Millions of individuals around the world suffer from eczema, a form of rash on the skin that can really impair your everyday life. I ought to know – I suffer from atopic dermatitis (a widespread form of eczema) and although over the years I’ve learned better ways to deal with it, I still continue to battle it at a ripe fine age of 30. That’s correct, babies aren’t the only ones to be inflicted with eczema. There is no proven cure for eczema and many continue to suffer from it well into later life.

So what triggers eczema? To be frank, I’ve been told by many individuals of the varied elements that cause a flare-up. The majority of us are very much affected by extreme changes in weather and harsh chemicals in detergent and soaps. A number of foods can trigger a serious bout of rash too – for me, shelling seafood or chopping garlic leaves me scratching and bleeding until weeks later.

As a youngster, I had eczema on my forehead, the bends of my arms and the backs of my knees and thighs. However, today it is

Concentrated solely on my right hand – the back wrist, tops of the middle finger, ring finger and pinkie, as well as the grooves of the last 2 fingers. I attribute this to the fact that I’m right-handed. This makes a number of of my every day activities real challenges – I frequently eat with my fingers, labor on my laptop with my wrist resting on the keyboard area and look after heaps of washing.

My biggest grouse though, is the constant itching I suffer in my eyes. For years I did not know this, but the persistent itching inside my eyes were the consequence of eczema too. Due to this, I am constantly rubbing my eyes and over time, even managed to leave scratches on the eye lens. Now, I am watchful with the amount of strength I apply when I yank at my irritated eyes.

Following years of fighting a losing battle, I’ve learned that to encourage my skin to heal, I have to cease being resentful of the condition and handle my skin delicately and with much affection.

Here are a number of ways I’ve successfully managed to reduce the incidence of flare-ups:

1) When we eat seafood, I solicit the assistance of my spouse (aka Superman) to shell prawns and crabs on behalf of me. I additionally make it a point to get around touching them directly and make use of cutlery to deal with them.

2) No matter how divine that brand new shower foam or body scrub looks, I stick to the ones that help me keep my skin moisturised. This limits my selection vastly but I’d rather boast beautiful smooth skin. I alternate between Dove, Johnson’s Baby Wash and now and again Goat’s Milk Wash.

3) When I clean the toilet, I put on rubber gloves to prevent direct contact with the chemicals in the detergents.

4) I have almost completely eliminated the use of contact lenses (still can’t quite live without them!) and rely on a trendy pair of spectacles everywhere I travel. They have Transition lenses too, since extreme sunlight can aggravate the eyes and make them itch like crazy!

5) I do not apply any powder on my skin, because this almost every time contain perfume and that is one item I mustrefrain from. Furthermore, powder can be drying on the skin.

6) I apply skin moisturisers each day and even take them with me always. My favourite is Nivea (original) and I’ve used them for so long, I’ve been nicknamed Nivea Girl. Eucerin and Cetaphil are known to perform just as good too.

7) As with the majority women, I have a weakness for a superior fragrance (my favourite is Ralph Lauren’s Romance and DKNY’s Green Apple) but I have to be discerning when I spray them on – just on the left wrist, a dab behind the ears and I rub remnants of these on my palms prior to smoothing my hands from head to toe. (ha! Ha!)

I regularly advise individuals with eczema to care for their skin especially after it has healed. Why? To prevent a flare-up. Afterall, it’s much easier to apply moisturisers on healed skin, than on itching and peeling skin.

Ascertain what triggers your condition and shun them wherever possible.