Stopping the itch.. Literally.

Up until now I've been posting some of my adventures in baking and cooking. This time around, I wanted to post a little bit about something I deal with on a day to day basis. Sorry if you find it gross. :P

I have a skin condition called eczema. The way I explain is that it's kind of like EXTRA dry and itchy skin that leads to visible irritation on different parts of the body. WebMD does a better job explaining it than I do. 

This is pretty mild eczema on the forearm. (Not mine, for the record.)

Generally, kids are born with it and then outgrow it. One of my brothers developed eczema as a kid and as far as I know doesn't have any problems with it anymore. Unfortunately, mine has developed and gotten worse since I was 20.

In the summer time, it is really mild. I spend a lot of time out in the sunshine and that helps tremendously. I just moisturize regularly with hypoallergenic lotion and that takes care of all of my symptoms. (I've read online that people find tanning a great treatment for eczema. I'm as pale as you can get and tanning does not bode well for my skin. It's also dangerous. You're putting yourself at risk for many skin conditions just to help with one. Seems weird to me.)

The winter time is a beast all it's own. My eczema gets out of control once it starts to stay below 40 degrees on a regular basis. When I was 20, it developed in a small patch on my stomach and in a small cluster on my shins. It was really easy to take care of and hardly was noticeable to someone who wasn't knowingly looking for it. Think of it like any other allergy: when the weather changes, so does my eczema. When the weather is like it has been lately (Mother Nature PMSing), everyone's allergies go haywire. So does my eczema.

Every winter since I developed it however, it has gotten much worse. To the point that I have to use lotion multiple times a day and that it interferes with my daily functioning. It has also developed on different parts of my legs, arms, and the back of my neck. 

So, since I've had many encounters with eczema, you can guess that I've also tried out all of the lotions that are out there. I decided to do a little review of some of the lotions that I've used and what has worked for me and what hasn't.

This is by far the worst lotion I have ever used, even for a daily moisturizer. It is greasy and leaves behind a residue wherever you apply it that eventually turns flakey. As far as helping repair eczema, I saw no results. That could be because I stopped using it pretty quickly based on the immediate results I saw. It was incredibly baffling to me, but the bottle that I have is basically full because of my lack of use. I wouldn't recommend this one for any use at all, even outside of helping eczema.

I generally find that men's products are better for my skin than women's. A man's razor is much gentler on my skin and does a better job of shaving! This product did a great job as a moisturizer and did a good job of keeping my eczema from getting worse, but I don't feel like it was helping reduce the look of my symptoms. I use this one every day, but as an all over body lotion.

Outside of a prescription lotion, this is the best stuff I've used to help my eczema. It's a little on the pricey side, $8 for this 3.5 oz. bottle, but it's getting the job done. I've been using this for about a week or so and I've already seen improvement in my symptoms and my skin rarely itches during the day if I apply this in the mornings.

Outside of lots of special lotions, I keep everything that I buy as hypoallergenic as possible. Detergent, dryer sheets, soap, shaving cream, and even loofas come in a 'sensitive skin' version that are much gentler on the skin. I avoid any of the lotions from places like Bath & Body Works or Victoria's Secret because there are so many scents and chemicals in those. It makes everything much easier and comfortable for me. :)

That's it for today! I hope you learned something that you didn't know before! If not, I hope this didn't gross you out.

Happy Monday!