During his interview with HCP LiveMarkus Boos, MD, PhD, assistant pediatric dermatologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, spoke about climate change and its effects on atopic dermatitis (AD).
Boos highlighted some of the effects of air pollution, fires and drought on children at risk of developing eczema, the subject of the upcoming research symposium hosted by Global Parents for Eczema Research on November 2.
The interview explored the dangers of exposure to small air pollution particles and oxidative stress for children in relation to the development or worsening of AD.
“So whether it’s burning trees or gasoline, we have evidence in the medical literature that this type of contact between these particles in our skin will directly contribute to breakouts.”
“So, you know, just as an example, there was a study done in Germany that looked at the prevalence of eczema or symptoms of eczema, and other allergic diseases and plotted that relative to how close that family was to a major, or the freeway or the freeway,” he said. “And the closer the families were, the greater the prevalence of these atopic conditions in the community. “
Boos described the immediate environmental effects experienced by eczema patients in various types of climates, adding that more dramatic weather events can also lead to less obvious AD-related consequences.
“And then there’s the other aspect in the sense, like, let’s say there’s a natural disaster…and you have to evacuate, you leave town at the last minute, you forget your meds at home and you lose your house and all your medications are in there, you also don’t have the things you normally rely on to treat your skin condition,” he said.
When asked how people with AD can better manage exacerbations, improve hydration and generally treat the effects of their conditions, Boos gave examples of ways dermatologists can respond.
“I can tell you what I do in my practice, which is mainly, you know, the way I think about it is we have these little particles on our skin, we can’t necessarily see them, but we know they” We are there, we breathe them.
“And we feel it,” he said. “And so it just stands to reason for me that, like, if we can get them off your skin, that’s going to be really helpful. And so generally when I talk to families, because, you know, if your child bathes normally say twice a week and I would say make sure you rinse every night just to love get that off of you and use moisturizer so we don’t want something that’s going to strip the skin of its natural lipids, but a moisturizing soap or synthetic detergent which is gentler on the skin and can help remove these particles.
To learn more about the topics covered at the upcoming Global Parents for Eczema Research symposium, watch the interview above.