Jul
01
2010
Does anyone know any home remedies for eczema?
Posted by: Alan in eczema treatment, tags: Anyone, Eczema, Home, Know, Remedies
I have mild eczema on my feet that is quite bothersome. I don’t think it’s bad enough to warrant prescription medication and I don’t feel like seeing a doctor, so does anyone have a helpful home remedy?
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July 1st, 2010 at 7:24 am
Hi,
Local steroid creams are the main treatment for the itching in eczema. Use the steroid cream as prescribed by the doctor. After the rash settles down, use it at least once daily for another 2 weeks. It can be used whenever the itching or rash develops.
Good hydration of the skin followed by a lubricating cream is the main way to prevent flare-ups of eczema. Water-soaked skin is much less itchy. The eczematous skin is very sensitive to soaps, therefore avoid soaps as much as possible, especially during flare-ups. Alternatively, use a mild, moisturizing soap.
The skin is generally dry in eczema. After a good bath, the skin feels good due to hydration. The moisture in the skin can be retained by applying a layer of lubricating cream to the entire skin while it is damp. Apply it daily after the steroid cream has been applied to the itchy areas. Avoid applying any ointments or petroleum jelly because they block the sweat glands, increase the itching, and worsen the rash, especially in warm weather. Also, soap is needed to wash them off, which can aggravate the problem.
Keep the fingernails cut short as the scratching with nails will perpetuate the vicious cycle of itching. Frequent hand washing will avoid any super-infection of the eczema.
July 1st, 2010 at 7:44 am
Milk Thistle and Fish Oil supplements!! It worked great for my Dad when NOTHING else did… He tried everything possible. One Milk Thistle capsule in the morning and one in the evening. Three Fish Oil Capsules per day (You can substitue Flax Seed Oil if you want)… take with food and drink plenty of water.
July 1st, 2010 at 7:58 am
Try a Yahoo search for eczema + “natural remedies”.
July 1st, 2010 at 8:06 am
I dealt with eczema for about 6 months … just didn’t really bother going to the doctor … just dealt with the scratching.
One day, I got fed up … searched all over the net and found people who have had great success with Equate Hydrocortisone Plus with 12 Moisturizers and Aloe.
It completely cured my eczema.
However, after using it and your eczema disappears … keep using it for a week or two. This will prevent it from coming back.
The place to purchase the Equate is at Wal-Mart … I’m pretty sure it’s their house brand.
But be sure to get the one with 12 Moisturizers and Aloe because there are other Equate hydrocortisone products
July 1st, 2010 at 8:13 am
My Excema comes from a Dairy Allergy. If you want all natural, go for Aloe Vera Gel. It takes away the itch, cools it, and takes most of the redness away. Get the clear white jel, not the green goop.
July 1st, 2010 at 8:23 am
There is an excellent herbal remedy for eczema at http://www.champori.com It cleared my condition in just under 3 weeks.
July 1st, 2010 at 9:18 am
dealing with eczema can entail you to avoid a lot of things like you should avoid the things that easily make you sweat. also avoid clothes that are tight and rough. avoid allergens and skin irritants like perfumes and fragrant soaps and lotions. keep the skin hydrated by drinking lots of water. change lifestyle into a healthy one for more tips about preventing eczema visit http://www.skinoriginal.com
July 1st, 2010 at 9:55 am
There have already been excellent answers.
However, I recommend this taking a look at this information in UpToDate:
http://www.patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=gen_hlth/4517&title=Eczema+%28Atopic+dermatitis%29
This is the resource and information many physicians use. I would provide a link to the physician’s articles on eczema, but they wouldn’t work for you (you need a password). However, this is the “Patient Information” section of UpToDate, which is excellent and not a whole lot different from the physician’s articles.
It is also and excellent site to bookmark for future use with other problems.
BUT…a second reason I answered your question is because *sometimes* people who think they have eczema on the feet – with itchy, scaling skin…actually have tinea pedis (AKA athlete’s foot), which is caused by a fungal infection.
Although tinea pedis tends to show up between toes, this is not always the case – which can make the diagnosis more difficult for a physician.
Check out these photos of tinea pedis:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=tinea+pedis&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
Search for photos with eczema on the feet, and you will see what I mean…they look very similar!
In fact, to ensure a correct diagnosis, a physician will scrape some of the skin onto a slide, apply a little KOH, and look for fungal hyphae under a microscope.
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So, if this is case with you, the treatments for eczema would help some, but not cure the problem…and it would come back.
Therefore, if the eczema treatments don’t work, consider some over-the-counter antifungal creams or lotions, like:
Clotrimazole (Lotrimin), Miconazole (Monistat-Derm), or Tolnaftate (Tinactin).
You’d have to apply any of these twice a day (as opposed to the stronger, but no more effective, prescription antifungals which only require once a day application).
And sometimes (if extensive), may require up to 4 weeks of treatment. Once and if it clears, keep applying the medicine for another week…and that should do the trick.
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I hope this helps!
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