超越瘙痒:湿疹耀斑的内部工作原理

炎症是这种具有挑战性的皮肤状况的根源。了解更多关于你的免疫系统反应触发一系列事件的方式，导致湿疹症状，以及哪种药物对治疗湿疹发作最有效。

当你的湿疹发作时，你唯一想做的可能就是找到缓解难以忍受的瘙痒和灼烧感的方法。但是了解炎症性皮肤状况背后的机制以及真正导致可怕瘙痒的原因可以帮助你更好地控制它。在这里，我们将探索湿疹耀斑的内部工作原理。你的细胞里发生了什么，为什么会在皮肤表面以干红和发痒的形式出现。此外，我们还将了解药物和治疗方法是如何使皮肤平静下来的。湿疹是一种影响儿童和成人的慢性炎症性皮肤状况。有些孩子长大了就不再这样了。对其他人来说，这是一个终生的问题。湿疹被认为是由遗传和环境因素引起的。如果你容易患湿疹，你的皮肤屏障可能很弱，最外层有助于锁住皮肤中的水分，防止刺激物和过敏原进入皮肤。 What causes this weak barrier? A deficiency in Filaggrin, a protein that helps keratin fibers on the skin surface stick together, forming a solid barrier. That weaker, drier, more permeable skin is also more vulnerable to allergens, irritants and bacteria. So, let’s talk about when those irritants and allergens get into your skin. Your skin has protective cells called Langerhans cells that act like guards. They sense trouble - say an allergen, and alert your immune system’s T-cells of its presence. The T-cells then produce T-helper cells, or T-H for short, that trigger the production of immune proteins called cytokines, which lead to the inflammatory response you see on your skin. Now you’re stuck with what’s known as the itch-scratch cycle. Your skin is inflamed and itchy. So, you scratch it, sometimes until it bleeds. The barrier is further compromised and more vulnerable, triggering an immune response that leads to more inflammation and ultimately more itching. How do you break the cycle? That’s where treatments and medications come into play. The first line of defense is usually your creams and ointments, topical steroids and inhibitors. These suppress inflammation, avoiding an immune response. However, they’re nonspecific, which means they affect all your cells, not just those involved in eczema. So they may have side effects when used for long periods. The FDA recently approved a topical Janus Kinase or JAK inhibitor for mild to moderate eczema. It can be used in conjunction with topical steroids during a flare. Two oral JAK inhibitors have also gained recent FDA approval for eczema. Both the topical medication and the oral versions target some of those key proteins involved in the inflammatory response. Injectable biologic drugs have also been a significant breakthrough for eczema. Made of monoclonal antibodies, these drugs target specific cytokines. Before the newer biologics, immunosuppressants, including methotrexate and cyclosporine, were used to dial down eczema symptoms. But, they increase your risk of infection and can cause kidney and liver damage. Because of this, doctors favor a more targeted approach whenever possible. Disrupting the inflammatory cycle involved in eczema is the key to getting and keeping your skin calm. And that will get easier as we continue to see more targeted drugs that hone in on specific proteins involved in the inflammatory process. For now, we’re just scratching the surface.