Does your skin tend to become red and itchy? Does nothing that you do seem to provide relief? If so, you may be suffering from the condition known as eczema. This irritating skin condition can be quite painful to deal with. For some tips on treating your eczema, keep reading.

Pay attention to your hands. Because you wash them throughout the day, they can get very dry and are prone to more eczema. If you are engaged in an activity that involves water, like washing the dishes, wear rubber gloves. This will help protect your skin from the water throughout the day.

You should always use sunscreen. This is even more important when you have eczema. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 so you don’t get a sunburn. Having a sunburn can make your skin even itchier than usual. You could use sunscreens specifically formulated for the face on the entire body. These are generally more gentle to use.

Those who have eczema should not use a washcloth or body sponge when they are taking a bath or a shower. If you wash your body with such rough-surfaced items, the friction will irritate your skin. Skin irritation can lead to a flare-up of your eczema. To clean your body, simply use your hands to lather up.

If you have eczema, rubbing your skin with a towel to get it dry may aggravate your eczema and lead to a flare-up. Rubbing produces friction which can irritate sensitive skin areas. It also removes your body’s naturals oils. When drying you body after bathing, use a towel to pat your skin until it’s partially dry. While your skin is still a bit damp, apply a moisturizer to lock in the bath’s moisture.

Dust can cause issues. Rather than dry dusting, use a damp dust method instead. This will help capture the dust, rather than simply spreading it around the home. Also, because rugs and carpets are a beacon for dust, try not to have them in the house if at all possible.

Sweeping can cause issues with dust, and dust is not good for eczema. Vacuuming will keep the house clean while helping you to avoid flare-ups. While you have the cleaner out, head up to the bedrooms and vacuum the mattresses as well. This will help ensure that your room stays as dust-free as possible.

If you live in an area that experiences cold weather in the winter, buy a humidifier to help decrease eczema flare-ups. During the cold winter months, we close all of our windows and turn on the furnace. This can make the air inside of a house very dry which makes the itching and dry skin associated with eczema even worse. To replace moisture in your internal environment, use a humidifier. This added moisture will keep your skin from becoming dry, cracked, itchy and irritated.

People that have eczema are prone to skin infections. When the skin is irritated, sometimes its surface cracks and gaps are formed. Germs can envade the skin through these gaps and cause an infection. To reduce this risk, use a mild, non-drying cleanser on your skin to remove dirt, bacteria, and other foreign matter. Gently apply the cleanser with your fingertips and rinse it off with tepid water.

If you have any of the many types of eczema, you should keep your fingernails cut short. Although individuals try to refrain from scratching the patches of dry, itchy skin, sometimes scratching is done as a reflex without conscious though. With shortened nails, it’s less likely that the dry, delicate skin will be punctured when you scratch it.

Instead of scratching, try using ice to cool itchy areas. You can get an inexpensive gel compress and keep it in the freezer. Take it out and hold it over itchy areas whenever you need to. Keep a dry washcloth in your purse or pocket at all times. If you become very itchy away from home, soak the cloth in cold water. Hold it over the itchy area.

You may think that keeping your house tightly sealed with help keep the dust and allergens down. But in fact it just traps them and allows them to accumulate. It is better to have ventilation in your house and to use a good heap filter where needed to capture the offending particles.

You may find that rubber gloves or latex gloves can be irritating to your skin. In fact, many people are allergic to latex which has led to gloves being made that are latex free. So when you need to wear protective cloves, invest in some vinyl ones to reduce your risk of irritation.

If you are one of the many people who suffer from eczema, you may have felt as if there was no relief from your condition. In fact, with the right course of treatment, you should be able to keep your eczema under control. Use the information that you have read here to find relief.

Get All The Eczema Help You Need Here was originally published on Spring