Eczema: what is it and what to do

If you have eczema or want to find out more about it, here is everything you need to know.

Eczema is a common skin concern, especially among people with sensitive skin. It is important to know what it is, the causes of it and how to treat it, but results can only be seen if knowledge is combined with safe and professional skincare tools and products.

What is eczema?

There are different types of eczema:

• Atopic, the most common type. It causes itchy and dry patches on the skin, and affected individuals have a tendency to develop hay fever or asthma.
• Pompholyx (dyshidrotic) causes small blisters on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet and can be intensely itchy.
• Discoid gives circular patches of inflamed skin which can look red, pink or brown. It can sometimes be mistaken for ringworm.
• Contact dermatitis occurs when the skin comes into contact with an irritant which damages it directly, or an allergen which sensitises it, causing an allergic reaction.
• Seborrhoeic causes a flaky rash on oily parts of the skin, such as around the eyebrows, nostrils and scalp (where it’s known as dandruff).
• Neurodermatitis consists of areas of dry and thickened skin in response to scratching, and this can be triggered by stress.
• Varicose causes pigmentation, flaky or shiny skin on the shins and tends to occur in people with varicose veins or poor circulation in the legs.

Causes of eczema

Why does eczema happen?

• Eczema can be hereditary, many people have a genetic predisposition to the condition.
• Skin barrier dysfunction, when irritants can easily penetrate the skin and moisture is easily released.
• Immune system abnormalities, so an overactive response to triggers and inflammation.
• Environmental factors like allergens, irritants, humidity and temperature changes.
• Abnormalities in skin cells like low protein production.

Eczema tips

When it comes to taking care of eczema prone skin, the most important thing is using gentle products and keeping your skin barrier healthy and intact. Having an imbalance in the microbiome is one of the problems to address: the microbiome is a huge component of the skin barrier, so having an imbalance can increase eczema flares, meaning there’s higher rates of bad bacteria like staph bacteria in the skin. Use gentle cleansers and moisturizers that can build your skin barrier, such as the ones with prebiotics. You can also find cortisone creams and anti-inflammatory medicines over the counter.

Do not take hot showers: nothing will dry your skin out like hot water, so wash yourself with lukewarm water only. If you are using a loofah you need to stop: the amount of bacteria, fungi and mould that they have is very high. So just wash yourself with your hands or with tested and safe tools.

You need to be moisturizing five minutes after you come out of the shower, while your skin is still a little bit damp: that’s going to help your moisturizer absorb into your skin so much better. When you apply your moisturizer, the direction actually matters: always apply it in the direction of hair growth in order to stop any ingrown hairs or bumps that you might get. If your skin is really itchy, keep your moisturizer in the fridge: it will give you a very refreshing and peeling effect.

Another great tip that you might find weird: if you dilute a cup full of bleach into your bath, that will reduce the amount of flares that you’re getting but also any other infection.

Last but not least: even if fragrance is not the devil, when you have eczema it’s better to avoid products that contain any type of fragrance.