Medical Correspondent Haidak Lee Yoon-Seung DirectorㅣSource: Haidak
“Even if it feels like my underwear rubs even a little, it itches”
“Even if I change to less irritating underwear, the itching doesn’t go away.”
If you have atopy or eczema on your chest, you will usually complain of similar discomfort. The location of the symptoms also shows similarities. Symptoms may occasionally occur in the breast area, but usually symptoms appear along the wires or strings of underwear. The same goes for the back side. There are no symptoms in areas where the underwear does not reach, but the itching is most severe in the area where the cord touches, especially where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect. Many people think it is a problem with the underwear they are wearing and try to replace it with a bra or a cotton product without wires, but there is rarely an improvement in symptoms. In order to treat the symptoms of atopic eczema along the chest underwear line, it is necessary to understand ‘tactile protection’.
Tactile defenses influence the pathogenesis of atopic eczema
Tactile defense refers to a condition where the sense of contact with the flesh is particularly hypersensitive. People with tactile defenses show sensitivity to stimuli that others do not. It is not difficult to see people around who say they cannot wear a scarf or neck tee because they feel uncomfortable about something touching their neck. This is a typical example of tactile protection. When wearing underwear, a small stimulus is given to the skin, but generally, as time passes, the sense of being rubbed or pressed becomes insensitive. However, in the case of atopic eczema patients, their skin is very sensitive, so even weak stimuli show symptoms of tactile defense and become very sensitive to itching. If you scratch an itch, the affected area continues to be damaged, and atopy becomes serious starting from the area where underwear touches, and moreover, any part of the body where friction occurs, such as the area where the waist of the pants touch or the panty line in the groin, causes atopy Eczema occurs easily.
Treatment of atopic eczema induced by contact protection
It is difficult to expect improvement in symptoms just by getting used to the sensation in a situation where the sensation of touch leads to itching, which causes skin damage and accelerates skin inflammation. In order to treat atopic eczema caused by this sensitivity to touch, it is necessary to create an environment in the body so that the nervous system can react less sensitively. In order to stop the functioning of the nervous system, treatment is needed to stop the body from producing unnecessary heat. In general, the nervous system responds sensitively to heat. So when we touch or stroke an object, if our hands are frozen, we don’t feel it because our senses are dulled, but if our hands are warm, we can perceive the texture better. Because of that, if a lot of heat is produced in the body unnecessarily or if the heat is not discharged well, the body becomes more sensitive to the senses. In particular, the nerves that feel itch tend to be more active in warm temperatures, so if you have atopy or eczema, lowering the temperature of the skin with a cold pack will reduce the itching. Therefore, in a situation where the symptoms of atopic eczema are caused and aggravated by contact protection, it is very important not only to lower the surface temperature of the skin, but also to reduce unnecessary heat generated in the body.
To dissipate unnecessary heat in the body
The unwanted heat in the human body is not relieved just by taking cold water frequently or taking cold food or drinks. Instead, cold food can cause irritation to the digestive system. Rather than practicing folk remedies or control methods you’ve heard of somewhere, it’s more important to find out the exact cause of unwanted heat in your body. After that, treatment and management suitable for my case should continue. However, there are so many factors that can produce heat in the body. In some cases, a fever cannot be relieved because of a problem with sweat secretion, and even if you have symptoms of chronic rhinitis, your body may not be able to relieve heat well. It is very difficult to determine the cause of an individual’s condition without medical expertise. Therefore, it is advisable to visit a medical institution to get a correct diagnosis, determine the cause, and receive appropriate treatment.
Written by Haidak Medical Correspondent Lee Yoon-seung (doctor of oriental medicine)
