Behavioural treatment of scratching in patients with atopic dermatitis

Melin, Lennart; Frederiksen, T.; Norén, Peter; Swebilius, B.G.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.1986.tb06241.x

Cited by 123 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, even though there have been conducted studies concerning the influence of stress and psychological interventions reducing the stress level on AD patients' condition, they are usually not related to particular aspects of skin structure and function. Former studies evaluated some forms of psychotherapy like: individual behavioral therapy (which reduced significantly eczema severity and scratching behavior), group autogenic training and cognitive-behavioral therapy (significant effect on eczema severity, scratching, itching intensity and using topical steroids) and brief individual dynamic psychotherapy (positive effect on eczema severity) [12,[15][16][17][18]. Influence of structured educational programs consisted of clinical, nutritional and psychological topics (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These features and previous experience may determine different reactions to the same event (stress due to the necessity to answer questions related to their health versus appeasement due to the talk with a psychologist). Therefore, it would be worth considering to include an examination of these traits and measurement of anger, anxiety, depression and self-assessed annoyance evaluated by other authors in future studies [15,17,21]. It seems also to be interesting to assess the level of stress not only by means of questionnaires but also by laboratory tests, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taking into consideration both the stress impact on the course of the disease and numerous psychological problems with which AD patients have to cope in everyday life [14], it might have been expected that proper holistic management involving educational sessions would have a beneficial effect not only on patients' psychological state but also on their skin condition. Although prior studies proved a significant ameliorating effect of psychological interventions on eczema severity, itch intensity and scratching behaviour in patients with AD, studies on coping with the impact of educational interventions on the skin barrier of these patients are still lacking [12,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Psychological stress and transepidermal water loss in atopic dermatitis: preliminary results

Kępska¹,

Haftek²,

Nosbaum³

et al. 2012

pdia

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A Ad dd dr re es ss s f fo or r c co or rr re es sp po on nd de en nc ce e: : Prof. Anna Zalewska-Janowska MD, PhD, Department of Psychodermatology, Chair of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, Medical University of Lodz, 251 Pomorska, Poland, phone: +48 42 Original paper A b s t r a c t I In nt tr ro od du uc ct ti io on n: : Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease in which activation of specific T cells directed towards environmental allergens plays an important role. Environmental allergens' penetration through the skin is facilitated by the skin barrier impairment what causes xerosis and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) increase. As AD is a chronic disease, there are many factors responsible for exacerbations during the course of the disease, including environmental stress. A Ai im m: : Evaluation of the correlation between the level of psychological stress and epidermal barrier function in AD patients. M Ma at te er ri ia al l a an nd d m me et th ho od ds s: : Eight AD patients were included in the study during which two consultations were performed in one month's time. During each visit patients completed psychological questionnaires and had TEWL of uninvolved skin measured. The TEWL was also evaluated before and after the educational session which took place during the first visit. R Re es su ul lt ts s: : The study did not show any statistically significant correlation between the level of psychological stress, epidermal barrier function (measured by TEWL) and AD severity both at the beginning of the study (before and after the educational session) and a month later (all p > 0.05). C Co on nc cl lu us si io on ns s: : Negative observations could result from a small number of participants and a short follow-up period. However, consecutive studies excluding these limitations may play an important role in understanding the influence of stress on the skin barrier in atopic dermatitis and have reliable clinical implications. K Ke ey y w wo or rd ds s: : atopic dermatitis, transepidermal water loss, stress, education, psychodermatology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Psychological stress and transepidermal water loss in atopic dermatitis: preliminary results

Kępska¹,

Haftek²,

Nosbaum³

et al. 2012

pdia

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“…The active mechanisms of these interventions have so far received little attention. It is however known, that in patients with atopic eczema scratch-management methods including habit reversal are effective [62]. Regarding the duration of the treatment, there are indications that in addition to the proven effective treatments that include twelve meetings [51], research suggests that a short-term multidisciplinary group treatment of five meetings can have clinically significant effects in the long-term [32].…”

Section: Treatments Of Itch-scratching Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Treatments for Dermatological Conditions

2016

Skin and Psyche

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Abstract:The impact of dermatological conditions on a patient's life is frequently underestimated. Patients with skin conditions experience several physical complaints, including itch, pain and fatigue. Furthermore, in comparison to the general population, patients report a decreased psychological well-being, lowered quality of life and feelings of stigmatization and shame. Psychological treatments are widely used in addition to regular dermatological treatments to improve physical and psychological functioning of patients with chronic skin conditions. These treatments are usually aimed at changing the psychosocial factors that can influence the onset and/or course of skin conditions, such as dysfunctional coping behaviors, itch-scratching problems and stress. There are unimodal interventions in which single treatments are used, for example psychoeducation or relaxation exercises, and multimodal treatments in which a variety of different interventions are applied based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and self-management principles. Furthermore, a distinction can be made between interventions that focus primarily on skin-related psychosocial problems, interventions that focus on itch-scratching problems, and interventions that are focused on psychiatric problems in the dermatological practice. This chapter gives an overview on the psychosocial factors relevant for dermatological conditions, relevant diagnostic methods and the content and scientific evidence of specific psychological treatments in these different categories.

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“…They usually respond to embarrassment, frustration, anxiety, or other upsetting events with increased pruritis and scratching (Kodama, et al 1999). Although emotional factors do not cause atopic dermatitis, studies show that psychological techniques, such as stress reduction approaches, behavior modifications, and group counseling sessions may reduce the exacerbation of atopic dermatitis, particularly those prone to habitual scratching (Melin, et al 1986). …”

Section: Psychological Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%