Do you know of any way to help ease the itchiness of eczema?

Question

I have mild eczema and I put hydorcortizone cream on it, but that doesn't seem to help. Do I need to go to the doctor to get something stronger or do you know of something good that I can get over the counter to help.

Answer 1

Ask for a cream from your docs - I too have eczema and I've tried various creams !!

Answer 2

A cornstarch bath may help with the itching. Use cetaphil cleanser as a moisturizer, then put Eucerin cream over the top of that. The cetaphil cleanser is VERY thin and will go INTO the skin; the Eucerin is thick and greasy and will sit on top of the skin to trap in the moisture. Use the steroid cream on the worst spots IF you have to, and when you do, apply it every day for 5-7 days then don't use it again for 7-10 days or more. The skin will develop a tolerance to the steroid and you'll have to get stronger and stronger prescriptions. So use it daily to heal the bad spots and then stop using it for several days. But DO take a close look at the food he is eating. Most of baby eczema is a food allergy. Usually dairy. Sometimes soy. If he's on formula, then it is almost definately the formula. If it is a dairy allergy, then if you avoid the dairy altogether then the eczema should go away and he'll likely grow out of the allergy in a couple of years. My daughter is now 4 years old and is able to drink milk without any outbreaks, but when she was a baby it was the dairy that caused her eczema. And her eczema was very very bad, head to toe, red angry itchy. Strange, but the doctors I took her to never even mentioned a possible dietary cause. I guess it is easier to prescribe steroids for a baby than to see what is actually wrong with the baby. Oh, and be very sparing with the baths. Sitting in the water for more than about 2 minutes will dry the skin out. And hot water is more drying than warm water. When you take him out of the bath, immediately rub in the thin lotion then cover the bad areas with a heavy lotion to seal in the moisture. Some people use Crisco, it's about the same consistency at the Eucerin cream.

Answer 3

You have gotten alot of correct and true answers by most of the other people responding to your question but after my experience with my son and ezema I am here to tell you it is true when my son's peditrician told me that I should only bathe my son when his smell bothered people so bad that I had nothing left to do but bathe him.
This Dr said people bathe way too much and in doing so are their own worst enemy,drying their skin out and causing more itching esp.with eczema.
When bathing,cut your regularity and use different soaps such as Ivory and Basis or Oatmeal.
The only cortisone creams that will really do the trick WILL be the ones that Dr prescribe as they will contain a higher content of cortisone than those over the counter.
Another thing that helps the itch and still gives moisture so to speak to the patch of eczema is Preparation H Cream.
Don't gasp or laugh until you try it.
You might find it worth it to go to a Allergy Specialist and get an allergy test done and see if there is something you are allergic to as was the case with my son that contributes to your eczema.
Good Luck.

Answer 4

I've went through everything with my eczema and the only things that have worked for me over the years have been Dr. prescribed steriod ointments. One in particular is Ultravate Ointment 0.05%. This one you apply twice a day. If you have aczema around your eyes ei. eyelids, don't use this one. Let your Dr. know and there is a gentler version that you can apply to that area. I was horrible about applying the ointment, so the other thing that worked was Medrol, which is a dose pack of pills. These I would take over a week period with the amount of pills declining on a daily basis. Sometimes I would have to get two packs to completely be rid of it. But, it works great. I found out it's actually used to treat chicken pox.
The one cream I would stay clear from is Elidel. This one is fairly new on the market and it's under testing that it may lead to skin cancer. I found this out after it was prescribed to my 5 year old.
Good luck!

Answer 5

I wanted to share my experience with Eczema. My daughter suffered from eczema from birth at all her joints, hands, and face. She would scratch herself until she bled and then scratch some more.

We tried steroids, Eucerin, and other skin care products. We tried different laundry detergents, and tested her for allergies for milk and etc.

My wife and I were so frustrated with our inability to help our daughter.

In the end, we discovered her skin was sensitive to the chemical ingredients by the products advertised to help Eczema. For example, Eucerin has Methylisothiazolinone. It is a preservative. Here is an excerpt if you Google it:

Some studies have shown MIT to be allergenic and cytotoxic, and this has led to some concern over its use. In early December, 2004, a news broadcast from WNYT in Albany, NY reported that methylisothiazolinone had been linked to nerve cell death in scientific studies. In 2002, there was an in vitro study of the neurotoxicity of MIT in the department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

In short, some of the ingredients in Eucerin and other products are toxic for the skin. My daughter’s skin was very sensitive to those chemicals.

We discovered a certified organic body cream. By definition of certified organic, the body cream has no toxic ingredients because it is made from certified organic food material. Well to make a long story short, my daughter is 4 years old now and her eczema is under control and her skin looks normal. It's not a cure but it definitely makes her life better and she can live with her eczema.

The name of the product is MiEssense Intensive Body Cream.

You can get it at https://organixandme.mionegroup.com/Products/Index.aspx

Answer 6

Go to the Dr and get something stronger

Answer 7

Try an anti-fungal cream. If that works, check out the yeast link at www.hufa.org to find out why and what to do to prevent it coming back.

Answer 8

take an oatmeal bath it really helps. They usually sell them at walmart or something like that. And if you cant find that just put a bunch of epsom salt in a warm bath.

Answer 9

try over the counter antihistamines, good luck

Answer 10

http://www.althealth.co.uk/services/info/ailments/eczema1.php