Wow, I must say the title of this article has me pretty dumbfounded. WebMD recently posted a study (Annals of Internal Medicine) stating 1 in 10 people will develop eczema in their lifetime! What in the world is going on? That’s an insanely high number, that I thought would be much lower considering eczema mostly affects infants, with a large portion outgrowing it. Although according to this article, not only are infants/children diagnosed with eczema, but it’s increasingly common for seniors to develop it.
For a long time it was the thought that the majority of childhood cases of eczema resolve, but this is clearly not the case. ~ Dr Robert Kirsner
Here are some of the article’s highlights:
- 8.6 million eczema patients in Britain joined a study from 1994-2013 to analyze statistics, which found 1 in 10 people will develop eczema in their lifetime
- Originally study was published on Annals of Internal Medicine
- 1 in 5 infants and toddlers will develop eczema (sadly)
- Lower numbers of eczema patients in young adulthood / middle age (eczema diagnosis dips down a bit)
- 1 in 10 seniors (around age 70) are at risk for developing eczema
- Most of the focus for eczema has been on children
- A study was done on 8.6 million eczema patients in Britain from 1994-2013 to analyze statistics
- There are more than a dozen medication that will be potentially be developed to help alleviate pain
- Dr. Robert Kirsner, chairman of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s department of dermatology and cutaneous surgery – says treatment is “limited”
“Cost is an issue, and potential side effects of oral medications may also be an issue,” Kirsner said. And only one injectable drug has been approved by the FDA, so insurance companies do not always agree to pay for medications, he said. ~ Kirsner