ECZEMA TREATMENT

Rational treatment of itch depends heavily on establishing the cause and removing or treating the cause. However, this is not always possible.
To alleviate itch the following measures are useful:
Avoid possible irritants like harsh soaps, bubble baths and detergents. Clothes made from wool or synthetic material can cause irritation. Loose, light cotton clothing and beddings are preferable.
Keep cool as much as possible. Heat lowers the itch threshold. Avoid hot baths. Stay under the fan or in an air-conditioned room when feasible. As the air in air-conditioned places tends to be dry, it may be useful to place a large bowl of water in front of the air-conditioner to improve the moisture content.
Dry skin makes itching worse. Moisturisers are useful to keep the skin supple and moist. They should be applied several times a day. Water and soap dry out the skin as they wash away the natural skin oils. Therefore the most important time to use moisturiser is after a bath or shower.
Engage in activities that distract from the itching during the day and make you tired enough to sleep at night.
Keep the nails short to limit any damage done to the skin by scratching. As much as possible, try not to scratch. Scratching gives temporary relief but the damage caused by scratching can make itching worse, leading to an itch-scratch-itch vicious cycle.
Antihistamines taken orally are very useful for some conditions like hives (urticaria). However, they do not help with all types of itch. Avoid topical antihistamines (which are applied on the skin) as they can sensitise the skin and cause allergic dermatitis.
Lotions that contain calamine or menthol may provide some relief.
Topical steroids can be useful if the itch is related to inflammatory conditions like eczema. However, they should be used under medical supervision.

If it seems that absolutely nothing will alleviate that red, cracked, and unbearably itchy skin, you may want to ask your dermatologist about wet-wrap therapy. Studies show that wet-wrap therapy can effectively re-hydrate and calm the skin. In one such study, children with severe atopic dermatitis who had not responded to other treatments were treated with wet-wrap therapy. The study found that the children experienced significant improvements. In just one week, these children averaged a 74% reduction in itch and experienced less sleep loss. Improvements to their skin lasted well beyond the two (2) weeks of treatment.1 Wet-wrap therapy also has been shown to significantly improve hand eczema.As the name implies, wet-wrap therapy involves wrapping wet bandages around the affected skin. The steps recommended by your dermatologist may differ slightly to accommodate a patient’s specific needs. However, the basic technique is as follows. Before the bandages are applied, the patient soaks in a bath with bath oil; then moisturizer is applied. Medication also may be spread on the skin affected by eczema. The wet bandages, which are generally moistened by soaking them in warm water or moisturizer, are then wrapped around the area. Wet bandages can be used on any area of the body that the patient will tolerate, including the face. To lock in moisture, dry bandages are wrapped over the wet ones. The benefits of wet-wrap therapy include:
Skin re-hydration
More restful sleep
Reduced redness and inflammation
Less frequent itching
Decrease in the Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria found on the skin
However, wet-wrap therapy does have some drawbacks. It is time-consuming. If you are treating a child, it requires a great deal of patience and supervision. Children tend to squirm when the bandages are being applied and may try to remove the bandages. As one parent said, “It’s not a nice thing for any parent to have to do.” However, most parents agree that the results are worth the effort when other therapies are not effective.When treating an infant or very young child, moistened pajamas may be used instead of wet wraps. Special care must be taken to prevent these children from becoming chilled.Wet-wrap therapy is generally only used for a week or two. To maintain the results afterwards, you must apply moisturizer frequently throughout the day and after bathing. Additionally, triggers must be avoided, and it may be necessary to continue using medication. If you feel that nothing will bring relief, be sure to talk with your dermatologist about wet-wrap therapy. It may be exactly what is needed to “wrap up” severe eczema.

Perioral dermatitis affects mostly women. In addition to redness around the mouth, the symptoms of perioral dermatitis may also include small red bumps or even pus bumps and mild peeling. Treatments include using a non-tartar, non-fluoride toothpaste. Lip balms, lipstick, mouthwash, or toothpaste can also cause perioral dermatitis.

Discoid eczema, also called nummular eczema or gravitational eczema is usually found in adults and appears suddenly as a few coin shaped areas of red skin; normally on the trunk or lower legs. It may look similar to ringworm. These areas become itchy and can weep fluid. Usually discoid eczema is treated with emollients (and steroid creams if necessary).It can be considered as an adult form of atopic eczema. It can be complicated by a bacterial infection which causes weeping and crusting.
The word "nummular" comes from the Latin nummus, meaning coin, and is characterized by round plaques of eczema. Eruptions of nummular eczema are often recurrent and chronic and usually appear in people who are in their 60s but can occur at any age. The cause of nummular eczema is not known, but it usually occurs in cold weather and is most common in people who have dry skin. Hot weather and stress can aggravate this condition, as can the following:
Fabric softeners
Allergies
Soaps and detergents
Wool clothing
Bathing more than once a day.
Nummular eczema most commonly appears on the arms, back, buttocks, and lower legs that may be crusted, scaling, and extremely itchy. Neurodermatitis most commonly appears as scaly patches of skin on the head, lower legs, wrists, or forearms caused by a localized itch that becomes intensely irritated when scratched. Minor skin injury such as an insect bite or a burn may start it off.
Discoid eczema can affect any part of the body particularly the lower leg. It may be termed "varicose eczema" when it runs along the leg veins and result in gravitational eczema One or many patches appear, and may persist for weeks or months. They can be several centimeters across, or as small as two millimeters. The skin between the patches is usually normal, but may be dry and irritable. Discoid eczema may be extremely itchy, or scarcely noticeable. When the patches clear, they may leave marks for some weeks or months which are darker or sometimes paler than the normal skin tone. Discoid eczema does not run in families, and unlike atopic dermatitis, it is not associated with asthma. It does not result from food allergy. It is not infectious to other people, although it sometimes becomes secondarily infected by bacteria.
As this type of eczema often starts off as a minor skin injury, protect all your skin carefully. If the hands are affected, use gloves and tools to make sure the skin is not irritated by friction, detergents, solvents, other chemicals or excessive water.
An eruption may begin with one or numerous round red plaques with tiny overlying blisters. The plaques often enlarge to several centimeters with clearly marked edges, and overlying scale may be prominent. Swelling and oozing occur in newer lesions and itching can be mild to severe.
Coal-tar salves can help relieve symptoms of nummular dermatitis that have not responded to other treatments, but these ointments have an unpleasant odor and stain clothing. Antibiotics are important if the dermatitis is weeping, sticky or crusted. Sometimes nummular dermatitis clears completely on oral antibiotics, only to recur when they are discontinued.

Eczema that is caused by sunlight is rare. If it happens it is likely to occur on the face, hands and arms. Using high factor sun creams can treat it. Sometimes this eczema can be caused when people are taking medication that reacts to sunlight e.g. antihistamines and arthritis medications. Ingredients in soaps and cosmetics may also cause this.

Dyshidrotic eczema appears as intensely itchy blisters on the hands, fingers and soles of the feet. When it affects the hands it’s called cheiropompholyx and pedopompholyx when it affects the feet. It is also known as pompholyx, keratolysis exfoliativa, or vesicular eczema of the hands and/or feet. The cause of this pattern of eczema is not fully understood but in some cases there is a history of allergic contact dermatitis especially to nickel. Very often no specific allergen is found despite extensive patch testing. This form of eczema is aggravated by stress.

Dr. Wayne Webber has often been asked to explain the basics of eczema, a wide spread problem that plagues millions of Americans. After analyzing many dermatological resources he formulated a simple explanation that has given peace of mind and hope to many eczema sufferers.
The outer layer of skin consists of dead skin cells. It is designed to protect the delicate living cells of the deeper layers. This outer layer needs to stay moisturized to protect these deeper layers. In order to keep the moisture from leaving the outer layer of skin, natural oils are produced.These oils also help keep irritants away from the deeper layers of skin. Regular washing with soap, or exposure to chemicals, can remove these natural oils.When the natural oil is stripped from the outer layer of skin the moisture quickly evaporates leaving dry itchy skin. The deeper layers are now left exposed to harsh damaging substances including detergents, solvents, cleaners, paint and thinners, gardening chemicals, dirt and grease, latex gloves and powder, etc. This makes matters worse and creates a dire need of dry skin treatment.
When we use conventional hand lotions and moisturizers, we send the message to the skin saying that it is adequately moisturized, when in fact, it is dehydrated of its natural moisture. The body responds by reducing its production of natural oils and moisture and this in turn makes the dry itchy skin problem worse. People have been known to complain that their skin is drier than before they started using conventional moisturizers for that very reason. Very often, severe cases of dry itchy skin left unresolved could result in eczema with the accompanying added discomfort of itchiness that is almost unbearable. Although there are other reasons for contracting eczema like coming into contact with allergens to which the individual is sensitive, his or her doctor is best equipped to diagnose the real cause.