Eczema relief a risk factor for fractures.

• Position: Medications - Brief article

Intense itching and dry, irritable skin are not the only problems facing adults with eczema. They are at greater risk of accidental bone fractures and other injuries, a study by Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill., has found.

The increased odds of accidental injury could be related directly to the side effects of steroids and sedating antihistamines commonly prescribed to treat the skin disorder or the undertreatment of severe cases.

"Many eczema patients who are prescribed medication for itch are often given sedating antihistamines or steroids, but those medications may come at a price," explains senior author Jonathan I. Silverberg, assistant professor of dermatology and an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "Sedatives cause fatigue, and steroids can lead to bone density problems and osteoporosis."

More than 10% of adults have eczema, which also is called atopic dermatitis. One-third of those report a...