MANILA, Philippines — The term Atopic Dermatitis sounds like an unfamiliar disease until it is translated into the better known phrase Skin Asthma. The picture then looks clearer, of children with watery wheals or pantal who scratch them until they scar. It is a common condition that is said to affect five percent to 20% of children worldwide, usually developing before they reach five years old.

Many Triggers

While the condition is primarily hereditary, the triggers can be anything and everything – food, perfume, detergents, stress, and pollution. The sufferers are mostly from highly-urbanized areas prompting the doctors to comment that it is a condition that is pang-mayaman.  Experts worldwide have come to a deduction that children who live in an environment that is over-sanitized are more prone to skin asthma and other allergies. It is called the hygiene hypothesis, wherein children who are not exposed to common environmental factors lose the ability to develop immunity to them, and are therefore more prone to irritation and develop allergies like skin asthma.

Even though the condition is not serious or life threatening, it is a major cause of discomfort, causing sufferers (and their parents) to lose at least two-and-a-half hours of sleep at night because of the irritating itch, along with the scarring, social stigma and resulting shyness that the sufferers will eventually have to contend with.  What is alarming is that skin experts and allergologists have tracked the growing number of incidence in countries like the Philippines. This was revealed by Dr. Linda L. Varona, president of the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and by Dr. Ma. Teresita G. Gabriel, president of the Philippine Dermatological Society. The two doctors were guests at a recent media conference that served to highlight the problems caused by this often overlooked condition.

No Cure

One big whammy for those who have skin asthma is that there is no cure for it. While there are cases when it goes away by age 14, there are also cases when it is a lifelong condition, with its flare-ups and remissions going well into the grownup years. The best that one can do is to manage the itch, stay away from the pinpointed triggers and keep the skin hydrated to prevent bad pruritic episodes. The usual route that doctors take is to prescribe steroids for the breakouts. However, there are several problems with this type of medication. The first problem is compliance – even though the treatment is usually prescribed for one week, the patient usually stops applying the topical ointments once they feel better, and then the condition comes back with a vengeance. Then, there may be side effects from continued use including stretch marks and skin atrophy, where the epidermis or outer layer of the skin thins and it becomes lax, wrinkled and shiny. Those who use steroids around the eye area are also in danger of developing glaucoma, as it can become absorbed by the eyes.

This is why the local medical community welcomed the introduction of an emollient formula called Atopiclair, which is non-steroidal and can be used not only for skin asthma management, but also for maintenance. According to Dr. Thomas Luger, director and chair of the Department of Dermatology in Munster, Germany, the non-greasy cream and lotion is designed to hydrate and prevent skin dryness, stop the itching, and offer a protective barrier from further irritation.