Mark Boguniewicz, M.D., National Jewish Medical and Research Center
Question: What are some of the common symptoms of atopic dermatitis (eczema)?
Answer: Pruritis -- or itching -- is the hallmark of atopic dermatitis. Our patients will often scratch themselves to the point of bleeding in response to the severe itching that they experience. We see this even early on as infants start rubbing their face, for example, frantically against their pillow or bedding. And soon afterwards, they learn how to scratch and damage their skin.
With this our patients often have poor sleep. They, in fact, have quite disrupted sleep. And so it's easy to understand, after having a poor quality sleep, that they, in fact, would be chronically tired. By extension, family members are often kept awake and they also are tired and exhausted by this chronic illness.
Along with the damage to the skin from the constant scratching, you can certainly get superficial skin infections, predominantly by a bacteria such a Staphylococcus aureus.
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