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The Ultimate Guide To Caring For Eczema

June 22, 2015 by Wifeeclectic 16 Comments

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Neutrogena. I received samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

Dealing with my older daughter’s extreme eczema has been one of the most frustrating parts of being a mom. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent fanning her legs or blowing on her face because her skin hurts so much. It absolutely breaks my heart to see her in so my pain. Luckily, through a lot of trial and error, we have found the tricks that really work and keep her eczema under control. Here are the things that matter the most when it comes to helping her skin.


Bathing and Moisturizing — Use warm (not hot) water in showers and baths, and do not scrub skin. I usually use the soft side of a surgical sponge and clean my daughter’s body very lightly if I can help it. Avoid using any harsh cleansers and cleansers with fragrance. If your eczema is flaring up, you will want to avoid washing it at all. Do not towel off after a bath, instead apply moisturizers immediately to seal in the moisture. Apply moisturizer in downward motions, don’t use circles. Moisturize even when you aren’t experiencing a flare up to prevent future flare ups.

In my daughter’s skin care, we use several different types of baths. These are the ones we use the most. 

Types of Baths

  • Bleach baths: Add 1 cup of bleach to a full bathtub and soak for 10-15 minutes. A bleach bath helps kill the bacteria that can be living in the affected portions of skin.
  • Baking Soda: When the eczema is causing severe itching, a baking soda bath can give a lot of relief. Simply sprinkle baking soda in a warm bathtub and soak for 10-15 minutes.
  • Oatmeal Baths: We do a lot of oatmeal baths in our house. They seem to be very good at soothing my daughter’s skin. Buy natural, plain oatmeal at the store and then grind it in a food processor until it is very fine. Sprinkle over the bottom of the bathtub and mix in.

Laundry and Clothing — Changing our laundry routine is hands down the best thing we have done for our daughter’s eczema. We wash EVERYTHING in a free and clear detergent. It is important to wash everything and not just clothes in the free and clear detergent, so a loved one with eczema isn’t exposed to laundry chemicals on sheets, towels or even your clothes. Make sure to use a free and clear dryer sheet as well.

Stay away from fleece and flannel clothing, especially during flare ups. Fleece and flannel clothing have the tendency to stick to flare ups and make them itch more or bleed. Avoid any itchy fibers because they will exacerbate the eczema when rub against.

Food and Hydration — If you have eczema and you haven’t already been tested for food allergies, you should be. They often go hand in hand. We discovered after testing that my daughter had a bad egg allergy. As we eliminated egg from her diet she had fewer flare ups.

One of the best ways to combat eczema is from the inside out, Make sure to stay very hydrated, which will in turn hopefully prevent scaly patches.

Air — Run humidifiers all year long, but especially in the drier months. Consider your sources of dander in your house. Keep your pets clean and groomed. I would actually LOVE to one day replace all our carpets with hardwoods to prevent as much dander as possible.
 

Sun Protection — Sun protection has been a continuous concern in our house. Many sunscreens irritate my daughter’s extremely sensitive skin, but not using anything isn’t an option. There have been many times she has cried while I applied her sunscreen. Luckily we have found things that help. We try to limit sun exposure when the sun’s rays are the strongest, which is usually between 10am and 2pm, but that isn’t always possible because we LOVE to spend time at the splash pad and we actually have season passes to our local water park.

I recommend using a rash guard and board shorts instead of small swim suits when possible, and to use one of the five Neutrogena sunscreen products that have been awarded The National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance.

For general application we love Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunscreen because it is a Broad Spectrum SPF 60 + (Broad Spectrum means it protects against both UVA and UVB rays), it is water resistant for up to 80 minutes, and 100% naturally sourced. It is fantastic on my daughter’s sensitive skin and I have even used it to protect flare ups without any tears. We make sure to apply at least 15 minutes before going in the sun and reapply every hour and fifteen minutes with great success.

For her face we use Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby Sunscreen. It is also a broad spectrum 60+ SPF that comes in a stick and is absolutely perfect for applying to face and ears without getting anything into the eyes. It is also 100% naturally sourced and won’t run into eyes. I personally use the Neutrogena Pure and Free Liquid for my face because it layers under my makeup so well.

Although 1 in 5 people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, only 20% of people use a sunscreen daily. Problems with skin cancer run in my husband’s family so I am careful to apply and reapply sunscreen when we are outside. I love that I have a sunscreen that not only protects my children, but doesn’t aggravate our daughter’s eczema either. Try the sunscreen out for yourself and then write Neutrogena website about your experience.

You can find more about the protects that have been given the Seal of Acceptance here.  

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: eczema, health and beauty

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Masshole Mommy says

    June 22, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    I am sure a lot of people will find this really helpful! Great info!

    Reply
  2. Crystal says

    June 22, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    My niece suffered from eczema severely as a child, but it's gotten better as she aged. Perhaps her methods of preventing flare-ups has improved.

    Reply
  3. bxcrochet says

    June 22, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    What great tips! I will have to try the baking soda soak for when my eczema flares up.

    Michelle F.

    Reply
  4. Julie @ Girl on the Move says

    June 22, 2015 at 8:14 pm

    Great tips! Thank you for sharing from your personal experience what has, and hasn't, worked

    Reply
  5. Jeannette says

    June 22, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    These are some really great tips and my son's eczema flares up in the summer. I'll be trying several out!

    Reply
  6. Donna M says

    June 23, 2015 at 2:51 am

    Your poor daughter. My sister had terrible eczema growing up, and still occasionally has flares – not a nice condition to deal with, especially for a kid, who won't stop itching and making it worse! I will have to pass this info on to her – thanks for sharing

    Reply
  7. Heather Jones says

    June 23, 2015 at 4:17 am

    This is good to know. We don't have excema problems here, but I usesd to watch a kid who had it pretty bad and lots of things would make it flare up. I'm glad these products exist.

    Reply
  8. thesilvahlining says

    June 23, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    My youngest (8 months) has terrible eczema. I agree with keeping up with it. It seems like once its under control, I get lazy about it and it flares right back up!

    Reply
  9. Jaclyn Kent says

    June 23, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Omgsh I swear I was JUST Googling this info this morning and now here you are with so much great info. My son is covered today and it's so stressful to try to find relief for him! I've always wondered about bleach baths, but I've never talked to anyone who has done them. I'm glad to hear that you've done them. I get so scared about that! I need to buy more oatmeal, it definitely helped.

    Reply
    • Debra Hawkins says

      June 23, 2015 at 6:19 pm

      Bleach baths are amazing! They really help when things are bad. They kill all of the bacteria on the skin that comes from the poor kids scratching. Have you ever done wet wraps?

      Reply
  10. Hodge Podge Moments says

    June 23, 2015 at 6:31 pm

    I didn't know that you could make oatmeal baths yourself. I'll have to try that sometime. These are great tips. I'm lucky that I don't suffer from eczema but I'll definitely remember your post if I ever encounter someone that does and needs some tips.

    Reply
  11. Liz Mays says

    June 23, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    I didn't realize you could do a bleach bath. That's such a good tip to have on hand!

    Reply
  12. Denea Duran says

    June 23, 2015 at 11:17 pm

    Praying your daughter finds some relief! Thanks for all of the great tips.

    Reply
  13. Stephanie Pass says

    June 24, 2015 at 4:12 am

    My husband has bad eczema. I've never heard of using a humidifier. I think we'll try it when he flares up.

    Reply
  14. Kids Are A Trip says

    June 24, 2015 at 11:58 am

    My son has eczema, and I'm so thankful you have shared all of these tips. I didn't know about the laundry detergent, but that will definitely be one of the first things we try!

    Reply
  15. Karissa Ancell says

    June 24, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    These sound like great tips! I have a cousin with Eczema, I will have to share these!

    Reply

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Welcome to Housewife Eclectic

Debra Hawkins - Housewife EclecticHi, I'm Debra. I am a craftaholic photographer married to a web-programming amateur chef with two sassy littles keeping it interesting. It gets crazy around here. Read More…

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