What are the best over the counter remedies?
Plain Vaseline, no scents no fragrances, we want it just hypoallergenic if possible, because eczema skin can be sensitive to even fragrances and scents. We really want the skin barrier to be repaired. Eczema is a condition that affects the skin barrier. It’s not normal skin. So we want thick, heavy moisturizers that can repair that skin barrier and help it to heal.
You don’t want any harsh soap. So a lot of times soaps imagine for your hands antibacterial soaps or infant soaps that have a lot of dyes or perfumes. So you want to stick with something that’s really gentle, something that is not going to over strip the skin and dry it out.
And that goes back to not only soaps but detergent right? So scent fragrance free detergent, comfortable soft clothing like cotton base clothing, which is a natural fiber, it’s easy to breathe.
What are some of the worst things that you can do to manage your eczema?
A lot of people will use things to help alleviate the itch and they think that that’s helping the eczema so things like rubbing alcohol or aloe but what happens is that temporarily helps the itch by evaporating off the skin but it dries you out.
What are some of the funniest things you’ve heard?
Snake oil. Scorpion soap. All sorts of things. Better not to get your advice from social media when it comes to Eczema Treatment.
Some of the other things that I’ve heard: apple cider vinegar, which can also dry the skin out. We want to try to avoid things that make the skin more irritated. So
What are some of the over the counter products people can use for eczema?
One of my favorite products is Aveeno Eczema Baby. It is very gentle. It’s got oatmeal in it. Colloidal oatmeal helps with inflammation in the skin, it can calm itch down, it can make the skin calm down and feel better.
What I find is when I go to the store, sometimes I’ll see people in the lotion section and they look totally lost. There’s so many good options. And so when in doubt, I say if you’ve really bad eczema, look for something that’s in a jar. If something comes through a pump, oftentimes it’s a little too thin for what we’re looking for. So a thicker cream. It doesn’t have to be too sticky that you can’t live your life, but something that’s going to be a little more moisturizing or emollient – look for a jar not pump.
Eucerin over the counter Aquaphor. There’s so many safe skin products that can be used for eczema that will do no harm, but also it can even improve it.
