Skin has special cells that react when they come in contact with anything that irritates them. They make the skin inflamed to protect it. If you have eczema, you have more of these special cells than other people do. These cells overreact when something triggers them and they start to work overtime. That's what makes your skin red, sore, and itchy.
No one is really sure why people get eczema. It's not contagious - which means that no one can catch it from you and you can't catch it from anyone else. Kids who get eczema often have family members with hay fever (it makes them sneeze and have a runny nose), asthma (trouble breathing), or other allergic conditions.
Some scientists think these kids may be genetically predisposed to get eczema, which means characteristics have been passed on from parents through genes that make a kid more likely to get it. About half of the kids who get eczema will also someday develop hay fever or asthma themselves. Eczema is not an allergy itself, but allergies can be a trigger factor for eczema. That means that if you have allergies, your eczema may flare up sometimes.
Some things that can set off eczema include:
soaps, detergents, or perfumes
hot and sweaty skin
dry winter air with little moisture
other things that can irritate your skin, such as contact with scratchy fabrics (like wool) or dust mites in your bedsheets
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