One of the most essential things you can do to help control your eczema is to keep your skin’s moisture intact. Moisturizers or eczema lotion serve to protect the stratum corneum, or skin barrier, which is the skin’s outermost layer. Eczema patients have a compromised skin barrier, making their skin more vulnerable to irritants, allergens, germs, and other intruders. A compromised skin barrier also makes it more difficult for the skin to retain water, resulting in chronic dry, itchy skin, which can exacerbate or worsen eczema.
Winds, higher humidity, freezing weather, harsh cleansers, and extended contact with water all lead to dry skin. As a result, it’s critical to learn how and when to moisturize, as well as which products are ideal to use if you have eczema.
Some things to keep in mind when moisturizing:
- If you take a prescription topical treatment, apply it before moisturizing.
- To “seal in” moisture and preserve the skin barrier, apply a thick layer of moisturizer all over your skin within three minutes after bathing or showering.
- Fragrance- and dye-free moisturizers are the safest and least irritating.
- To avoid contamination, take moisturizer from the bottle with a clean object rather than your hands.
- Soften moisturizing by massaging it between your hands, and then apply it to your body in downward strokes with your palm.
- Avoid massaging the moisturizer into your skin by stroking up and down or in circles.
- Remove any extra moisturizers if it feels “tacky” on your skin. It will be absorbed in a matter of minutes.
- Hands should be hydrated whenever they are washed or come into touch with water.