8 Tips to clear Severe Eczema and Dry Skin

Hii

Following up from my last post, my skin has finally cleared! After a really bad flare up; I had decided enough was enough and booked in to see a doctor.

I've come to realise in the past few months is that there are things that can be done to keep Eczema under control.

1) Stop the cycle- If and when the skin gets scratched and damaged, it will reach a stage where nothing will work to heal it quick enough. The momentary relief from scratching is hard to resist but once your skin gets to the stage of being broken and inflamed- it will take weeks to recover naturally so just bear that in mind next time you're about to scratch. I know its easier said than done but trust me; you do not want your skin to get to that stage! If it does, the best thing to do is use anything you can to deter from scratching to give your skin the chance to heal(see below tip). Once it's no longer inflamed and broken, there are many things that can be done to prevent and control your skin from getting to that stage again.

2) Quick momentary relief- If the skin does get damaged from scratching- use an ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth to help relieve the burning itch. Scratching it further will just cause further damage and prolong the skin from recovering. I always had 2 ice packs handy, so I could swap them around when the other had melted. My skin was so bad that I was taking an ice pack to bed with me every night.


3) Start off with repairing broken skin- I know this is an obvious one, but see a doctor! Mine got extremely out of hand because I kept scratching to the point where it was out of control. My skin was broken everywhere and extremely sore and I was reluctant to use any cortisone creams. My doctor prescribed me a weak cortisone cream when it was inflamed and broken and it healed the red itchyness in one day.  .

4) Recovery and Prevention- Once any inflamed broken skin has been healed up by the cortisone creams, your skin will still mostly likely be dry/rough/patchy/flaky ect - you now need to prevent your recovered dry skin from drying out further and start hydrating. The most important thing is to figure out what is your personal trigger. Some people may have flare ups due to certain food intolerance's, some will be allergens and some may well just be hereditary dry skin. If you are unsure what it is, I would advise possibly getting referred to do an allergy test. When my skin got really bad, I was so fed up that I had tried cutting out all sorts out of my diet. Unfortunately; I still haven't pin pointed my trigger but I have a feeling it's just inherited dry skin.

5) Preventing eczema internally- Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. Again, you've probably been told this a million times but trust me, it helps. Our bodies are made of 80% water and if you have inherited dry skin- you'll need to drink more to compensate. I carry around a pint sized filter bottle of water everywhere. Consequently I'm always needing to go pee but maintaining water is essential in preventing your skin from flaring up again and keeping skin nice and hydrated. Water will also flush out any bad toxins so it's a brilliant way to detox. Our skin is made up of mainly water, fats and proteins so if your skin is naturally prone to dryness- you want to aim on maintaining those 3 elements. Keep sipping water throughout the day when and where possible and aim for the 2 liters. Keeping hydrated internally will massively benefit the skin structure.

Diet
Diet can also affect eczema. Common foods that are known to trigger eczema are- Gluten, Dairy, and Eggs. I had a go at cutting them out and I found it so difficult. Gluten free wasn't too bad as supermarkets now have gluten free alternatives everywhere. Cutting dairy was extremely difficult for me as I love cheese and chocolate. In the end; since my skin has mostly cleared, I haven't cut them out of my diet as such but I do eat anything within those food groups in moderation.
Eating a diet rich in Omega 3, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Zinc and Monosaturated fats are known to aid in the maintenance of healthy skin.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Found in Fish)- Omega 3 fatty acids is very good for skin as it helps retain moisture in the skin and benefits the skin barrier. At the moment i'm aiming to eat oily fish at least twice a week (i've been advised to only eat twice a week as i'm still breastfeeding and oily fish such as salmon are high in pollutants) you can also take cod liver capsules as they're very high in omega 3.

Vit E- (Found in Avacados, certain Nuts) Vitamin E protects the skin from external damage such as UV rays.

Vit A - (Found in Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Leafy Greens) Vitamin A helps repair tissue damage so when your skin is dry, cracking or inflamed- try eating foods rich in Vitamin A.

Zinc- (Found in Seafood, Beef) - Aids in repairing skin via collagen which increases skins elasticity.

Monosaturated Fats (Found in Oils, Avacados)- Helps to keep skin moist and reduces inflammation.

6) Preventing eczema externally- Ok, so; all the moisturisers and emollients I had bought during flareups proved useless. That's why I had previously said nothing will work on your skin when it gets inflamed and broken- creams, and emollients only irritated my inflamed skin further. You just need to start by breaking the cycle and healing with cortisone cream. Once you've gotten past that stage, though- your skin should be moisturised on a regular basis. The moisturisers that had previously irritated my inflamed skin are now ok to use. I currently toggle between using Raw Organic Coconut Oil, Salcuras Bioskin, Lush Dream Cream, and Vaseline skin repair spray. Together with all the water intake,  and heavy duty moisturisers my skin is constantly hydrated from the inside out. After the inflammations were healed by the cortisone creams, my skin is getting better by the day by drinking lots of water and moisturising regularly. When showering, use emollient oils after washing and pat dry skin to avoid damaging the skin. Try to moisturise within 3 minutes to hold on to any excess moisture on your skin.

7) Look after your skin and daily maintenance- Its very easy to just stop everything once a flare up has passed as you tend to think everything is ok again. However, poor skin maintenance will encourage another flare up so it's important to find a routine that works for you, and stick to it. The unfortunate truth is that there is no cure for eczema, therefore it is important to make sure it is kept under control with good care at all times, even when the eczema has temporarily cleared.

8) Avoid potential skin allergens and Irritants- Once your eczema has cleared you'll want to avoid it coming back, unless you know your trigger it's best to play it safe by avoiding potential irritants. Heres a list of potential skin irritants-

Heat- This one is difficult to avoid but I found any humidity, hot weather would cause my skin to get incredibly itchy. It's been very difficult for me at the moment as my skin gets very warm when I'm breastfeeding so I have to try and keep my skin cool  internally and use the ice packs when necessary. I try to drink cold water whenever I breast feed to try and lower my body temperature. I also like to hold the ice pack wrapped in cloth on my chest as I find that works pretty fast at calming oncoming itchiness. Another thing to remember is let your skin breathe. Sometimes after using heavy sticky moisturisers, you'll want to cover up but it's good to let your skin breathe when possible. Overheating while sleeping used to be a big problem for me. I used to wear my satin nightgown to bed as I used to think the material wouldn't irritate my skin and keep me cool. As it turns out the thin satin would actually make me very warm as the material is not breathable. I now sleep with only a thin sheet/cotton clothing and I find my skin is a lot more comfortable at night. Also avoid fan heaters- they literally dry your skin out really badly!

Laundry-  Many people suffer from eczema due to their detergent. I currently use Fairy Non-Bio and I find my skin sometimes still being itchy after changing sheets, ect. I've read there are other brands that are especially formulated for eczema prone skin but I have yet to try them. One possible reason for detergents to cause itchyness is the fragrances. I've currently stopped using fabric softener, and always rinse the laundry twice to make sure there is absolutely no excess detergent. I have actually found that this has helped my skin.

Diet- Again, as previously mentioned, there are certain foods that are known to trigger eczema, without taking an allergy test it's hard to say whether a slight food intolerance is causing skin to itch but I am currently trying to avoid eating too much gluten/dairy and eggs. Also, I'm not sure whether it helps or not, but I also try to keep an eye on my intake of salt.

Fragranced Bathing Products- This was difficult for me as I love fresh smelling shampoos and body washes. Unfortunately fragranced bathing products can dry the skin out so I currently use E45 Shower Cream and Emmolient. When my skin was really bad I would tip my head over the bathtub to wash my hair to avoid any shampoo getting on my skin.

Hot Water- Do not have long hot showers. Hot water is known to strip your skins natural oils so try shorter showers with luke warm water, and always moisturise after!

Stress- This one is probably hardest to "avoid" as such as our body is constantly undergoing stress, whether its physical or emotional. Best thing I can advise is to just keep a level head and if things bother you emotionally try to take time away from known stressors. Cut any negativity from your life and try to live a happier life style. Always think positive, surround yourself with the things and people you love.

Lack of sleep -Very common among a lot of busy people with busy lifestyles but remember to try to rest and get enough sleep. Lack of sleep means the body has less time to repair. Skin will thrive with a good amount of sleep. Sleep is essential for your body to shut down and repair so if your skin is going through a bad phase- try to get some good quality sleep.


That's all I can think of for now; but I do hope this will help anyone with dry skin problems as I know how frustrating and depressing it can be!

A quick before and after pic-

Amy x x x