Living with Eczema

In Their Own Words

NEA asked “What is your itch tip?” on facebook.  Here’s what people had to say:

RC Always wear cotton, keep moist, and rub instead of scratching your skin.

JR Smack it, don’t scratch it! (stolen from friends with tattoos). You get a sensation, but you’re not ripping flakes of skin off in the process.

MT Frogg toggs cooling towel

ET I try to avoid sweating at all costs, and rub instead ofscratching.


MC Avoid getting stressed, and rest.

WK Cosvate-GM cream.

The Facts

Daily Skin Care

When your skin is dry, it is not because it lacks grease or oil, but because it fails to retain water. For this reason, it is important to recognize this and to practice the basic principles of "soak and seal" to achieve good skin care daily.

Good skin care is an essential part of controlling the itch and rash of eczema and sensitive skin. Proper skin care can reduce flare-ups, decrease the need for medication, and improve response to treatment.

Our 8-year-old daughter Angelina has chronic, severe eczema. We have four children: Sabrina is 13, Samantha is 11, Angelina is 8, and Jonathan is 6. Sabrina and Samantha both have asthma. Somehow our son has escaped all illnesses so far.

Angelina first started showing signs of atopic dermatitis when she was a year and a half old. It began as just a small spot on the front of her ankle. We went to the doctor and were told it was a mild case of eczema. No problem, nothing to worry about. Just apply some ointment to the area two times a day, and voila . . . she would be cured!

More and more people have eczema. Right now, as many as 31.6 million Americans may have it.

Hand eczema (also known as hand dermatitis) is a common condition affecting up to 10% of the population. It results from a combination of factors, both internal (e.g. your genetic make-up), and external (e.g. contact with irritants and allergens such as chemicals). The irritant nature of some chemicals means that hand eczema is particularly common in people with jobs involving cleaning, catering, hairdressing, healthcare and mechanical work. It is an inflammatory condition and is not contagious, but it can still have a major effect on people’s work, social lives

Atopic dermatitis (AD), often called eczema (and pronounced "EK-zema") or atopic eczema, is a very common skin disease. It affects approximately 10% of all infants and children. The exact cause is not known, but AD results from a combination of family heredity and a variety of conditions in everyday life that triggers the red, itchy rash.