Treatment

National Jewish Health Receives Grant to Provide Atopic Dermatitis Education to Denver Pediatric Clinics

National Jewish Health (NJH) has received an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to improve the care of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis in a medically underserved population. The one-year $586,511 independent medical educational program grant from GSK will be used by NJH to train health care providers and team members from Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMYC) to better diagnose and manage their atopic dermatitis patients, and ultimately improve patient care and quality of life in the Denver metropolitan area.

“Undiagnosed and untreated atopic dermatitis can have a crippling

My doctor prescribed topical steroids for my eczema, but I am concerned about using them?

Q:  My doctor prescribed topical steroids for my eczema, but I am concerned about using them. Any suggestions?

A:  Topical corticosteroids are often the only reasonable therapy for controlling eczema. They are very effective and, if used properly, very safe. A major reason for failure is when there is an inappropriate prescription of low-potency steroids and the starting and stopping of regimens that never really control and stabilize the inflammation.

What is the best information I can provide my doctor with?

Q:  What is the best information I can provide my doctor when I have my appointment?

A:  Describe environmental factors (season, skin care products, antibiotics, etc.) that make your eczema better or worse.

What is the wet-dry cycle?

Q:  What is the wet-dry cycle, and why is it bad for eczema?

A:  The wet-dry cycle refers to the drying of skin dampened with water or perspiration. Imagine a muddy field: if the sun dries the field quickly, the mud cracks; if it dries slowly on a cloudy day the mud stays smooth. Skin with eczema is especially likely to crack in low humidity conditions when it dries quickly. Applying a moisturizer to slow the drying of wet skin is therefore especially important in the winter when the humidity is lower.

Alternate Routes: Acupuncture, Acupressure and Eczema

Alternate Routes: Acupuncture, Acupressure and Eczema
Kachiu C. Lee, MD and Peter A. Lio, MD


Judging from the increasing media coverage, acupuncture (and its closely-related but needleless cousin, acupressure) has grown in popularity over the past decade (Ernst, 2006). Actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Lantin, 2004) proudly blogs about it on her popular personal website, while Kate Moss openly admits to using acupuncture to assist with smoking cessation (BBC, 2006). But is acupuncture actually effective? Or is it a passing fad?  What is the evidence behind acupuncture as a treatment for eczema?
    
Basis

Switching to Petroleum Jelly after Pump Lotion Does the Trick

Only after finding the NEA website did I see the warning to avoid lotions in a pump and to try using petroleum jelly instead. That did the trick, and I started seeing results in less than a week!

Good Results with Multivitamins

Then my aunt suggested I take a multivitamin. I went the grocery store and found Women’s One a Day Plus Healthy Skin Support with FloraGlo Lutein in it. Since starting the vitamin three weeks ago my eczema is almost completely gone.

Anti-Inflammatory Therapy and Handling Infections

Excerpted from a presentation by Amy Paller, MD, at the 2010 National Eczema Association Patient Conference. Dr. Paller is the Walter J. Hamlin Professor and Chair of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Education Resource Center: Topical, Prescription, Steroid-free Options

There are 2 topical prescription eczema drugs that do not contain steroids. These are called topical immunomodulators or TIMs. Both are effective in treating the itch and rash of eczema.

Education Resource Center: First Steps In Treating Eczema

If you have eczema, it is important to take good care of your skin. Take warm (not hot!) baths on a regular basis and immediately applying moisturizers afterward will help keep your skin moist.

Education Resource Center: What Do People Use to Treat Their Eczema?

People try many things to relieve the itch of eczema. They use over-the-counter remedies they can get in a drugstore. They use prescription medications they get from their doctors.

Hand Dermatitis, or My Hands are Killing Me!

By Dr. Sunil Sharon Dhawan. What is hand dermatitis? Well, it’s any chronic rash on the hands. It is usually symptomatic; it itches, burns, bleeds, irritates, et cetera. About 2 to 9 percent of the general population has it, and a lot of people in my practice and a lot of people in most dermatology practices have it.

NEA-Funded Research Report Offers Independent Guidance regarding the Use of Two Popular Eczema Drugs

A report released in October 2005 by the National Eczema Association (NEA) offers guidance to both patients and physicians regarding the use of two common skin care medications that have been the subject of public health advisories by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the NEA report, physicians from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston, Massachusetts, provide an independent review of the clinical benefits and potential cancer risks associated with the drugs Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus).

Are Allergies to Blame?

Harvey Leo, M.D. St. Joseph Medical Hospital: I sat with the children yesterday while they were playing in camp and it’s interesting that I’m here because when I ask the little kids how many of them actually have food allergies, probably about 80% of them raised their hand. Then I asked them how many of them ate the foods they were allergic to and half of them raised their hands. It’s actually an interesting insight and what I’ll talk about and kind of what things you guys have been told about as parents.

Medical Presentation: Treatment for Resistant Cases of Eczema

What is a difficult case of eczema? What makes a case of eczema difficult to treat? What kids fall into that category? It doesn’t have to be a child who’s got horrible skin everywhere all over the body. It can be a child whose eczema is fairly limited but just does not respond to any medication. I know all of us have patients that fall under that category or there are treatment restrictions. There are issues with certain medications that we are unable to use whether that’s because of allergy issues, financial issues or insurance issues.

Alternative Medicine and Eczema

My disclaimer for this piece is that, like Fox Mulder from The X-Files, “I want to believe.” I am interested in all the healing arts and am more than willing to consider other traditions and approaches to understanding health and disease.

Hand & Foot Eczema: How to Cope

Although atopic dermatitis (AD) usually improves with age, adults with a history of childhood AD often have persistent eczema on their hands and feet. Some children are also plagued by hand and foot eczema. Eczema affecting these sites can interfere with daily activities like playing, writing and walking.

Everyday Skin Care: Maintaining Skin Integrity and Avoiding Inflammation

Excerpted from a presentation by Peter Lio, MD, at the 2010 National Eczema Association Patient Conference. Dr. Lio is Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a Founding Director of the Eczema Care & Education Center.

Vitamin D: hype or healer?

In looking at the growing number of Google searches for vitamin D over the past several years, it is abundantly clear that vitamin D is very much on our collective mind (Google Trends, 2010). Indeed, there has been a series of highly-publicized debates, articles and missives fueling interest in this previously staid vitamin.

Around the House: Tips for Managing Eczema this Spring

Indoor allergens and irritants can trigger atopic dermatitis. Taking some precautions around the home can help prevent flare-ups:

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