Things like wool, pollen, dust, and plants generally don’t pose a threat to the human body. If one eats, touches, or inhales these by mistake, the body’s immune system defends against them. However, for some people, the body reacts to these things adversely. In such cases, they are called allergens, and the reaction is an allergic reaction. An allergic reaction might lead to symptoms like rashes on the skin, along with the skin becoming scaly, red, and itchy. It might also result in bumps and/or cracked skin.

Skin allergies include several conditions like eczema, contact dermatitis, and hives. Additionally, the various types of allergies and their main triggers lead to varying symptoms. This article discusses a few types of skin allergies and their main triggers:

• Eczema
  Also known as atopic dermatitis, it primarily affects infants on the knees, elbows, face, or scalp. The symptoms are dry and itchy skin, along with rashes, bumps that ooze a liquid, and scales. In children and teens, the rashes can occur in the elbow creases, on the hand, neck, face, eyebrows, and behind the knees. The condition can also lead to the skin getting a thick, bark-like, or leathery appearance.
• Contact dermatitis
  This skin allergy results in inflammation due to an allergen coming into contact with the skin. The reaction leads to a burning sensation, itching, and rashes and blisters on the skin. While the common areas affected by this condition are the hands, eyelids, face, neck, and feet, the common triggers are plants like poison ivy, cosmetics, latex, antibiotic creams, metals like nickel in costume jewelry, chemicals in adhesives, and nail polish. On the other hand, an allergen causing a reaction on exposure to sunlight leads to photoallergic contact dermatitis, and it usually occurs in case of contact with sunscreen and shaving creams. It may take a few hours to nearly 10 days for a reaction to develop.
• Hives (urticaria)
  A condition characterized by itchy red bumps, it is called acute urticaria if it persists for six weeks and chronic urticaria if it affects an individual for longer. While the former occurs due to an infection or exposure to an allergen, the cause of the latter is unknown. Apart from contact dermatitis, hives can be triggered by insect bites, foods, and certain medications.

Causes of skin allergies
There are several types of allergies, and the main triggers vary from one to another:

• Leaves of plants like poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac
• Nickel
• Rubber and latex
• Wool or mohair
• Chemicals and preservatives in sunscreens, shampoos, beauty products, and such

The cause of allergies is still unknown, but heredity increases the risk of being allergic to something. One also needs to consult their health care provider if they are allergic to something to understand the types and main triggers of allergies.