Ive just been diagnosed with eczema, any tips?
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The Wal Mart brand of Eucerin is a good cream lotion to use, and doesn't stain clothes, furniture, etc, which you will find may happen with some ointments. Aquaphor is a good ointment to use, but can be messy.
We use All Free and Clear detergent in our household and Downy Sensitive Skin fabric softener (can't remember the name, white bottle). We actually use very little shower gel or body wash on my daughter, only when she is actually dirty.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, and figure out triggers and the things that cause flare ups. This article might help, even though its geared towards kids.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...
Hydrocortisone and tanning beds, the best two cures. I have it also and these both work wonders!
Crush a couple of garlics like paste apply that on the effected area let it be there for 10 to 15 minutes then wash with plain water and apply the gel you have been prescribed will help you.
don't scratch that makes it worse, use soap or body wash that isn't heavily fragranced, Ivory soap IS BAD (dries you out too much), hydrocortisone helps the itching and cool compresses take care of the itching and redness. Hope this helps.
Drink coats milk - and invest in a sunbed.or go to one at least twice a week..." Double Base" is Axel grease... do not use it.(my Niece has Eczema)
You poor thing, I've lived with eczema most of life, but I think I have it under control. My best advice:
Reduce your dairy and citrus intake. Citrus irritated me to no end.
Use a cocoa butter in conjunction with the gel from the doctor
Shower gel is OK but in extreme moderation :o)
Aloe Vera in your diet, whether drink or tablet form works extremely well definitely try it.
And finally although not very appealing, Simple soap is the best.
Whatever you do try and avoid highly scented toiletries, keep perfumes/colognes to the bare minimum and make sure all your skin care stuff is hypoallergenic.
Substitute cow's milk for goats milk or soya. Reduce dairy products in the diet. Use aqueous cream for moisturising your skin. Hydrocortozone creams just strip off the top layer of skin & after time your skin becomes thinner & thinner.
Only use them as a last resort when your eczema is extremely bad
E45 Cream is very good for Eczema x
What you need is a tub of epaderm cream or aquesous cream to use as 'soap' and to use as cream.Put a blob of cream in a sock and tie a knot in it to wash your body.
dont use any shower gel and even the moisturising ones dry out the skin. As for using sunbeds they will also dry out the skin further.
use un perfumed soaps i found that perfumed ones make the itch worse oh and really try hard not to scratch coz it makes the itch worse lol i know its really easy for people to say that but i know what its like its really hard not too but the amount of scars i got from scratching til i bled is unbelievable
Wear loose cotton clothes, no wool or tight synthetics as these will irritate the skin.
Use shower gel not soap as soap dries the skin.
Shower instead of bathing spending a lot of time in the water surprisingly dries out the skin.
Sleep in a cool room at night.
Make sure all washing is thoroughly rinsed of detergent and use a non-bio.
Avoid aspirin and salycylate containing foods such as grapes.
double base and hydrocortisone are rubbish!! they only work for V bad break outs and steriod creams eventually thin the skin. My advice vaseline intensive care derma care body lotion or anything with aloe vera. Try a health food store for dead sea products too. Ask your doc for special bath oil but try stick to short tepid showers. Ask for allergy testing. Change your washing pwder to sensitive non bio DO NOT USE SUN BEDS your skin is more likely to damage. For the face try ahava (search engine it) special dead sea mud creams that work wonders.Aveeno products work well too and do cooling moisterising creams .E45 in my experience doesnt work and is too chemical filled. Finally,wear cotton. If your itchy distract yourself. If you use sun protection make sure its childrens and high 30spf, often creams made for kids are good for sensitive skin.Good luck
use mild detergents to wash your clothes with, and try and wear 100% cotton, I find nylon in any % irritates the skin and kick starts the itching. You will need to keep a track of things that irritate skin, ie foods,clothing, dust,etc. moisturing at least twice a day i find is very helpful, try the vaseline body lotion with aloe, its very soothing. It's all trial and error depending on the type of excema you have.
Hi! welcome to our world! I have had eczma since I was around 5 months old, it disappeared when I was around 6 and reappeared at 15! I then had severe eczma (hospitalisation required occasionally) for a good 3-4 years. Now I have it under control.
Having read other people's advice - I really would have to say that ultimately, which moisturisers/shower gels you use will really depend on you, how you react to them. Yes it's the same condition, bit different things work for different people. Personally, I hated most moisturisers I was given and emoillients such E45 and vaseline intensive care (both reccommended by others) really irritated my skin further. The best moisturiser I came accross that worked wonders for me, was double base - which I continue to use. But yes, it can seem like a grease axel on some days - depending on how bad the eczma is - you'll learn to adjust accordingly.
Sunbeds - thats a new one! saying that however, I have just returned from 12 weeks abroad in the middle of Asia, and my skin has not looked healthier - I hardly required my moisturisers - rarely the steroids! so there is clearly some advantage the sun holds... as a budding scientist, i sure would like to look into that...but thats another story.
As for what to avoid etc. well, i followed a complete dairy and red meat free diet for over two years - and my eczma cleared remarkably - i havent seen a doctor for it in over three years! I have since re-introduced all food products into my diet.
Also - hypoallergenic stuff is not always mild either, again it depends on the individual - certain products I can't use - im afraid its all trial and error! but yes - the fewer chemicals the better, non-biological washing powder...etc...etc!
Stress defnitely is an exacerbating factor - try to keep things under control - exams? work family etc. Try taking a deep breath and remember it's just not worth the bad skin!
Don't give the eczma any more thought than necessary - you'll learn to live with it - God knows, there are far worse things to be diagnosed with! Good luck!
You need to keep your skin cool and moist. Have warm showers and baths, not hot.
Don't use perfumed stuff on your skin- shower gel, soap, talcum powder, (powder is very drying) soap powder, fabric conditioner, etc. Use SURCARE liquid for doing your laundry. Use SIMPLE products, such as facewash, etc.
Drink LOTS of water (4pints daily or more)
After showering/bathing, PAT your skin, don't rub it. Apply lots of emollient cream all over. Wear cool, cotton clothes next to your skin. No woollen or nylon on your skin.
If you've got pets, wash your hands after touching them. Wear cotton gloves in bed,to stop scratching. Take antihistamine pills to relieve itching.
I used to have bad eczema and I use Evening Primrose and Cod Liver Oils. If you live in the UK, you can buy them combined into one capsule and they are less than £4 for 90 capsules from Asda and you take 1-a-day.
I also use as natural a product I can. I tend to use Body Shop products and although they're more expensive, the benefits far outweigh the cost. I love their Papaya range, it leaves your skin really soft and the body butter really moisturises.
Try a good emollient and wet wrap if needed ask you're GP about it, it worked wonders for our son and try a soya base bath oil and when you feel itchy don't scratch tap it instead then you don't brake you're skin because that can lead to infection, i know how hard it can be but don't give up.
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