How Baking Soda Can Treat Eczema
Patients suffering from eczema can often find comfort in a baking soda bath. Additionally, some sufferer’s also like to compliment their baking soda with oatmeal, to further soothe their symptoms. If you suffer from eczema, or similar skin conditions, you should take care to remember the importance of brief baths, which should never be hot as this can further enhance discomfort. Baking soda baths can be particularly useful where the sufferer is a child. The baking soda is effective yet not too abrasive as to cause discomfort to a child’s skin. A good tip is to use a knotted sock to store the soda, which will allow it to disperse when submerged in lukewarm running water.
The optimum time for sufferers to bathe is around thirty to sixty minutes before they go to sleep. This allows plenty of time to cool down before getting in to bed, to avoid the itching and discomfort this excess warmth can cause. It is also a good idea to avoid perfumed soaps and fragrances, including deodorant, which can cause further irritation. It is significantly better to use baking soda to absorb perspiration, so as to ensure the skin does not negatively react with the substance.
Subsequent to your baking soda bath, it is imperative that you promptly cover your skin in moisturizing cream, or some similar ointment to avoid excess drying of the skin. Again, ensure any product you do apply is free from excess chemicals or fragrances which may cause further irritation to the skin surface. Products like Vaseline and other creams specifically designed for dry skin conditions may be the best in these circumstances. The chemical substance ‘urea’ is also particularly good at soothing sores and dry skin, and is available in a variety of forms without prescription. If in doubt, consult your doctor for advice and information on the best substance to use to preserve your skin at its most vulnerable.
If you suffer from eczema, you should also invest in a humidifier to increase room humidity and prevent the drying and subsequent irritation of the skin. This way, the room is kept at a suitable humidity level, which should reduce the amount of itching and scratching throughout the night which can itself aggravate the condition. It’s a vicious circle, once you start scratching the more painful and itchy it is!
If you can’t justify splashing out for a humidifier then you could place pans of water beside all radiators to allow the evaporation to increase moisture in the room to further avoid ‘drying out’ while you sleep. This way, your skin will benefit from more favorable atmospheric conditions, which will ultimately help alleviate the symptoms you are experiencing.
Eczema sufferers should also consider natural fibers for clothing to avoid causing any unnecessary irritation. Additionally, it may be better to wear cool garments which don’t have a tendency to rub against the skin to avoid aggravation.
So why not try the baking soda bath, in addition to these other methods of reducing the symptoms of your eczema? In fact, many sufferers enjoy this soothing bath every night as part of their routine, to calm the ferocity of the condition.
About The Author:
You can also find more info on http://www.eczemacuretreatment.com/causes-prevention/eczema_causes.html on cause eczema and http://www.eczemacuretreatment.com/causes-prevention/eczema_types.html on types of eczema.
Dermatitis Herpetiformis – How To Manage It?
As you are no doubt aware Dermatitis Herpetiformis is an extremely common skin ailment. In fact, it is known for being the chronic variety, which simply means that it does not go away after it is developed no matter how you treat the condition on an ongoing basis.
There are, however, quite a variety of treatment methods available that can help to relieve and control the symptoms that are caused by Dermatitis Herpetiformis.
What Are The Symptoms?
Dermatitis Herpetiformis has many symptoms for you to watch out for. The most common and visual include an extremely itchy rash and the local affected area will show signs of redness, swelling, scaling and lesions in the form of papules and vesicles.
Causes of Dermatitis Herpetiformis
Dermatitis Herpetiformis can be caused by an enormous variety of outside influences. Principally the condition is a result of external skin irritants and these are due to the exposure of allergens. Blame for the outbreak of this type of dermatitis can also be attributed to other common irritants such as detergents, soaps and other cleaning products and chemical mixtures. It has been recognised that even cigarette smoke and alcohol can both be responsible for further aggravating the skin and responsible for the onset of this skin condition. A further cause of Dermatitis Herpetiformis is the skin’s exposure to cheap jewellery, particularly items containing nickel.
Dermatitis Herpetiformis is also commonly associated with a reaction in the intestine to gluten products and is quite often contracted by people who suffer from Celiac disease.
Corns May Be A Side Effect
Dermatitis Herpetiformis is often responsible for causing corns on the skin. Corns are basically thick patches of skin. They can appear as hardened raised bumps or flaky, dry or waxy skin. Sometimes corns are confused with Calluses, but they are quite different.
To compare the differences between corns and calluses, you will generally find that corns are typically much smaller in size. They usually have a hard centre and are surrounded by inflamed skin. Corns usually appear on the parts of the skin that get the driest, including the feet and toes and often on and around elbows. Corns can be incredibly painful, particularly on the feet and toes when they rub against shoes. When it comes to finding an effective treatment for Dermatitis Herpetiformis corn sensitivity, there are a number of alternative options to consider.
Recommended Treatments for Dermatitis Herpetiformis
The best treatment regime you should follow will vary depending on the severity of your own particular case of Dermatitis Herpetiformis. In essence the most effective way to treat it is to ensure that the affected area is kept moisturized. If this approach fails then you should consult your doctor who would prescribe some sort of medical treatment. It is always very important to keep in frequent contact with your doctor about your skin condition and together you can work to identify the cause of your Dermatitis Herpetiformis and establish a treatment regime to which your condition responds favourably.
If your Dermatitis Herpetiformis is a direct result of celiac disease then the best, and only option, is a life-long adherence to a strictly wheat and gluten-free diet.
About The Author:
For more information on treatments for Dermatitis Herpetiformis and other forms of dermatitis and eczema go to http://www.dermatitisanswers.com
Molluscum Contagiosum – A Skin Infection
The appearance of small, pink, pearl-shaped spots is a viral infection of the skin termed Molluscum contagiosum. This is typically found in children but may occur at any age as well. It is a skin disorder.
Although not a serious disease because it clears up within a few months, it can however last as long as two years. The lesion spreads onto the skin through contact with another individual especially those with eczema or individuals with weakened immune systems. Lesions in healthy individuals may last from 6 to 8 weeks. The lesions may also last for as long as five years with scarring when it becomes infected and new lesions can appear over time with continuous spreading.
A large DNA poxvirus producing a wart like lesion causes molluscum contagiosum. It takes at least 2-7 weeks incubation for its development lasting from months to years without treatment. They may appear as discrete small flesh colored umbilicated papules with a rim of inflammation around the individual warts. Henderson-Paterson bodies which are viral intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies can be seen in the extracted cheesy material from the lesions.
A molluscom contagiosum lesion may appear as having a central core or plug of white, cheesy or waxy material, with a single or usually multiple pink, pearl-like spots on the face, arms and legs, which can be 1 to 5mm in diameter, and a dimple in the center. This may present itchiness, become irritated, tender or painful with 10% exhibiting eczema around the lesions.
Diagnosis for molluscum contagiosum is skin biopsy of the lesion. However, the wart-like lesions of most patients don’t have noticeable symptoms. They may be prone only to secondary bacterial infections that obscure or complicate the original condition.
No single perfect treatment for the viral infection is currently used because it’s still impossible to kill the virus. Most treatments will involve laser therapy with the larger molluscum frozen using liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy) or scraped away under local anesthesia. Wart paints are also used containing salicylic acid (SSA) or podophyllin. Acne treatments with a mild or soft scrub when showering or the application of tretinoin cream (vitamin A acid) can be used. However, surgery is another option.
For prevention of the spread of the virus, here are some helpful tips:
1. Avoid direct sexual contact until papules are treated and have completely healed.
2. Avoid rubbing, scratching, touching or even shaving over the infected areas.
3. Don’t borrow from others or lend them your clothing, towels, hairbrushes or any personal item.
4. Direct contact should be avoided on the skin lesions.
About the Author:
Kevin Pederson has written many articles on hair and skin care a guide to important hair and skin care tips. Get educated through the wealth of information on several hair and skin disorders such as Molluscum contagiosum – a viral infection that affects the skin forming papules or lesions lasting for as long as five years if infected.