarks, which remain on a person’s skin for life, newborns may also experience spots or stripes that will disappear after a short time. Thus, between 2-8 weeks of life, some children may develop a thin pigment strip along the midline of the abdomen, which will disappear after 2-3 months.

On the head (on the back of the head, forehead, bridge of the nose, eyelids or lips), some babies can observe reddish vascular spots (telangiectasia ). Old obstetricians call them “Stork Slivers.” These are the remains of embryonic vessels that disappear by 12-15 months.

You should pay close attention to birthmarks on your baby’s body. Usually they do not require any care or treatment, but you must remember that the doctor will monitor children who have more than 5 age spots on their body or have port-wine stains on the face, or protruding moles. And be sure to tell your doctor if you notice that a birthmark on your child’s body is increasing in size or changing color!

Please tell us what is newborn jaundice?

1-2 days after birth, most newborns experience yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes. Yellowing begins on the face and then spreads to the entire body. This is physiological jaundice of the newborn. The cause of this condition is enzymatic immaturity of the liver. A newborn baby's blood contains a large number of erythrocytes (red blood cells), which are highly unstable and easily destroyed. When red blood cells break down in a person's blood, hemoglobin (a substance that binds and transports oxygen) is released, which in turn is destroyed, turning into the yellow pigment bilirubin. Having entered the liver, bilirubin, under the influence of liver enzymes, is converted into a component of bile and excreted into the intestine. The newborn's liver cannot cope with large amounts of bilirubin, and it is released into the blood. In an adult, bacteria live in the intestines that continue the process of breaking down bilirubin. Newborn babies do not have such bacteria, but they do have an enzyme that allows bilirubin to be reabsorbed into the blood. As a result, the baby’s skin, mucous membranes and whites of the eyes acquire a yellowish tint. Such jaundice is observed in almost all children in the first days of life. It does not require treatment because the blood clears itself within a few days. If jaundice persists for more than a week, a blood test is taken from the child to determine the amount of bilirubin, after which treatment (phototherapy) is prescribed.

What should a newborn baby be able to do?

A healthy full-term baby should be able to:

• briefly raise his head when lying on his stomach (but the child still cannot hold his head while in an upright position!);
• reflexively move legs and arms (almost all the time when not sleeping);
• move your head from side to side;
• respond to sudden stimuli with active movements of the whole body;
• demonstrate the normal development of unconditioned reflexes: “searching for the breast”, sucking, grasping, crawling (lying on the stomach, if you place your palms on the baby’s piles), etc.;
• close your eyes to bright light and focus your vision at a distance of 20-30 cm from the eyes. The eyes may “squint” slightly at this time;
• respond to sounds: to loud ones - by shuddering or freezing, to a quiet voice - by “listening”;
• ask to eat every 2-2.5 hours;
• frequently empty the intestines (at every feeding and sometimes up to 12 times a day) and the bladder (from 6 to 20 times a day);
• maintain normal body temperature (from 36.50 to 37.30).

Please tell us what free swaddling is?

Swaddling still remains the most popular way of dressing children in our country, at least during the newborn period. Conventionally, swaddling is divided into tight and loose.

Tight swaddling is when the baby is wrapped in a swaddle up to the neck, covering both arms and legs, after which he resembles an ancient Egyptian mummy. It is believed that this option is optimal for the first week of a child’s life - the baby does not disturb himself with restless and unconscious movements of his hands and sleeps better. Whether this is true, you can check in practice.

Free swaddling is when the child is dressed in a vest on top, and you wrap the lower part of the body with a diaper, while the arms remain free, and the legs are not swaddled tightly (the diaper is fixed under the baby’s chest, and the legs move freely in the resulting bag). At the same time, you need to remember that if you use loose swaddling for a newborn baby at night, you need to use baby undershirts with sleeves sewn at the ends (because the baby may get scratched or be afraid of his sharp nails). In the second month of life, such precautions are usually not required.

When can you dress your baby in real clothes?

Whenever you want, even upon discharge from the maternity hospital! The manner of dressing newborns in blouses and pants is more typical for Europeans, because The textile industry abroad has been producing clothes marked “from 0 to 6 months” for many years. Our compatriots, rather, are committed to tradition, in the sense that they prefer to swaddle the baby at home, albeit in a free way, and leave beautiful things that resemble adult clothes for ceremonial occasions at the clinic, for guests, or for walks. And yet, if you are categorically against turning a little person into a cocoon, today there are ample opportunities to dress him “for real” from the first days of life (and even premature babies). The most important thing is that children's clothing is comfortable for the baby, easy and quick to put on, take off and wash.

Benefits of diapers:

• easy to wash and iron;
• more affordable.

Flaws:

• almost inaccessible to dads (in the sense of mastering the swaddling technique!);
• Tight swaddling restricts the baby's movements.

Advantages of “real” dressing:

• available for dads;
• amuses mother and others.

Flaws:

• more difficult for “sanitization”
• double-sided ironing of eight pairs of sliders “at speed” can affect mother’s nervous system.

Remember that a newborn baby, regardless of gender, does not like to dress, resists this in every possible way, and you will have to carry out this procedure in record time with the least amount of effort!

Attention! Hats, caps and scarves on the head of a child in the house are not needed. They are used after bathing to protect the baby’s wet head from hypothermia (for a short time, until the head dries out) or during walks.

Please tell us how to tell if your baby is warm or cold?

When dressing your baby, always remember the basic principle - dress like yourself! If you walk around the house wearing a hat, go ahead! But this is rare. With all responsibility, we can say that a baby wrapped up to the brim, crowned with a flannel cap, will instantly catch a cold and get sick if you unwrap him. Give your baby's body a chance to fight the environment and activate its natural powers.

How to determine if your baby is warm? A fairly accurate criterion is the condition of the skin: normally the skin is light pink and pleasantly warm to the touch. If the baby is red, the skin is hot, and even damp, and diaper rash and heat rash appear - there is no doubt that you are dressing him too zealously. Reduce the amount of clothing you wear and don't stress! If the baby begins to freeze, his nose will first turn red and become cold, then his arms and legs will become cold. They may even acquire a bluish tint, but you should not allow this to happen. There must be a limit to everything, even testing your child’s safety margin. Warm him up as soon as possible and dress him a little warmer, and remember, not a single healthy child will stoically endure the cold. If the baby is really cold and frozen, you will be the first to know about it - by angry crying, active movements and restlessness.

Please tell me what temperature should be in the room where a newborn baby is?

The temperature in the room where the newborn is located should be 22-240. In modern apartments, during the heating season, the air not only has a higher temperature, but also is dry. This leads to drying out of the nasal mucosa in the newborn and the formation of crusts. That's why babies sneeze often. It is necessary to regularly ventilate the room and humidify the air using modern climate systems or wet diapers that can be hung near the radiators.

How to correctly measure body temperature in a newborn baby?

First, you should know that a healthy newborn has fluctuating body temperatures, especially in the first week of life. Only by one and a half to three months the temperature becomes fairly constant. The amplitude of temperature fluctuations during the day depends on age, air temperature, physical activity, emotional state (screaming, prolonged crying lead to an increase in t0), the quality and quantity of food taken (overfeeding, underfeeding can lead to an increase in t0), the state of the endocrine system and others factors.

Secondly, temperature measurement must be carried out while the child is calmly awake. Temperature measured during sleep or during feeding may be 0.3-0.5 degrees higher.

Thirdly, the normal temperature in newborns is considered to be a temperature in the range of 36.5-37.30 (rectal temperature is 0.3-0.50 higher).

The temperature can be measured in the usual way (as in adults) in the armpit or in the anus.
When measuring the temperature in the armpit, make sure it is dry, press the handle tightly against your body and hold the thermometer for 5-10 minutes. You can place a thermometer rectally. In this case, the temperature measurement time is reduced to 3-4 minutes. Nowadays, modern digital infrared thermometers have appeared in pharmacies, allowing you to measure body temperature in just 1-2 seconds. This thermometer allows you to measure the temperature by only briefly touching the baby’s forehead or inserting it into the ear. In standby mode, such a thermometer shows the air temperature in the room. Infrared thermometers “pacifiers” are also sold in pharmacies, with the help of which it is convenient to measure the baby’s temperature in the mouth. By the way, this method is quite widely used by mothers in many foreign countries. All this is quite convenient, although such pleasure is quite expensive. {rokbox text=|interactive form|}index2.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=2{/rokbox}

Diagnostics

You should not self-medicate or try to diagnose your child yourself. Before you begin to treat prickly heat in a child, when the first rash appears, you should contact a pediatric dermatologist or pediatrician. The specialist will conduct an examination and distinguish the pathology from other diseases that are accompanied by a skin rash. For an experienced pediatric specialist, this is not difficult even with an initial visual examination.

In some cases, additional examination is necessary for a comprehensive diagnosis. The doctor may prescribe scraping for pathogenic fungal infections, as well as bacterial culture for microflora.

After chalazion removal surgery

The postoperative healing period takes several days; the risk of intraoperative infection is completely determined by the level of the clinic and the qualifications of the doctor. This risk, as well as the overall invasiveness (traumaticity) of the procedure and the duration of rehabilitation, are dramatically reduced when using modern excimer laser removal techniques.

Do not try to diagnose and treat chalazion yourself (especially in children). This can lead to the development of serious complications (in some cases life-threatening). Trust the professionals - we will quickly and safely relieve your child of this disease, in the most effective way in a particular situation!

In the case of a chalazion, there is always the possibility of it recurring, including multiple occurrences in other places on the lower or upper eyelid. This largely depends on the initial causes or pathological background that caused the blockage of the meibomian glands. Therefore, mandatory prevention of relapse is the child’s strict observance, without any exceptions (“tired”, “forgot”, etc.) of the principles and rules of eye hygiene, optical correction of refractive errors, if prescribed by a pediatric ophthalmologist, as well as treatment of all diagnosed foci of chronic infection - in the oral cavity, nasopharynx, gastrointestinal tract, on the skin.

Treatment

The main method that allows you to remove rashes and cure skin pathologies is hygienic care. It is important to change the diaper immediately after a bowel movement and every three hours, washing the baby with running water. Between shifts you need to give air baths and leave the baby without clothes for a few minutes. At the same time, it is necessary to abandon synthetic clothing and low-quality children's cosmetics.

Bathing is carried out in water with a decoction of medicinal herbs. You can add chamomile, yarrow, and string. After bathing the child, dry thoroughly and powder the skin with powder.

In some cases, the doctor also prescribes treatment of rashes with drying antiseptics (“Furacilin”, “Chlorphilipt”), and creams containing panthenol (“Bepanten”, “Dexpanthenol”). White, red and deep miliaria are treated with antifungal and antibacterial ointments. However, it is not recommended to use any medications without prior consultation with a doctor. Source: Modern dermatological and cosmetic products for caring for the skin of children. Kotlukov V.K., Kuzmenko L.G., Antipova N.V. Medical Council, 2013. p. 8-12.

Doctors recommend setting the air temperature in the nursery at 20-22 degrees and monitoring the humidity, which should not exceed 50-70%. A good solution would be to purchase an air humidifier that will help create the right microclimate. These simple steps can help you get rid of the conditions that increase your risk of developing heat rash.

Features of treatment of chalazion in children

Conservative therapy for chalazion includes a lot of approaches and methods, ranging from the so-called. "folk remedies". As a rule, in the early stages, drug treatment includes absorbable ointments and drops; in case of secondary infection, it contains an antibiotic. If there is an infection, heat is contraindicated; in case of a “quiet” chalazion, physiotherapeutic procedures (UHF, ultraviolet radiation) can be prescribed.

In the case of a sufficiently large nodule, the introduction of hormonal anti-inflammatory and absorbable drugs (for example, Kenalog or Diprospan) with a thin needle is considered effective. The traditional treatment for chalazion at the initial stage is hydrocortisone eye ointment in combination with digital massage for a better absorption effect.

Prevention

Effective prevention consists of proper and thorough hygienic care of the child: regular bathing, frequent changing of diapers or diapers. During the hot season, you can bathe your baby up to 2-4 times a day, but it is important not to use soap, oils, lotions and other products with each water procedure that can disrupt the acid balance and clog the glands.

It is also important to select clothes from natural, breathable fabrics and avoid synthetic and semi-synthetic fabrics that do not ensure normal evaporation of sweat. You need to dress your baby appropriately for the weather and not wrap him up in a warm blanket on a summer night. Source: Skin care for infants. Prevention of diaper dermatitis. Starostina L.S. Medical Council, 2022. p. 41-49.

Sources:

1. Skin care for infants. Prevention of diaper dermatitis. Starostina L.S. Medical Council, 2022. p. 41-49
2. Newborn skin care. Solntseva O.A. Medical Council, 2014. p. 35-39
3. Modern dermatological and cosmetic products for the care of children's skin. Kotlukov V.K., Kuzmenko L.G., Antipova N.V. Medical Council, 2013. p. 8-12

Date of publication: 10/20/2017
The information in this article is provided for reference purposes and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Don't self-medicate! At the first signs of illness, you should consult a doctor.

Pigment formations

All pigmented formations on the skin can be divided into two groups: non-dangerous (melanoma-non-dangerous) and dangerous (melanoma-dangerous) pigmented nevi (Table).

Table 1. Classification of skin tumors of melanocytic origin

Causes of allergic reactions on hands

The main triggering factor for the development of allergic dermatoses is single or regular contact with the pathogen. In this case, treatment is aimed at completely eliminating the allergen to which the body is hypersensitive. It is quite difficult to determine, but among the most common causes of hypersensitivity are antigens from plants, animals, fungi, insects, foods, chemical compounds and drugs.

Also, allergic reactions on the fingers and other parts of the upper extremities occur due to:

1. Gastrointestinal diseases. Diseases such as biliary dyskinesia, chronic gastritis and pancreatic dysfunction can trigger the development of allergic dermatitis and contribute to its transition to a chronic form.[3]
2. Violation of the barrier function of the skin under the influence of mechanical, chemical and infectious agents. A broken epidermal barrier facilitates the penetration of allergens through the skin, the development of infection, and causes mild skin irritation.[7]
3. Unfavorable environmental conditions. High levels of environmental pollution lead to an increased susceptibility of the population to allergic dermatoses.[8]
4. Genetically determined factors. If both parents are prone to allergic diseases, the likelihood of developing neurodermatitis and other allergic dermatoses in the child is 70%.[9]

Types of hand allergies

Hand allergies mean a group of skin diseases, 20% of which are allergic dermatoses.[4] This type of skin pathology manifests itself at different ages, affects mainly older people, but can also begin in childhood as a sign of predisposition to dermatitis. Manifestations of allergies on the hands are typical for:

• atopic dermatitis (neurodermatitis);
• hives;
• contact dermatitis;
• eczema.

Each disease looks different. They also differ in duration of course, tendency to exacerbations and relapses. As a rule, the skin manifestations of atopic dermatitis and eczema persist for quite a long time, while urticaria and contact dermatitis are acute.[4] If you do not get rid of the external factors that triggered the allergy, the diseases will recur and eventually become chronic.

Factors that provoke the occurrence of pigmentation

The main provocateur of pigmentation, among other disorders, is solar radiation . Under the influence of UV rays, the synthesis of melanocrine is induced - a hormone of the pituitary gland, which activates the work of pigment cells. The main contributing factors are:

• Genetic predisposition – dark skin color. People with genetically more melanocytes are more likely to develop pigmentation
• Hormonal disorders (pregnancy, endocrine diseases, taking hormonal drugs)
• Excess free radicals

The combination of an excessive amount of ultraviolet radiation with one of two predisposing factors equals the appearance of age spots.