Managing Eczema

Eczema is a group of skin conditions, often called dermatitis. These conditions can range from mild to quite serious and can affect people of all ages. Eczema is not contagious and at the moment there is no cure, only treatments. Eczema symptoms can range from dry, hot and itchy skin to raw. Inflamed and bleeding skin.

Estimates suggest that 1 in 5 children of school age has eczema and the figure for adults is around 1 in 12.

There are many different causes of eczema and they differ for different people – what is a trigger for you may not affect someone else at all. There are also different types of eczema – some are inherited and these are usually triggered by allergic reactions to things in the environment; for example dust or animal fur. Other types of eczema are caused by exposure to irritants which could include washing powder or chemicals in some household products.

There are a range of treatments available that can help reduce the symptoms of eczema and there are steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood of symptoms occurring again. Visit your pharmacist to discuss treatments for eczema. This could include bath oils, emollients, creams, lotions or , for more serious conditions, steroid preparations.

It is important that you prevent moisture loss from your skin as much as possible and these treatments will help. To minimise future outbreaks of eczema you can also try using in perfumed soap and non biological washing powders.