Common Skin Problems

Atopic eczema

Atopic eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is the most common form of eczema and makes your skin itchy, red, dry and cracked.

It’s a long-term condition in most people, although it can improve over time, especially in children, who often grow out of it.

It can affect any part of the body, but most commonly affects:

• the backs or fronts of the knees
• outside or inside the elbows
• around the neck, hands, cheeks or scalp

Treatment, which includes using moisturisers and topical steroids, can help relieve symptoms.

Cold sores

Cold sores are small blisters that develop on the lips or around the mouth, caused by the herpes simplex virus.

They often start with a tingling, itching or burning sensation around your mouth. Small fluid-filled sores then appear, usually on the edges of your lower lip.

Cold sores usually clear up without treatment within 7 to 10 days, but antiviral creams are available from pharmacies over the counter.

How long cold sores are contagious

Cold sores are contagious from the moment you first feel tingling or other signs of a cold sore coming on to when the cold sore has completely healed.