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Atopic Eczema – Eight Ways to Manage the Problem

Eczema is a skin condition that causes problems on many levels – physical, psychological, and emotional. Simple self-help solutions can go a long way to relieve the stress of coping with this condition, and there follows eight tips to help you manage your eczema from day to day:

* Avoid animal fur
All animals that have fur are a potential source of allergy, and not only is the fur a problem, but animals shed vast quantities of skin (dander), which is likely to cause an allergic reaction. It is good advice for an eczema sufferer to avoid contact with animals, particularly at home, as the fur and skin remains in carpets and furnishings for a long time.

* Keep Fingernails Short
This is particularly important for babies and children, as they may scratch uncontrollably in their sleep, and it is easy for their skin to become infected. Cotton mittens can also be used for babies, to prevent damage from scratching.

* Organic Cotton Clothing And Bedding
Organic cotton clothing and bedding do not have the chemicals and pesticide residues that ordinary cotton has, and lets the skin breathe. All clothing and bedding should be washed in a non-biological washing powder, and then rinsed twice so that all soap residue is removed.

* Keep Rooms Well-Ventilated
Central heating can encourage house dust mites, and if the house is not well-ventilated, this can trigger eczema. Bedrooms, in particular, need to be airy and not too warm.

* Keep Cool
Overheating through exercise, or due to a warm house, often leads to a flare-up of eczema. Keeping cool by wearing cotton clothes, and exercising sensibly will aid management of any outbreaks.

* Drink Water
Dehydration causes the skin to become dry, but this can be relieved by drinking lots of water. Drinking about 8 glasses of water a day will also flush toxins from the body.

* Avoid Cigarette Smoke
This is a well-known trigger for eczema and should be avoided at all costs.

* Avoid Pollen
Some forms of eczema can be aggravated by contact with pollen.

Treatment of atopic eczema is not just about creams and lotions, but about prevention.

For lots of information and tips on how to cope with eczema, including many natural remedies and treatments, please visit http://copingwitheczema.blogspot.com

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Manage your health with Patient support Programmes

For those living with chronic health conditions, self-management is crucial for managing and controlling symptoms day to day. Protecting your own health is a responsibility that can require some help and guidance to ensure you pursue the right treatment for you. So what are the ways in which you can better manage your condition yourself?

talkhealth have developed a series of programmes to enable you to take an active role in managing your health. Our Patient Support Programmes (PSPs) offer you the chance to receive free online information, support and advice that it is specific to your condition. While on the programme you will receive an email once a week for 3 to 6 months (dependant on the programme you are on) which will provide you with a link to new downloadable information such as hints and tips, lifestyle advice and up to date information from experts. The information we have created for this programme has been designed to enable you to better manage your condition and symptoms more effectively as well as improving your quality of life.

We are currently giving members the opportunity to register their interest for the 11 patient support programmes we have planned so far:

EczemaRosaceaWound CareContinenceSleepMenopauseAcneArthritisIBSPsoriasisWeight.

Fill in our short registration form today to ensure your place in our patient support programmes.

If you would like to take part in the arthritis patient support programme once it has launched, please do register your interest by filling out one of our quick expression of interest forms.

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Is There A Way To Avoid The Side Effects Of Steroids Used To Manage Eczema And Psoriasis?

At 4 months of age my son developed baby eczema. Even though (at that time) I had spent 17 years in the pharmaceutical business, I was completely lost on how I should soothe my crying baby. He squirmed all night and woke up every hour to itch. We had no choice but regularly use “hydrocortisone”, a steroid that helps control itching and inflammation of the skin. I knew the serious side effects of this steroid, but used it anyway as I could not see my baby suffering. He used to bite and draw blood from his hands and other parts that he could reach: and rub his body on any rough surface to itch the parts he could not reach.

I researched for years and used all kinds of moisturizing creams, but had to consistently use the prescription hydrocortisone. Finally, almost by accident, I discovered a NATURAL product that was clinically tried in the UK, Germany and Canada. Dermatologists have clinically tried this product on patients and found that over 80% of patients showed a remarkable improvement of their eczema (and also psoriasis). The main ingredient in PsoEcze Care is an extract of mahonia aquafolium. This is a plant that is native to the western United States and Canada, and has been used by native Indians for years. The plant is known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and very importantly anti-proliferative properties. This anti-proliferative property is very important for people that suffer from psoriasis. This is a skin condition that different from Eczema. But the medical treatments used are often similar. They are both immune triggered diseases, and there is no permanent cure at the moment.

Though both Psoriasis and Eczema are not usually life threatening, often times the medications used to manage these skin conditions have serious side effects. There are about 7.5 million people in the US that suffer from Psoriasis and almost 30 million that suffer from Eczema. Many of these are children. Both conditions are managed by doctors by prescribing steroid topical applications initially and sometimes in serious cases injectables. These injectables have very, very serious side effects that you should know about. Ask the prescribing doctor or your pharmacist about these. Also when you are using steroid skin creams/ointments ask about the long term effects and side effects of these medications. Please, specially ask if you are going to use these medications on small children. I have often come across mothers that use a mild steroid cream to manage a diaper rash!

Don’t get me wrong these steroid creams are very effective. They provide relief immediately for sure. But remember it is a steroid!! Immediate gratification is what a steroid does. So if you do have to use such a “medication” please get all the information you can get, and then make an informed decision on using a steroid.

Since Eczema and Psoriasis have no cure at the moment, what the doctor/pharmacist really does is prescribe/dispense/recommend you medication/creams/ointments that will help you MANAGE the symptoms. This means that, all they are doing is helping you (or the patient) have a better quality of life while living with this unfortunate condition. So even if the physical symptoms have gone away, the disease is still there, and it can flare up at anytime. In my opinion all Eczema and Psoriasis sufferers should be involved in this process of managing their condition.

Consider alternatives. Since you have to manage the symptoms, why not try and manage them with a natural product? Why not try and identify what triggers a flare up? Keep a log of what you think triggered your flare up. It could be stress. There are cases of children breaking up with psoriasis shortly after their parents split up. I know a story of a lady from London, England. During the second world war this young girl and her brother were in the streets of London when there was a bombing and her brother died right in front of her. Almost immediately, she broke out with red patches on the skin and was soon diagnosed as having psoriasis. (This lady by the way uses PsoEcze Care and said that after using this product was able to wear a skirt for the first time since she had psoriasis) There could also be certain foods that are triggers for you. If you smoke, I urge you to stop. Smoking is not going to help you regardless of whether you have these skin conditions or not. However, smoking is a known trigger. Do not drink alcohol in access. Avoid stress. I know this is easy to say. However, make a habit of getting regular exercise. Take up a sport or go to the gym regularly. This will help in managing your stress. Eat healthy foods. And try to use natural products to manage your skin condition. If you have to use creams to manage your symptoms, would you not rather they be natural then steroidal?

There is also a mistaken thinking that the steroid cream/ointment has cured the psoriasis/eczema. This may not be the case just because the symptoms are not visible. They could be “swept under the carpet” for the moment. Any the continual use of steroids could be building up long term problems. So do consider natural medications.

Here is another mistaken way of thinking. Very often we expect a “natural product” the do the same thing that the steroid does. DO NOT EXPECT THIS! A steroid is a steroid and does what it is chemically engineered to do….suppress symptoms and provide immediate relief. A natural product is not engineered. It is natural and therefore gentle. It will take its time. Let it. Often you will notice that when you switch to a natural product, your skin flares up and the psoriasis or eczema seems to get worse. This is your body’s way of telling you that it wants the steroid that you have been giving it. You see, the body gets dependent on the steroid that you have been applying to the skin. And when you stop applying the steroid it is like the body is saying to you…”give me that stuff that I have been given for so long and if you don’t I will remind you of what you used to go through before you started giving it to me!!” If you understand that this is what the body is saying to you, then you could be well on the way to manage your skin condition NATURALLY.

I had tried everything else on my son, and when I came across PsoEcze Care, my wife and I made the choice to switch him off hydrocortisone cream to PsoEcze Care. And even though it pained us to watch my son break out with eczema again, in a few days, we noticed the breakout calming down a bit. Then a few weeks later the eczema started going away first is a few places then in more and more. He still has a bit on his neck and elbows. But, we do NOT use the steroid now and the results are far better than the prescription steroid. We use PsoEcze Care cream and ointment to manage his skin, and regularly on the spots that he still has it.

This experience drove me in a direction that I had not travelled before. I decided to leave the pharmaceutical business and dedicate myself to bringing this natural medicine to others who could benefit from a natural way to manage Eczema and Psoriasis. I know how patients of these conditions suffer and hope that you can benefit from the product I have used.

We have now made this product available in Canada and the US through http://www.goapharma.com. It is called PSOECZE CARE and is available as cream and ointment. Try it, I recommend it through personal experience.

Find More Eczema Steroid Articles

10 Tips to Manage Psoriasis and Eczema this Winter


Roslyn Heights, NY (PRWEB) November 19, 2014

A shocking number of Americans have psoriasis and eczema—39 million adults and children—which is more than four times the population of New York City, the largest city in the US. According to dermatology specialists Dr. Joshua Fox and Dr. Robert Levine with Advanced Dermatology, PC, the seasonal change to cold, dry air creates difficulties for people dealing with these chronic skin disorders.

“It is important to manage symptoms,” says Dr. Fox, who has served on the board of the National Psoriasis Foundation. “Psoriasis and eczema can be painful. They can make everyday actions uncomfortable for adults and children, men and women, and they carry a stigma that can lead to a loss of self-esteem, depression, and other health complications.”

Symptoms

Psoriasis appears on the skin as red or white, scaly patches that often itch and bleed. The patches can also look scaly or silvery in color. Nails can become yellow, ridged and separate from the nail bed. Up to 30 percent of people with the disease develop psoriatic arthritis, and recent studies indicate that patients with moderate to severe disease are also at increased risk for other associated health conditions, including heart disease, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, depression and hypertension.

Eczema, a hypersensitivity disease, inflames the skin, causing pain, itching, dryness, swelling, cracking, weeping and scaling. Eczema lesions can bubble, ooze, and crust over if scratched. Skin infections can occur if bacteria invade the skin lesions.

Diagnosis

“Once patients understand their psoriasis or eczema is not contagious, they seem to be relieved,” says Dr. Fox. “They are comforted to know there is help for their symptoms.”

Psoraisis is an autoimmune disease apparently cause by an overactive immune system that overproduces skin cells. Eczema, on the other hand, is caused by a deficient immune system in which an imbalance of skin proteins creates skin sensitivities. “This is a significant distinction because it informs treatment,” explains Dr. Fox. “A dermatologist will diagnose the condition and provide the most effective care for individual patients.”

Psoriasis treatments:

Topical creams, such as corticosteroids, calcipotriene, anthralin, salicylic acid, and coal tars, to reduce inflammation and dissolve skin lesions
Laser therapy with ultraviolet (UVB) light
Systemic medications taken orally or by injection that suppress or control the immune system

Eczema treatments:

Topical creams, such as corticosteroids (severe) and hydrocortisones (mild), to reduce inflammation
Immunomodulator creams that control inflammation and immune system reactions
Systemic pills that suppress the immune system
Prescription strength moisturizers that restore the skin barrier
Oral antihistamines to relieve inflammation
Diluted bleach baths and antibiotics to treat infection

Dr. Fox’s and Dr. Levine’s tips for managing psoriasis and eczema throughout the winter

Moisturize. Use a non-irritating, fragrance-free moisturizer. Thick ointments are best for locking in moisture and repairing the skin barrier.
Limit bathing. Take warm (not hot) baths not more than once per day. Pat the skin dry with a towel (do not rub) and apply moisturizer immediately following.
Choose a mild, non-irritating soap. Use sparingly.
Use a humidifier indoors. The ideal range is 45-55 percent humidity.
Wear loose, soft clothing. Choose cotton over wool, denim, or other harsh fabrics. Wear gloves and scarfs outside to protect exposed skin.
Avoid sweating. Sweat can trigger flare-ups. Wear wicking fabrics and change out of damp or snowy clothes as soon as possible.
Keep fingernails short. This decreases the likelihood that scratching will tear the skin and lead to infection.
Hydrate. Drink plenty of water.
Reduce stress. While this is easier said than done during the busy holidays, stress can trigger flares.
Identify and eliminate possible triggers. Some common triggers include wool, soaps, fragrance, pet fur, cosmetics, and household cleaners. Some patients have found relief by altering their diets.

Dr. Levine counsels that people with either psoriasis or eczema should consult their dermatologist to get an accurate diagnosis and discuss the pros and cons of different treatments options.

Advanced Dermatology P.C., the Center for Laser and Cosmetic Surgery (New York & New Jersey) provides cutting edge medical, laser & cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery services. http://www.advanceddermatologypc.com

Joshua L. Fox, M.D., F.A.A.D., is the founder and medical director at Advanced Dermatology P.C. He is a leading authority in the field of dermatology with expertise in skin cancer, cosmetic surgery and laser procedures and is program director of a fellowship in laser and cosmetic surgery

Robert Levine, D.O., F.A.O.C.D. is experienced in many areas of medical and surgical dermatology with an interest in cosmetics.