ECZEMA AND COLD WEATHER

A recent international survey done by the National Eczema Society in London England revealed some shocking statistics about our United States citizens. Of all the countries surveyed, the US had by far the most sufferers of eczema. The research conducted by NOP World Health stated that there were 17.4 million patients in America.

Anyone who has witnessed the degree of discomfort that these 17.4 million people go through when the affliction is at its worst cannot help but empathize with them. The saddest part is that a large proportion of them are children.

Eczema sufferers, or those that care for someone with eczema, know that a flare-up can be anything from dry skin which can be mildly annoying to cracked bleeding skin, which is agonizingly painful. To watch a child go through that is perhaps more difficult for the observer than it is for the victim because there is reputedly no cure for this disease.

Certain times of the year make it even more difficult. In cold weather the skin gets chapped and when we seek refuge in a heated area, the heat dehydrates the skin making it worse. The best thing to do to combat these seasonal flare-ups is to keep the skin moisturized as much as possible but beware!

Did you know that bathing and certain brands of moisturizers actually irritate the condition even more? When bathing one should always use a natural soap without any perfume and add a mild non-perfumed oil. The same applies to moisturizers that have a perfume added, as it is the astringent properties of these products that irritate the condition.

The problem with most of the commercially sold moisturizers whether they be creams, ointments or lotions is that they do not penetrate the skin deeply enough nor stay on the skin long enough to give the skin time to heal naturally