Although dry skin and eczema are year round skin ailments, cold weather usually is directly associated with flare ups. Below are a few tips you can use when fighting the winter months.
Moisturize as often as possible. Moisturizing immediately after taking a bath or a shower is a really good practice when controlling your dry skin from eczema symptoms. Your pores are still open and they have the opportunity to absorb your moisturizer or lotion quickly. Moisturize dry kin trouble spots throughout the day with a good moisturizer.
Laundry detergents & fabric softeners – Avoid using fragrances and harsh chemicals on your clothes, socks or even towels and wash cloths. Harsh detergents can become a big nuisance to dry skin and can trigger eczema symptoms almost immediately. Read fabric labels; most often washing with baby detergent is the mildest thing to use.
Washing Dishes. Avoid putting your hands in hot soapy water and use your dishwasher as often as possible. It makes sense not to keep your hands in hot or warm water because water can dry your skin even more.
Avoid hot showers and hot baths. Hot water pulls the moisture out of your skin; therefore avoid long hot showers and baths. Use warm water to bathe for short periods of time.
Hand Soaps. Avoid harsh hand soaps that typically cause your hands to crack, bleed and cause blisters on your hands.
Know your dry skin triggers. Triggers come from food, weather, stress or fragrances. Pay attention to what is going on around you and recognize these eczema dry skin triggers.
