Easy Ways to Treat Your Eczema at Home

I remember the first time it happened. I was in my teens and had an itch that I just needed to scratch on the back of my knee. That same itch happened on the inside of my elbow and then on my neck. Before I knew it, I was scratching like crazy to try and find relief. And then I stopped scratching and looked. What I saw was particularly mortifying for a teenage girl as I’d developed red, bumpy (and still incredibly itchy) patches where I had just been furiously scratching. Now, of course, I know that I have eczema. Maybe it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise as I’ve always had sensitive skin. Because of this, I’ve had to look for easy ways to treat eczema at home. Eczema is a term used to describe a wide variety of skin conditions that consist of:

• dry skin
• cracking
• bleeding
• itch
• oozing sores
  You may not experience all symptoms at the same time, but these are certainly the most common indicators.

One type of eczema is atopic eczema. It’s common in infants, which is why this form is sometimes called infantile eczema. It’s believed to be hereditary, especially if members of the same family suffer from hay fever or asthma. Atopic eczema can present itself on the face, scalp, neck, inside of elbows, behind the knees, and on the buttocks. Contact dermatitis is a common disease in many developed countries.

Eczema can be a delayed reaction to an allergen that the skin has been exposed to, for example poison ivy. This form of eczema is curable, as one only needs to avoid the irritant, once it is traced to the source. With the environment being as it is today, contact dermatitis is the most common occupation skin disease among the population. Toxins in the air, water, ground, and food can all bring on eczema as the body is reacting to something unnatural. Another form of eczema is Xerotic eczema. It’s common among the older population, as skin tends to become drier as it ages. In this case, this is dry skin turned to eczema because of the level of severity. It gets worse in the winter, and the legs are most often affected. Skin becomes cracked, dry and hard.

Seborrhoeic dermatitis is another form of eczema. It’s common in infants, and it’s also known as cradle cap. Dandruff is also another name for it. My youngest had this frequently as an infant, so it’s something that I want to keep an eye on as she gets older. Not so much for continued cradle cap but to see if other parts of her skin are affected. Eczema is bothersome, but it is treatable. Diet is essential. One must start consuming more natural foods and oils, and exercise and fresh air to help rid the body of toxic build up. Eczema may also be a result of a food allergy, so it’s important to go through a process of elimination to discover what foods may be triggering the flare-ups.