If you are a chronic eczema sufferer like I am then you understand how it feels to want - to NEED - relief! I have suffered with eczema from the time I was a small child and over the course of 40 years I feel like I have tried everything and learned a lot about how to manage my condition.
One of the most helpful things I ever learned about eczema came from one of my dermatologists.
He told me that I had "Classic Atopic Dermatitis" and what that really meant from a practical standpoint is that my skin is "allergic to being irritated".
He went on to explain that what he meant is that the skin is not necessarily allergic to a specific thing or things but rather, its overall sensitivity to many things leads it to become dry and itchy and what it really hates is to be scratched and disturbed.
It is that scratching, a very natural reaction to dry or irritated skin, which begins the rapid downward spiral into a situation where your skin is so out of control with itching and inflammation that you feel you might lose your mind (in addition to sleep).
Therefore, the most important thing with eczema is to manage it.
By that I mean stay ahead of the condition so it does not reach that out-of-control place.
Because once it does, the only thing that works for me to get it back under control quickly is steroid creams which I like to minimize the use of and stick with my preferred natural health therapies.
The best ways I find to manage the eczema to control and minimize flare-ups are: * Pay attention to what you eat, where you go or what you are around (such as animals, especially cats) when you notice your skin start to react.
The best tool you can have in learning to manage your eczema naturally is awareness.
* Minimize your sugar (especially refined sugar) intake.
The bacteria that causes eczema feeds on sugar.
Stop feeding it.
* Minimize and manage your stress which can cause flare-ups.
* Avoiding bathing everyday, and avoid very hot showers or baths.
The hot water washes away your skins natural protective oils and dries it out even more.
* Use a moisturizing cleanser or bar such as Dove.
* Moisturize.
The best for my money is Neutrogena Emulsion.
It can be hard to find and a bit pricey but is worth it.
* If needed to keep down the itching, take a mild anti-histamine.
Not natural I know, but when the itching starts if you can't keep it under control any other way this is a good way to stop it before it gets out of control.
Be sure there is no decongestant in your antihistamine (they are often together in allergy pills) the decongestant will dry you out more.
That is what it is designed to do.
I have begun to research natural anti-histamines and the one that I find mentioned most consistently is Butterbur extract.
I do not yet have an opinion on the effectiveness of this plant extract as a natural anti-histamine.
Another thing to keep in mind if you have been allergy tested with skin prick testing is that you may react to everything.
Your skin may be telling you it is allergic to being irritated rather than to the specific allergen injected into it.
Learn to manage, rather than treat, your eczema and you will find you are better able to deal with this condition in a more naturally healthy way.