Pictures of Allergic Skin Disease
Background Information

But for the sake of better organization, I've placed them here.

The pictures alone can't convey the discomfort and suffering these skin diseases can cause, but if you've ever suffered from one, they will bring back memories.

These pictures have been taken from Wikipedia, since their pictures are available for illustrative purposes.

However,since I usually have several bouts of allergic skin disease attacks per year, I fear I'll be replacing them with personal illustrations in the future.

The only problem is, when I have an attack of poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, I'm usually too miserable to think about taking pictures. Nonetheless to help you, I'll try.

Pictures of Allergic Skin Disease
Contact Dermatitis

Contact Dermatitis, pictured above, is also considered a type of eczema, but rather than being of uncertain cause, it is caused by known allergens. The most common causes of contact dermatitis are plants containing the oil Urushiol.

Three major types of plants contain these oils. They are poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. If a person who is allergic to this oil comes in contact with these plants, or with someone or something that has been in contact with them, they will have an allergic reaction.

The rash will persist until the oils are removed from the skin, and everything the person comes in contact with.

Frequently the rash will last for two weeks, or more, after each exposure, although that depends on how badly your immune system reacts to the oil.

This type is known as allergic contact dermatitis. And I have had much more severe problems with this skin disease since having chemotherapy.

There are actually three types of contact dermatitis. A second type is called irritant contact dermatitis, and it is caused by things such as chemicals, solvents, additives to cosmetics, and possibly certain soaps. If a person has a reaction to any of these things, he will usually know it and should avoid exposure in the future.

The final type is called photo-contact dermatitis or photo-aggravated dermatitis. In this situation a person won't react to the substance alone, but if he is exposed to both the substance and sunlight, it will trigger an allergic reaction.

Pictures of Allergic Skin Disease
Hives

Sometimes the causes aren't known. In those cases an autoimmune reaction is suspected. Severe viral infections can also cause hives as can friction, pressure, temperature extremes, exercise, and sunlight according to Wikipedia.

Hives caused by allergies usually don't last more than a few weeks, but chronic hives can apparently last longer than six weeks. When this occurs, the cause of the hives isn't usually known.

Allergic hives can frequently occur in response to food allergies. My husband, for example, has developed an allergy to shellfish. The last time he ate a crayfish, his fever went up to 104, and he had hives all over his body. Needless to say, he is very careful to avoid eating shell fish now.

This type of severe allergic reaction can be life threatening, so it is wise to figure out what is causing your hives whenever possible.

Pictures of Allergic Skin Disease
Conclusions

However, until we're able to discover a way to do that, I have found another solution that will help with your allergic reactions to Urushiol. It is a soap called Tecnu.

If you know you've been exposed to this oil and you wash the exposed skin within two hours, it will stop the allergic reaction from occurring. I have used this soap on various occasions and it does work.

But, if you love the outdoors, as I do, or have a child who does, you'll want to keep a supply of this soap on hand during the spring and summer to avoid problems.

You don't need a prescription and it is widely available from Amazon by clicking on the link to the right, or from a local drug store. I picked it up from CVS, but it cost more than Amazon charges for it. I didn't know they had it at the time.

I believe there are supplements that can help with skin allergies, but I've not yet found one I consider a cure. We'll discuss them more on future pages. Until then, I'd highly recommend a supply of Tecnu, and avoiding allergens whenever possible so you don't accidentally provide your own pictures of allergic skin disease.

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