When you have eczema, one of the things you should do is have an awareness of what it takes to keep hyperpigmentation away. Hyperpigmentation is when some areas of the skin become darker than other areas. This problem has occurred in many people that have eczema. This article is written so that you can understand hyperpigmentation in eczema, and know how to prevent it from bothering with your skin.

Melanin

Melanin is the ink or pigment that gives your skin its color. Whatever color dyes that melanin produces in your skin is the color that your skin will be. Sometimes, things go wrong and melanin cells produce dyes that are colored differently from that of the cells in the rest of your body. This is called hyperpigmentation. When hyperpigmentation is a result of an eczema flare up or bout with inflammation, it is referred to as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH.)

There are two suspected causes of PIH. When people assigned the task of diagnosing the problem do their work, they determine which form of PIH they are dealing with based on the appearance of the skin in the affected area.

Damaged cells

The first suspected cause of PIH is a direct effect of having been exposed to inflammation, and it has to do with damaged melanin cells. When inflammation burns out of control, it can damage cells in the body. In this case, melanin cells have been damaged, and as a result they produce an off colored pigment, which causes the skin in the area of the flare up to turn a darker shade than your normal skin color.

When this form of PIH comes into play, the affected skin usually develops a dirty brown complexion.

Haemosiderin deposits

Haemosiderin is a substance that is contained in red blood cells. Sometimes when blood is dispatched to an area to work on the inflammation and clean up processes, haemosiderin deposits can be left behind which stain the skin and gives it a reddish brown appearance.

Prevention

To prevent the formation of PIH, there are a number of things you can do. Two of the most important things are probably avoiding exposure to direct sunlight, and keeping your body amply supplied with anti-oxidants and fatty acids that will reduce the levels of inflammation that lies latent within you.