Allergic diseases are among the most common. These symptoms appear in different parts of the body with different levels of severity. There is an allergy on the head. This disease is called allergic contact dermatitis. The causes and treatment are described in the article.
Usually, with dermatitis, hyperemia, severe itching, blisters are observed. Such symptoms develop suddenly, due to contact with allergens. The symptoms of such an ailment are pronounced or occur in an erased form.
Often the appearance of contact dermatitis on the skin is associated with seborrhea, psoriasis and eczema. There is an explanation for this: at the initial stage of almost all of these ailments, there are signs of allergies - there is itching, redness at the site of the rash.
Reasons
Why does an allergy appear on the head? It occurs with endocrine ailments, diseases of the digestive system, hormonal disorders, stress. Another dermatitis can appear from:
- Cosmetic products - balms, shampoos, masks used on the hair.
- Headwear made fromallergenic material.
- Food, such as citrus, nuts, seafood, chocolate.
- Bad habits, nervous breakdowns, reactions to animal hair, flowering plants, dust, drugs.
- In infants, it may be prickly heat due to the receptive and delicate skin of the child. This problem is eliminated by frequently rinsing the problem areas of the child with clean water or applying lotions.
There are patients who have an allergy on the head due to a hereditary factor. If the parents have this disease, it is quite possible that the child will have it. If these manifestations are detected, especially in infants, an urgent need to consult a doctor.
Why does itching appear
Scalp allergies can be associated with itching that comes from:
- Parasite. For check it is necessary to descend or go to the dermatologist. But at home, loved ones can also look at the skin and hair at the roots.
- Dandruff. The appearance of dandruff is often the cause of severe itching of the skin. To eliminate it, various improvised methods are used that do not alleviate the condition. Without appropriate treatment, a serious ailment develops - seborrheic eczema. Therefore, if dandruff occurs, you need to visit a trichologist, who prescribes treatment.
- Seborrhea. This ailment appears due to a violation of the functioning of the sebaceous glands: dry seborrhea is considered a consequence of a decrease in the activity of the sebaceous glands, oily seborrhea appears with excessive secretion of sebum with a disturbed chemical composition. When dryseborrhea observed dandruff, severe itching, acne on the skin.
- Allergies to shampoo or care products. Often the skin itches when changing hair care products. This applies to masks, conditioners, shampoos, balms. In this case, you need to start using again the remedy that does not cause itching, allergies.
- Frequent washing and use of dryers and styling devices. This dries out the skin, negatively affecting the condition of the hair.
- Dry skin. Strongly dry skin is considered a protective reaction to negative external influences.
- Fungal skin diseases. In this case, it is necessary to perform sowing on the fungus, after which treatment is prescribed. It includes the use of medicated shampoos and lotions.
Symptoms
How does an allergy on the head manifest itself? The main symptom is itching. At first, it may hardly appear, but gradually it becomes more noticeable. In addition to itching, the appearance is likely to be:
- Skin peeling with white scales on the head that look like dandruff.
- Hyperemia of the skin in areas of scratching, thinning and hair loss.
Often these manifestations occur from a fungal infection. In this situation, the rash affects the auricles and eyebrows. There is a type of allergy that occurs with almost no symptoms. A manifestation is considered severe itching on the head. Patients can't help but scratch the area of the rash to bleeding ulcers, risking introducing a painful microflora into an infected wound.
Other symptoms
Scalp damage is observed in half of patients with neurodermatitis. Children are the main category of patients. In infants, allergies can manifest themselves differently. In one situation, brown scales form on the skin, which is called seborrhea. And in the second case, red spots and small blisters appear, which burst, dry up, creating a thin scab on the head.
Usually, atopic dermatitis presents with accompanying symptoms. In a child under 3 years of age, the rash can spread to the cheeks. In older children, it spreads to the neck, face, limbs. In adults, the skin of the head and face is affected, as well as the forearms and décolleté. If itching occurs suddenly and does not disappear over a long period, this is a complication.
Diagnosis
If your head hurts with allergies, diagnostic procedures are needed. Doctors make a diagnosis after examining the patient and questioning him. Allergic dermatitis is treated by a dermatologist or allergist. Skin tests are performed to confirm the diagnosis and establish the allergen.
When performing skin tests, a small solution is injected under the skin with a syringe, which includes one of the common allergens. The other syringe contains distilled water as a control. After some time, a red spot appears at the injection site of one of the solutions that includes the allergen.
Skin testing should only be performed after the skin allergy has disappeared. Usually it is carried out with allergic dermatitis, ifa person works in a hazardous industry. This will help you identify the allergen. The patient will either need to avoid contact with this substance, or will need to change jobs.
During the diagnosis, allergic dermatitis is differentiated with toxicoderma and eczema. Eczema can differ from allergic dermatitis in that its manifestations develop for a long time. The sensitivity of the body with eczema appears immediately to various stimuli.
Compared to toxicoderma, allergic dermatitis differs in that toxicoderma can manifest itself after the penetration of the allergen inside. And dermatitis occurs when the allergen comes into contact with the skin. Allergic dermatitis is compared with lichen, seborrhea and psoriasis. In addition to skin tests, a study of the hormonal background and the state of the immune system is performed, an analysis is performed for the fungus and a biopsy of the affected tissues. Usually, allergic dermatitis is noticeable: if the ailment is not treated, then gradually it passes to the face and ears.
Treatment for scalp allergies in hair is done with corticosteroids and non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs. The choice of drugs depends on the individual characteristics of the patient. And only a doctor should do this.
Antihistamines
Once the allergen has been identified, it must be eliminated. This is especially true for breasts. Then prescribe anti-allergic agents of the 2nd generation. To do this, use:
- Erius.
- Claritin.
- Zodak.
The main difference between the datafunds are considered to have a minimum of side effects. The dosage is established only by the attending physician. You should also read the instructions for use.
Enterosorbents
To remove toxic components from the body, especially in children, these funds are prescribed. From enterosorbents allocate:
- Enterosgel.
- Polysorb.
- "Activated carbon".
Adults need 2 days of taking these drugs. Treatment of an allergy on the head of a baby is carried out under the supervision of a doctor, otherwise negative consequences are likely.
External remedies
For the treatment of allergies on the head of a child, if the form of the disease is mild and moderate, non-hormonal agents are used. In the presence of severe irritation of the skin, it is advisable to use antipruritic external preparations, including those approved for use in a child.
Immunosuppressants are prescribed for children under 3 years of age. This is the Edithel cream, which relieves itching and prevents the further spread of allergies. But you need to know that sometimes the cream irritates the skin, especially in infants.
With the development of seborrheic dermatitis, an external agent "Glutamol" is prescribed. This cream perfectly moisturizes the skin and relieves hyperemia. This medicine has a weak antipruritic effect, so it is used only as an additional treatment for allergies, and also for mild symptoms in a child.
Slight itching is eliminated by traditional anti-inflammatory ointments. This is:
- "Ichthyol".
- "Naftalan".
- "Tar".
- "Dermatol".
The components present in the composition have a disinfecting, analgesic, wound-healing effect. With a complication of the disease, allergic itching is neutralized by hormonal external agents. These include "Prednisolone" and "Hydrocortisone" ointments. These funds have low activity.
What else is used
If there is no effect from the treatment of allergies on the face and head, then strong medicines for external use are needed - Elokom, Advantan. Properly performed treatment of an allergic disease restores skin condition in 2-3 weeks.
If longer treatment is carried out in infants, it involves the preliminary establishment of the patient's hypersensitivity to allergens. With the implementation of therapeutic procedures, it is necessary to constantly be examined and observed by a doctor.
Diet
As you can see from the photo, the allergy on the head does not look very nice. Dietary nutrition is considered part of the therapy. The diet should be balanced and created for each patient individually. For example, if such a reaction occurs to eggs, products with them, egg powder, then you need to remove them from your diet.
In a situation where the allergy appeared due to secondary causes or if it is difficult to establish the allergen, it is necessary to fill out an allergic food diary, gradually removing harmful foods from the diet.
Correction of the food diet should be carried out only with the participationdoctor, otherwise deterioration of the body and skin is likely. Hypoallergenic diet involves eating:
- lean beef;
- lean vegetable soups with cereals;
- boiled potatoes, herbs;
- butter and refined butter;
- kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk;
- rice groats, buckwheat, hercules;
- baked apple;
- fresh apple compote;
- fresh cucumber;
- sugar;
- tea.
It is important to consider that a nursing woman should have a strict diet until the allergy on the skin is completely eliminated. Then you need a consultation with a nutritionist who will perform a comparative analysis of the person's condition and correct the menu.
When there is an allergy, the head itches, it causes a lot of inconvenience. In many cases, itching can manifest itself as a response of the body to an irritant, but in some situations this phenomenon indicates certain ailments. Severe itching of the head, which occurs constantly, leads to thinning of the skin, damage, inflammation.
Conclusion
It is important to consider that itching should not be ignored, especially with severe hair loss or the appearance of pustules, red spots on the skin. It is necessary to establish the cause of this phenomenon, and therefore patients turn to dermatologists and trichologists. After performing diagnostic procedures, optimal therapy will be prescribed. In many cases, itching is treated at home. Usually, after removing the source of irritation, this unpleasant symptom disappears.
