Childhood eczema ranges from 2 to 10 years of age. The skin appears dry, red to brownish-gray, scaly, and thickened. Areas of the body usually include ears, eyelids, breast area, neck, face, legs, and hands. Teenagers and adults experience dry skin with elevated lesions, which become scaly, patchy, and form plaque. The elbow bends, backs of knees, ankles, hands, wrists, face, neck, and upper chest are the areas that become most affected with eczema.
Researchers believe heredity does play a role in passing eczema from one generation to the next.
Eczema is worldwide. General estimates suggest eczema is seen more in males than females. Food Foods are more often the triggers of infantile eczema than they are for teenagers and adults. Common allergenic foods include cow's milk, soy products, egg white, shellfish, wheat, and peanuts. Allergy skin testing can help confirm or reject the suspicion of food allergy as a factor in infantile eczema.