“Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition that can be caused by multiple things,” explains Rachel Prete, DO, a pediatrician at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Florida who treats pediatric patients with eczema. “It’s a dryness of the skin that causes a redness and flaking.” That eczema can be hereditary: Dr. Prete says there’s a genetic component to eczema, meaning that if your parents and siblings have the condition, you’re more likely to develop it yourself, too. In fact, a June 2017 study published in Nature Genetics found evidence that a single mutation in the CARD11 gene could be linked to eczema. RELATED: How Stress May Play a Role in Eczema Flare-Ups In addition, having eczema may increase your chances of developing asthma, Prete says. Usually, the inflammatory skin reactions of eczema and asthma are caused by underlying allergens, so the two conditions often appear together, she explains. Your environment could also be to blame: “The biggest risk factors for eczema are environmental,” says Evan Rieder, MD, a dermatologist at New York University Langone Health in New York City. Dry, cold air or else contact with allergy-producing products like scented skin creams can cause eczema to flare, he explains.
Can You ‘Catch’ Eczema From Another Person Who Has It?
So can you catch eczema from someone else or give your eczema to someone? In a word, no — both Prete and Dr. Rieder emphasize that eczema is NOT contagious. “You are just genetically predisposed to it or not, most of the time,” Prete explains. For instance, even if you share a bed every night with someone who has eczema, you won’t suddenly develop it on your own, she says. RELATED: 12 Triggers of Eczema and How to Target Them
How Eczema Can End up Being Passed on
Eczema itself is not contagious — there’s no way that being around someone with eczema will suddenly cause you to develop that skin condition. However, what is contagious are skin infections. Think of it like this: If you have eczema and are constantly scratching your skin, you could cause a breakdown in that skin, Prete says. That opens you up to infections, because we all have bacteria on our skin, and when we break the top layer, the bacteria has the potential to cause an infection. In turn, that infection could be contagious, Prete says — but not eczema itself. In fact, the inflammation that underlies eczema can increase your risk of skin infection, even if you don’t lift a fingernail, according to a December 2016 review published in Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology. Rieder agrees, noting that “an intact outer layer of skin is necessary to prevent harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and fungi from invading the deeper layers of the skin.” If broken skin becomes “colonized” with any of these microorganisms, an infection could develop, he says. “That infectious organism could potentially prove contagious to anyone else who comes in direct contact with the infected skin,” Rieder says. RELATED: The Best Treatment Options for Eczema So how can you tell an infection from regular eczema? Infections are generally tender to the touch, and they may have some wetness and weeping (production of pus), Prete says. If you are concerned you might have gotten a skin infection from someone else, have a doctor check it out, as other conditions such as scabies and ringworm can sometimes look similar to eczema, Prete notes.
A Final Word on Why Eczema Isn’t Contagious
The bottom line? Eczema is not contagious — so if you’re self-conscious about your itchy, dry skin, know that you and people around you shouldn’t worry about the possibility of it being passed along to someone else. If your skin becomes infected, whether by itching eczema or through some other means, that infection can be passed on to somebody else through skin-to-skin contact — but not the underlying condition of eczema itself. RELATED: How Reducing Indoor Allergens Can Help Ease Eczema Symptoms And you can talk with a dermatologist about all the ways to manage eczema, including moisturizing as often as possible and doing your best to lock in that moisture, such as with a fragrance-free cream. Allergy testing can also help you pinpoint some of the triggers of your eczema, Prete notes. “Daily self-care, using soothing emollients, and regular visits to a board-certified dermatologist can help control this itchy, annoying, and sometimes debilitating condition,” Rieder says.
