If you deal with the itching and burning of eczema you know very well how uncomfortable it is. However, a solution can be found in the form of Chinese medicinal plants.

Three new studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, suggest that traditional treatments herbal Chinese may be useful both for children and adults.

Eczema is the name used for a wide range of skin inflammation (dermatitis) and can occur any age, although its more common in babies. At three years old eczema disappear in half of infants, others are trapped under the condition problems for life.

Up to 20% of children and 1-2% of adults are thought to this very uncomfortable and often embarrassing skin problem.

Nobody knows exactly what causes it, although a problem with the immune system may be the culprit … especially in the case of atopic dermatitis

One other form of eczema, known as contact dermatitis can be caused when skin comes into contact with something in the environment as soap, clothing, detergents, cosmetics or jewelry (including sweat) that causes a skin reaction.

Eczema has also been known to explode due to changes in temperature or humidity, or even stress psychological.

When regard to treatment, the doctor looks at the patient's age, general health and type of eczema in question. Creams and ointments are often used to keep skin hydrated and avoid over-bathing and make lifestyle changes for others to stay away from triggers are also important to keep this condition under control.

There are more sales of antihistamines that can be used to control itching. At times, a cycle short oral corticosteroids used to manage an acute outbreak.

A couple of topical medications have been approved by the FDA in the USA: tacrolimus (Protopic) and pimecrolimus (Elidel). However, an FDA warning in 2005 about these medicines cited animal studies that linked them to certain types of cancer. Because of this, your doctor the use of these medications only as second-line treatment – after getting no response from other forms of treatment. Even if these drugs are given, only takes them for a short time.

Perhaps because of the need for action is not achieved from traditional treatment for at least 30% of people with eczema have prescribed traditional Chinese medicine, although there are still questions about whether this approach works non-Western, and is safe.

In an effort to address these concerns, researcher Julia Wisniewski, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York studied 14 children who had persistent eczema were treated with traditional Chinese medicine, including August 2006 and May 2008.

All the children drank Erka Shizheng Herbal Tea twice a day, soaked in a herbal bath for at least 20 minutes, and applies a herbal cream for your skin several times a day.

They also had acupuncture treatments. At the beginning of the study, more than half of children had severe symptoms after 8 months of this regime, most with mild symptoms. Participants also need less medication (steroids, antibiotics and antihistamines) after only three months of being treated.

The herbal treatments were safe and caused no hepatic or kidney.

When it comes to adult eczema, a team of Japanese researchers found that grown ups can also benefit from traditional Chinese medicine.

This study involved 274 men and women who had tried with eczema for an average of 12 years. About a third had symptoms that were classified as serious or very serious skin with chronically dry patches, itching and swelling in more than ten percent of the body.

After three to four months of treatment with natural remedies that had been selected and managed based on the symptoms of the subject, 87% of the subjects were asymptomatic. Other 12% were much improved. One patient in the study had mild abnormalities in liver function that was resolved by stopping the herbal treatment.

The third study was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Cincinnati, which sought to identify risk factors for developing eczema following 636 children newly born to parents with allergies.

At age 4, fathers of infants with eczema who had double the risk of this skin disorder had other children. Infants who tested positive for egg allergy (a well known link to eczema) at age 1, were four times more likely to have eczema least four years of age.

Those who tested positive for allergies to cats (and had a cat) at the age of 1, 2 or 3, more than 13 times more likely to have eczema 4 years age than other children. The pollen also proved to be a risk factor for eczema – children who tested positive for allergies elm at age 1, 2 or 3 was about three times as likely to have eczema for four years.

So if your little one has eczema and is about a cat (dogs seem to offer a protective effect) or you live in a wooded area, you may want to consider allergy testing.

In all areas, while more work is needed, these three studies provide encouraging results and suggest that if you suffer from eczema, or know someone who does, then there may be answers for them in Chinese medicinal herbs or traditional Chinese medicine.

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Childhood Eczema