Eczema costs "an hour's sleep a night"

For people unaffected by it, eczema may appear to be nothing more than an unpleasant skin condition. But the results of a recent poll of 1,000 people with eczema revealed to what extent their lives are affected by it.

According to the survey, people with eczema lose on average an hour's sleep a night. One of the main causes of this sleep loss is the itching caused by this skin condition. Of those questioned, 63% nominated itching as the one symptom they would like to lose most.

Itching also becomes worst during "flare-ups." Results from the survey found the most common triggers of eczema flare-ups were stress (48%), washing powder (39%) and skin care products.

One in four people thought that skin care products containing perfume, lanolin or preservatives made their condition worse.

This article was published on Mon 28 September 2009