AIM This paper explores the possible association between antibiotics prescribed in infancy and allergic disorders, mainly eczema and asthma, in childhood. BACKGROUND No-one fully understands why childhood asthma and eczema have become so common. Some authorities suggest that there may be an association between eczema and asthma and antibiotics prescribed in childhood; however, others disagree...

OBJECTIVE Exposure to endotoxin in early life has been proposed as a factor that may protect against the development of allergic diseases such as eczema. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between endotoxin exposure in early life and eczema in the first year of life in children with parental history of asthma or allergies. METHODS This study used a prospective birth cohor...

BACKGROUND The evidence for systemic treatments for severe childhood eczema is limited and largely based on extrapolation of data from adult studies. Current therapies are often immunosuppressant and may be associated with both short- and long-term side effects. There is increasing in vitro and murine-model evidence for the role of IgE in the immunopathogenesis of atopic eczema. The aim of the ...

BACKGROUND Contradictory results exist regarding the importance of early-life exposure to phthalates for development of childhood eczema. OBJECTIVES We evaluated the association between maternal urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites between the 24th and 28th week of gestation and occurrence of eczema in their sons up to 5 y of age, according to allergic sensitization as assessed by ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Hand eczema is a chronic disease with negative impact on quality of life (QoL). In this study, QoL in hand eczema patients is assessed and related to age, sex, severity, and diagnostic subgroups. METHODS A total of 416 patients with hand eczema from 10 European patch test clinics participated in the study. Data on QoL were obtained from a self-administered questionna...

BACKGROUND Eczema is a common chronic disease which has significant morbidity and costs for children and their families. Phase One (1993) of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) found a high prevalence of symptoms of eczema in New Zealand. OBJECTIVE In Phase Three (2001-3) we aimed to answer these three questions: Is the prevalence of eczema changing over time?...

BACKGROUND There is epidemiological evidence linking increased water hardness with increased eczema prevalence. A number of plausible mechanisms can be forwarded to suggest why hard water could exacerbate eczema. The most likely explanation is increased soap usage in hard water areas, the deposits of which can cause skin irritation in individuals with eczema. OBJECTIVES To assess the cost and...