Effective & Trusted Medications Guide

Itchy Things You Do Not Want To Do

Dairy products

To control itching that is associated with eczema, you will want to avoid all dairy foods. After a few weeks of a dairy free diet, you should notice considerable improvements in you skin’s health.

When bathing, do not scrub or use wash cloths.

Do not pick at the skin or tear the head off of vesicles or pustules. Doing this leads to more itching and also makes the lesions turn into sores.

Rubbing alcohol and harsh salves can dry out the skin and promote further itching. Do not use them.

When you are itching, you should avoid drinking hot or alcoholic beverages. These things can raise your body temperature and make you sweaty, which can lead to itching.

Stay away from scratchy fabrics like wool, or hairy materials. These will irritate the skin and set the itch scratch cycle in motion.

To keep the itch away, you will need to refrain from physical activity that would cause you to sweat excessively. You will need some sort of exercise, but running, and cycling may not be your activity. You will probably have to find exercises that you can do indoors in an air conditioned atmosphere.

Winter Itching

During the winter seasons, the outdoor environment contributes quite a bit to the formation of dry skin which sets off eczema and other skin conditions. Cold dry outside air, and heated dry air that is inside of buildings work together to dehydrate the skin.

To control the winter itch you will first take a bath using warm or tepid water. Do not use hot water. You will also want to avoid using soap on parts of the body that do not require it.

After bathing you will want to moisturize your skin within the first three minutes of coming out of the bath water. This will seal in the moisture that your skin was able to absorb during the bath.

Interrupting the Itch-Scratch Cycle

Eczema works on a vicious itch-scratch-itch cycle. The reason why eczema is many times called the itch that rashes is because in most rashes there may some signs of a rash and then the itch appears. With eczema it is different. The rash becomes obvious after the itch has already been scratched. Once the itch has been scratched, the intensity of the itching continues to increase until the itch-scratch cycle is interrupted.

To interrupt the cycle, you should stop scratching right away and treat the area with something cold. Ice, cool washcloths, cold soda cans etc. can be applied to the areas that are affected with the itch.

If necessary, you can also apply firm pressure, and slight vibration to itchy areas, but you do not want to continue scratching.