What causes eczema?
The onset of eczema results from the interaction of multiple factors.
(1) Genetic Factors
Certain types of eczema are closely linked to heredity.
(2) Environmental Factors
Numerous studies confirm that environmental factors are a significant contributor to the rising prevalence of eczema.The environment encompasses both collective and individual settings. Collective environmental pathogens refer to widespread outdoor elements such as air, water, soil, radiation sources, large-scale allergenic pollen vegetation, and extensive airborne fungal allergens. Individual microenvironments pertain to personal living spaces. Since people spend approximately two-thirds of their time indoors, these microenvironments exert a more direct influence on eczema.The primary impact of environmental factors stems from the growing complexity and proliferation of environmental allergens, including:
1. Environmental allergens in modern clothing: synthetic fabrics, artificial leather products, and clothing-related substances such as dyes, bleaches, brighteners, mothproofing agents, mold inhibitors, and stiffeners.
2. Modern dietary environmental allergens: processed foods, convenience foods, off-season foods; fertilizers, pesticides, artificial feed, feed additives used in food production; preservatives, mineral oxidants, flavorings, colorants, ripening agents, thickeners used in food processing.
3. Modern residential environmental allergens: synthetic building components, chemical coatings, plastic products, rubber goods, synthetic fibers, adhesives, waterproofing agents, electromagnetic radiation from household and office electronics, cleaning agents, and insecticides.
4. Gases from chemical fuel combustion, materials used in manufacturing automobiles, ships, and aircraft, asphalt road surfaces, and pollen from roadside greenery—modern environmental allergens from transportation.
5. Modern occupational environmental allergens include enzyme preparations used in detergent manufacturing, toluene diisocyanate in plastic factories, latex in rubber plants, antibiotics and other chemical raw materials in pharmaceutical factories.
6. Environmental allergens associated with certain modern lifestyles, such as cosmetics and pets like cats and parrots. Prolonged exposure to these adverse environmental factors can disrupt immune function, ultimately triggering allergic reactions to the environment and leading to eczema.