Eczema is drying of the skin that happens at any age but is very common among children. Your skin does not only look dry, its color turns red and becomes itchy as well. In some severe cases, the skin bleeds, weeps and crusts. What’s good is that the disease is not contagious. In this article, you will come to know how to deal with eczema.
How to Deal with Eczema – 10 Ways to Forget the Problem
Tips #1 Washing
Use lukewarm water to prevent the spread of the disease. You can use a silk loofah to clean your skin but be sure not to scrub it.
Tip #2 Creams and Lotions
After taking a bath apply a moisturizing lotion or cream on the affected area of your skin. This will help hold the water and moisture thus keeping the skin moist.
Tip #3 Avoid Scratching
Do not scratch the affected area to prevent it from getting worse. It will only cause bleeding and splitting which may lead to infection. If this happens, you can use antibiotics whether oral or topical to kill the bacteria.
Tip #4 Drink Plenty of Fluids
Be sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day and drink other fluids to supply moisture to the body to avoid dryness.
Tip #5 Take Multivitamins
Apply lotion every morning and night especially after shower. Take also multivitamins that can help your body heal fast. You can also apply Vitamin E to your skin.
Tip #6 Ointments and Creams
You can go to a drugstore to buy non-prescribed corticosteroid creams and ointments to reduce inflammation. You can also buy an anti-itch cream and a calamine lotion. You can also try applying cold compress. If all of these are not doing good, you can ask your physician to prescribe some medication. Your doctor may give you an oral corticosteroid.
Tip #7 Antihistamines
For severe itching, your doctor will recommend antihistamines. This is available in both prescriptions and over-the-counter. Usually this is taken in the evening since its common side effect is drowsiness. This will give the patient a good night’s sleep.
Tip #8 Tar Treatments and Phototherapy
You can also try these two treatments, only the problem with tar treatment is that it’s messy.
Tip #9 Cylosporine
If you have tried all the treatments mentioned above when it comes to dealing with eczema and nothing worked at all, you can try Cyclosporine A. It modifies the body’s immune response but the only problem is that it is known to have serious side effects.
Tip #10 Calcineurin Inhibitors
For those who have atopic dermatitis which is a type of eczema, they can either use tacrolimus or pimecrolimus, both of which belong to a class of drugs called calcineurin inhibitors. This has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These drugs modulate the immune response and known not to have any side effects even in long term use.
Some say that the best cure to any disease is prevention. Can eczema be prevented? Yes of course. Let your children wear breathable clothes, let them use mild soaps, always keep their room clean and lastly try to avoid sudden temperature changes.