Eczema is one of the most common occupational skin problems, with 80% of newly diagnosed work-related skin disease being eczema caused by irritant exposure. That is why the National Eczema Society is using National Eczema Week (11 to 18 September) to turn the spotlight on occupational eczema.

Six million people in the UK suffer from eczema, which is not actually a disease in its own right. The word eczema, which comes from the Greek word for 'boiling', refers to a characteristic reddish skin rash which has a variety of causes. Most common is exposure to an allergen, like house dust mite, pet dander, and certain foods, in which case the condition is referred to as atopic eczema. People with atopy, which is a tendency to allergy, are also likely to suffer from other allergic conditions like asthma and hay fever. The terms dermatitis and eczema are often used interchangeably although strictly speaking dermatitis is any inflammation of the skin, not just eczema.

Do you ever wonder how much your asthma, or other allergy, costs you - both financially and emotionally? According to the British Lung Foundation and Asthma UK, asthma costs nearly £2.3 billion per year. That's £1,226 million in lost work productivity, £889 million in NHS costs and £161 million in benefits. There are around five million people with asthma in the UK. I won't divide that number into the costs figure to get an average - that'd be misleading because people vary so much in the severity of their disease. You'll have a good idea yourself what your asthma and allergies cost you and your family.

So wouldn't it be worthwhile - if you haven't already - investing in the long-term management of your allergy? There are many different and effective things you can do. There are so many options that you could be overwhelmed. But you have to be careful, many of the things that are being offered as non-madical allergy

What is your experience of eczema? There are many different types of eczema, and its appearance can also be very variable - even between individuals who have the same diagnosis. But certain features, such as itchy rash and dry skin, are common to most forms of the condition.

Here's how atopic (allergic) eczema might look in a young child:

The initial symptom of atopic eczema is often a rash on the face, scalp or trunk appearing when a child is no more than two or three months old. The baby tends to rub or even scratch at the affected area, which makes it raw and 'weepy'. The rash might disappear, or it may spread to the body and limbs. Often it will settle in the creases of the elbows, wrists, buttocks, knees or ankles.

However, it should be borne in mind that atopic eczema is an unpredictable condition, affecting individual children in different ways. The rash can appear on any part of the body, although nearly every child with eczema has an affected patch in the crease

For anyone without eczema, cleaning the skin means soap (or some other detergent) and water. But if you have eczema, soap should be avoided as far as possible, and exposure to water minimised. Soap and other detergents remove oils from the skin, leaving it dry and vulnerable - the last thing you need if you have eczema. They may also contain additives, like perfume, which can irritate the skin. Strange as it may sound, water also has a drying effect - for much the same reason as soap.

When you have eczema the mainstay of your skin cleansing routine should be a cream, which is massaged gently into the skin and then rinsed off. A cream is a mixture of oil (usually a mineral oil, like soft paraffin) and water. Because oil and water don't mix, an additive known as an emulsifier has to be added to disperse the oil in the form of tiny invisible droplets within the water to make one layer rather than two. Suitable eczema washing creams for the bath or shower include Wash E45® and Aqueous cream BP.

Like all products

Many people in the UK suffer from eczema. It affects between two and ten per cent of adults and up to 15 per cent of school-age children. Eczema is an inflammation of the skin, which usually causes intense itching - its hallmark symptom. The word eczema actually comes from the Greek word meaning 'boiling' ; this is a good way of describing the blisters that often erupt beneath the inflamed skin of someone with eczema. The terms dermatitis (literally, 'skin inflammation') and eczema are often used interchangeably by dermatologists.

The best known form of eczema (there are many different diagnoses) is atopic eczema, which is caused by an allergic response to a specific substance, like house dust mite, certain foods or pollen. Atopic eczema is most common among children, and seems to run in families. Only a small proportion of those affected by atopic eczema as a child still suffer from the condition in adult life and, contrary to parents' fears, there is usually no lasting damage to the skin. Typically - but