The Cause of Eczema

Eczema runs in my dad's side of the family. I had it really badly when I was a baby and I didn't manage to fully get it under control until I was about 18. I still have bouts of it here and there, but it's nowhere near the scale of what my rashes used to be like.

According to Google Health, it is a hypersensitivity reaction (similar to an allergy) in the skin, which leads to long-term inflammation. The inflammation causes the skin to become itchy and scaly. Long-term irritation and scratching can cause the skin to thicken and have a leather-like texture. Eczema is a chronic condition diagnosed primarily on the appearance of the skin and personal and family history.

Of course, I didn't know any of this when I was a little girl living with my grandmother in Singapore. I just remembered having intolerable rashes and being regularly doused with something like baby powder and drinking lots of Chinese medicinal soups (you know, the really foul-tasting kind). At one point, I had asked my grandmother how I came to have eczema (and mind you, I had already been studying science in school and already had a vague idea about genetics).

"It's because your mother ate too many crackers and biscuits when she was pregnant with you," she explained. "All the crumbs just settled on your skin and made you itchy and there! Eczema!"

Ah...