During the summer months it is quite common for people with eczema to have flare ups. Even more so during a heatwave like we are experiencing now.
Perspiration can be a contributing factor to itchy skin, because we have chemicals in our sweat that can aggravate the eczema. You may find your skin to be more itchy in the folds of skin such as behind your knees or inner elbows because the sweat can sit there for a while. Often hot temperatures can cause itch reflexes in the skin which can intensify the eczema itch! Whilst we sweat more during the heat it is important to keep our skin as dry as possible, you could pack a change of clothes or some small towels to keep yourself dry. We usually look at the swimming pool or ocean on holiday and take a dip to cool down, this is fine providing you shower afterwards, pat skin dry and apply a good amount of moisturiser afterwards.
Stress is a known contributing factor to eczema flare ups and in the heat we can all get a little irritable, try to keep your children calm and cool throughout the day and night to avoid unnecessary flare ups.
We can help our skin breath more by wearing loose fitting clothes, preferably cotton. If we avoid going out when the sun is at the strongest between 10am and 2pm we can lessen the uncomfortable itchiness. Staying hydrated throughout the day will also contribute to our skin being less dry, which can reduce the itch.
I want to share some of the home remedies I use on Jasmine that really help to relieve the itch and calm the skin.
Oat bath
To make an oat bath we fill the bath as normal with lukewarm water, I use the foot part of a pair of thin tights and fill with organic porridge oats, secure the oats in place with a knot and cut off the leg part. Put your child in the bath and the oats in the water, let the oats get very wet then squeeze out over your child's body, concentrating more on the flared up areas. Jasmine would find instant relief from doing this. Make sure they're not in the bath for more than 10-15 minutes.
Moisturising after a bath
After soaking in a lukewarm bath for 10-15 minutes, make sure you pat dry the skin, if you rub the skin dry you can irritate the skin more and cause eczema wounds to open and become sore. Leave the skin slightly damp and use an ointment like petroleum jelly on the skin. We use Hydramol for Jasmine. It is important to apply a thick layer on the skin and leave for ten minutes to soak in before dressing. We usually dress Jasmine in her eczema garments. We use Clinifast leggings, mittens and top. These garments are perfect to use for wet/dry wrap therapy.
Hygiene
As most of us may have experienced our children will scratch and scratch the itch, often making it bleed. As the skins barrier is already compromised this can cause an infection of the skin such as Staph infections or Ezcema Herpeticum. We always ensure Jasmines nails are cut short and hands regularly washed to limit the risk of infection.
The Itch
Getting rid of the itch can be quite difficult without actually itching the area. As parents we automatically say "don't scratch!" or "stop scratching", in our experience this actually made the itching worse for Jasmine. We got a to fantastic tip from our Dermatologist and that was to gently pinch the skin next to the itchy area and it worked wonders! We also distract Jasmine, by asking her a question offering her a snack or initiating an activity to take her mind off it.
I hope you find some of these tips useful to get you through the heatwave and the rest of the summer! if you have any tips or tricks that have worked for you, please leave them in the comments below.
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