Dr Sanja Kezic. Photo: Jason Borg

The dramatic increase in eczema, an inflammatory skin disease which causes itchiness and redness in the folds of the skin, could be due to the fact that we are showering more; the result of splashing too much soap and water.

According to a skin disease expert, eczema is most common in children and it seems to have become more frequent in recent decades, particularly in developed countries.

“The reasons for this increase are not yet known but possibly it could be due to changes in our environment and lifestyle,” Sanja Kezic, a renowned epidermal researcher at the Van Amsterdam University in The Netherlands, told Times of Malta.

The disease can normally be explained by genetic factors, however the increase over the years shows that other factors are the cause. “One of the hypotheses is hygiene: we are too clean. With our constant washing of the skin with soap, we are washing off the good micro bios which live on our skin and help to keep in healthy,” she said.

Dr Kezic was in Malta on invitation of the Malta Café Scientific and gave a public talk at the Italian Cultural Institute about how mutations in our DNA can lead to more skin disease. Atopic eczema is the most prevalent disease in the UK and in Germany, where approximately one in five children are sufferers.

One of the hypotheses is hygiene: we are too clean

In Malta, statistics are not yet so drastic. Guiseppe Di Giovanni, organiser of the Malta Café Scientifique and an associate Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Malta, said that published local data suggests that seven per cent of Maltese children aged between five to eight years have eczema. “Although eczema appears to be less common in Malta than in some other countries in Europe, the number affected is still significant,” Prof. Di Giovanni said.

Dr Kezic explained how the skin acts as a first defence against harmful substances and prevents water escaping. “If our skin doesn’t work properly we become more vulnerable to disease,” she said.

We are washing off the good micro bios which live on our skin and help to keep us healthy, says Dr Sanja Kezic.

Atopic eczema can vary in severity and most people are only mildly affected. Severe symptoms include cracked, sore and bleeding skin: in fact severe eczema often has a significant impact on the quality of life.

Scientists have so far determined that filaggrin, a very important skin protein in the upper most layer of the skin, helps to retain the skin moist. Due to genetic mutations, this protein sometimes stops being produced and this increases the risk of developing eczema.

“There is no cure. What we can do is try to improve the skin barrier by using creams to prevent dry skin. If there is inflammation, then sufferers are given steroids,” she said, stressing also on avoiding the sun and the importance of using less soap, especially when washing babies.

Young sufferers who outgrow eczema are usually very susceptible to the disease as adults. “When mak­ing job choices, eczema sufferers should avoid careers such as nursing and hairdressing – where they would have to wash their hands all the time, as this will easily trigger the disease again,” Dr Kezic said.