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Eczema, otherwise known as dermatitis, refers to a family of pare weather condition that cause the skin to go swollen, irritated, and itchy. Eczema causes peel to appear red and dry out, and many people contribute to their skin's irritation past rubbing or scratching the itchy, irritated patches, thereby releasing more inflammatory agents into the skin. Eczema is very common and frequently affects children. Although there is no known cure for eczema, the condition tin be managed by avoiding triggers and treating affected skin properly.

  1. 1

    Avoid personal care products to which you are allergic. Eczema flare-ups can be kicked off when skin comes into contact with allergens, and then it is important that you lot know what you are allergic to and avoid products with ingredients that irritate your skin.[1] These may include:

    • Soaps/bubble bathroom, peculiarly ones that are artificially perfumed and scented
    • Perfumes
    • Cosmetics
    • Laundry detergents (adding time to your auto's rinse bike tin can help with this)
    • Some lotions

  2. ii

    Wear gloves when treatment pare irritants. Many common household items (and even foods!) incorporate substances that can have a drying, dissentious upshot on pare. Avert contact with these sorts of products. If this is not possible, wear rubber gloves to protect your skin (peculiarly if yous have hand eczema). Some things to avoid are:

    • Household cleaners
    • Finger paints
    • Gasoline
    • Turpentine
    • Wool
    • Pet fur
    • Juices from meats and fruits
    • Plants, jewelry, and even lotions can irritate sensitive skin.

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  3. 3

    Take brusk baths or showers. You can prevent worsening your skin's dryness by limiting your bathing activities to 10 or 15 minutes. Water exposure dries the skin. If possible, skip a shower one 24-hour interval per week to give your skin a suspension. You lot should also use lukewarm (not hot) water.[2]

    • Consider installing a water softener in your home (especially if you accept hard h2o) to further reduce the drying effect of your showers or baths.
    • Pat your pare dry with a soft, make clean towel after bathing. Do not rub your skin dry, as this volition only crusade irritation.

  4. iv

    Apply gentle soaps. Some soaps, even if they are made to be used on pare, can have a harsh, drying effect. Use lather that is specifically designed to moisturize, and use it sparingly. Avert soaps with perfumes or artificial coloring, as these can increase the likelihood that your skin will react desperately.[3]

    • Soaps with deodorant and/or antibacterial agents take a greater drying effect on pare, so avoid these when possible.
    • Only employ lather on your face up, underarms, genitals, hands, and feet; use only water on all other torso parts.

  5. five

    Wear loose, cotton dress. Synthetic fabrics (like polyester), especially those that are rough to the bear on may irritate the skin and trigger eczema flare-ups. This is especially truthful if your apparel are tight-fitting and/or you are moving around in them a lot. Y'all can prevent skin irritation from clothing by avoiding such wardrobe choices.[4]

    • Some clothing dyes might also irritate your skin. If you observe that a certain shirt seems to trigger flare-ups of your eczema, stop wearing it and bank check the label for information about the fabric dyes used in it; add together these to the list of things you should avoid.
    • Cut the tags off of shirts, bras, and underwear then they exercise not rub your skin and cause irritation.

  6. 6

    Control grit mites. Dust mites are a major culprit of eczema flare-ups. In addition to keeping a clean home, yous can reduce the likelihood that dust mites may cause extra skin irritation past doing the following:[5]

    • Remove carpets, rugs, and curtains from your home.
    • Utilize plastic mattress covers.
    • Clean your domicile thoroughly at least in one case per calendar week; it is specially important to get rid of dust.
    • Launder all bedding at least once a week.
    • Allow sufficient air flow through your abode by opening lots of windows, especially during cleaning (conditions permitting).

  7. 7

    Maintain a home humidity level of 45-55%. The dryness of the air in your home has a major impact on the dryness of your skin. Employ a humidifier (especially if you alive in a dry, cold, and/or high-summit locale) to increase the moisture content of the air inside your home if necessary.[half dozen]

    • Use a hygrometer, a device that measures humidity, to approximate whether your home's air is as well dry. Alternatively, some modern humidifiers have hygrometers built into them and can be set to the proper humidity.
    • Your humidifier will need to be refilled periodically with water.
    • A sudden drop in atmospheric humidity tin rapidly dry your skin, which is a recipe for a outburst.

  8. 8

    Avert 'trigger foods.' Although evidence for this link is somewhat thin, some suggest that certain foods might trigger eczema flare-ups, specially in small children (i.e., under one year of age). More often than not, trigger foods seem to be those to which children are already allergic or intolerant.[7] Foods suspected of being common flare-up triggers include:

    • Dairy products
    • Eggs
    • Nuts and seeds
    • Soy products
    • Wheat/gluten
    • If you're not sure if you're allergic to a food, eliminate it from your diet for two weeks. After ii weeks without it, reintroduce it into your nutrition and see if your symptoms return. If they do, yous should avoid that food. If they exercise not reappear, and then y'all tin go on eating the food.

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  1. 1

    Moisturize your pare. Frequent moisturizing helps to lock in the skin's own natural moisture and prevents dryness and cracking. This serves the dual purpose of preventing the status from worsening while providing relief from symptoms. There are numerous options for over-the-counter skin moisturizers, virtually of which can hands exist establish in any pharmacy or grocery store.

    • Choose thick creams or ointment, as these piece of work all-time for excessively dry out peel.
    • For children with eczema, apply products free of perfumes; petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) is a skillful selection for this.
    • Employ moisturizer at least twice a twenty-four hour period. Excessively dry pare absorbs moisture relatively rapidly, so you lot will need to reapply more often than a person without eczema.
    • If you plan to be outdoors for a long period of time, use sun block with a high SPF level (SPF fifty or higher) to preclude additional drying of the pare from sun exposure.
    • Stay well hydrated by drinking water.

  2. 2

    Apply hydrocortisone foam on inflamed areas. Hydrocortisone and other corticosteroids tin reduce inflammation and some associated symptoms of an eczema burst.[8] These creams are for topical awarding and tin can exist found in low concentration over-the-counter in most pharmacies. For creams with more than 1% concentration, yous will need a md's prescription.

    • Follow the instructions on the cream's packaging and do not exceed the recommended daily dosage.
    • Overuse of corticosteroids can have agin effects. Corticosteroids are meant only for acute flares, and they should be avoided otherwise. Notwithstanding, if it is peak season (similar a dry out winter), you tin can alloy a very low dose with moisturizer and apply it for that extended menses of time.
    • Avoid ingestion of hydrocortisone creams; they are intended for topical application but.

  3. 3

    Take antihistamines to reduce itching. Over-the-counter antihistamines (such as Benadryl) can be constitute at any chemist's and are usually taken orally. These should just be used during flare-ups and when itching is severe.[9]

    • Be aware of the potential side furnishings of antihistamines, a common one of which is drowsiness. It volition exist up to you to decide whether relief from itching is worth enduring the side effects of your antihistamine. Just exist certain to abide by whatsoever warnings on the medication packaging.
    • Severe itching may not exist relieved by an over-the-counter antihistamine. Talk to your doctor to talk over alternative options if this doesn't work for you lot.

  4. 4

    Take oral antibiotics to treat infections. These are needed to clear upward infections acquired by bacteria getting into breaks in the skin, but tin only be prescribed past a doc. See a doctor correct away if you suspect you may have an infected wound.[10]

    • Always complete a prescribed course of antibiotics, fifty-fifty if your infection clears up before you have finished your prescription. Failure to do and so could result in your infection returning with resistance to antibiotics. You don't desire this!
    • Make sure your doc explains all the side furnishings associated with antibiotic medications. If yous are taking other medications, tell your medico nearly them to avoid the possibility of experiencing complications.

  5. 5

    Take bleach baths. Although this might sound counter-intuitive because bleach dries the skin, bleach baths help kill off infection-causing bacteria on the pare and reduce the likelihood that you could develop an infection. Talk to your medico before doing this, though, every bit your condition could be made worse in some cases.[11]

    • Use half a cup of bleach for a total bathtub of lukewarm h2o. Employ less if your bathtub is non total.
    • Soak for near 10 minutes and then rinse off with clean water.
    • Repeat two to iii times per calendar week.

  6. half dozen

    Consider relocating. If you live in a dry climate and take severe eczema, it might exist worth considering a motility to a more humid locale. Geographic locations with moderately high humidity volition are probable to be less harsh on your skin because you won't 'dry out' as easily. Choosing to uproot yourself and your family unit is a serious decision and should be a terminal-resort option for dealing with your eczema (unless yous are already considering moving for other reasons).

    • Extremely high humidity can sometimes be problematic for eczema sufferers, too; you are best off living in a place with moderately high humidity (such every bit the northern-central Midwest) rather than a place where humidity is very high well-nigh of the year (such as the deep South).
    • Be certain to consider seasonal variations in humidity. Some places may be boiling during the summer, but quite dry during the winter; others are relatively warm and humid all twelvemonth.
    • Speak to your medico before deciding to relocate. Some forms of eczema might not be helped much by moving to a wetter climate.

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Add together New Question

  • Question

    What well-nigh using coconut or other food-based oil to moisturize?

    Janice Litza, MD

    Dr. Litza is a board certified Family Medicine Doctor in Wisconsin. She is a practicing Doc and taught as a Clinical Professor for thirteen years, afterward receiving her MD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Schoolhouse of Medicine and Public Health in 1998.

    Janice Litza, MD

    Board Certified Family Medicine Physician

    Proficient Answer

    Support wikiHow by unlocking this skillful respond.

    Some people take found that using food form oils helps more. For example, coconut oil has some mild antibacterial activity, and sunflower seed oil has some mild anti-inflammatory activeness. The main thing is to moisturize consistently. Information technology's okay to use food based oils, merely ever take extra circumspection to avoid the sun afterwards yous apply them.

  • Question

    I notice that my skin flares when I'm under a lot of stress. What can I practice to forbid that?

    Janice Litza, MD

    Dr. Litza is a board certified Family Medicine Physician in Wisconsin. She is a practicing Medico and taught as a Clinical Professor for 13 years, after receiving her MD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health in 1998.

    Janice Litza, MD

    Board Certified Family Medicine Dr.

    Skillful Answer

    Support wikiHow by unlocking this skillful answer.

    Emotional stress can be a trigger for many people, and understanding the connection is the beginning pace to prevention. Next, exercise using relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, and meditation to help you stay calm and get back to a relaxed country.

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  • Keep your fingernails cut brusque then you lot are less likely to pause the skin if yous scratch itchy areas.

  • If your baby or toddler has eczema, ask your doctor for advice on treatment, as some adult remedies might non be recommended for very young children.

  • Many cases of baby eczema clear up by most two years of age and are non problematic after this.

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  • See a physician if your eczema doesn't respond to moisturizers, if symptoms get unbearable, or if y'all experience signs of infection such equally fever, yellowish belch, or excessive swelling.

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