YouTube Transcript:
10 tips to HEAL YOUR ECZEMA| Dr Dray

hey guys in today's video i'm going to
be sharing with you 10 tips to heal
eczema eczema is an umbrella term that
describes
several uh skin conditions where you
have dry patches
redness and itch but most commonly the
term eczema
refers to a skin condition called atopic
dermatitis this is a chronic
inflammatory skin condition that is
both genetic and due to
environmental triggers that can bring
out the disease and aggravate it so in
today's video i'm going to be sharing
with you
the best tips for managing this skin
condition
today's video is in partnership with
avino so thank you avino for sponsoring
today's video
tip number one is probably one of the
most infuriating things to hear if you
have eczema but
bear with me and that is stop scratching
avoid scratching and rubbing the skin
with your fingernails
this is really hard to do because eczema
is such an
itchy skin condition and the urge to
scratch
is unbearable so when people tell you
don't scratch it's like the most
infuriating thing to hear
however when you actually scratch the
skin
you bring about more inflammation into
the skin
and that actually leads to worsening
eczema it's called the itch
scratch cycle my tip to deal with this
is that when you feel the sensation of
itch
coming on rather than scratch or
you know take something like like a
hairbrush to your skin that's
that's the worst thing you can do apply
a moisturizer
the reason this is so helpful is that it
will help
soothe the skin it will help in skin
barrier restoration
and kind of quieting down those itching
signals and
provide you some relief now a
moisturizer i have been recommending to
my patients with eczema
for years is the aveeno eczema
therapy itch relief balm this product
is perfect for anyone with eczema
because it is free of common irritating
ingredients so the last thing you want
to put on your skin when you have that
itch
and the skin barrier is impaired and
your eczema is flaring the last thing
you want to put on the skin is a bunch
of irritating ingredients like fragrance
or dyes
this is free of that but importantly it
is formulated
with colloidal oatmeal colloidal oatmeal
protects the skin and helps it heal
it contains compounds like
avinanthromides which can scavenge free
radicals
that drive inflammation into the skin
and further exacerbate eczema
colloidal oatmeal also is rich in beta
glucan
and what's nice about that is that beta
glucan can help in
adding hydration to the skin it forms a
hydrocolloid
improving moisture retention and
colloidal oatmeal has
a large fraction of lipid in it so that
lipid is really what the skin of people
with eczema
need on their skin beyond the
colloidal oatmeal this also has oat oil
which is rich in many of those same
compounds but will help in smoothing
down skin cell edges
and it also has ceramides in it
ceramides help
in restoring the skin barrier and for
people with eczema they're often
deficient in ceramides and have trouble
with ceramide synthesis
and so applying a moisturizer that
contains ceramides can help with that
so this is a really good product to just
apply to the skin when you feel that
sensation of itch and it will
as the name implies provide relief
to disrupt that itch scratch cycle
number two tip is to
build your wardrobe around loose fitting
clothing
you don't want to wear things that are
tight or made of rough
fabrics people with eczema have skin
that is really
sensitive to fabrics
wool in particular is your worst enemy
in terms of your eczema for whatever
reason the fibers and wall just really
aggravate the skin of people with eczema
but clothing that's really tight and
doesn't breathe
well also can exacerbate flares of
eczema so build your wardrobe around
loose-fitting clothing
that is breathable lightweight and cool
on the skin and feels comfortable
as you're building this new wardrobe my
number three tip is to make sure
you wash your clothing when you buy it
before wearing it
a lot of clothing is treated with
different types of formaldehyde
chemicals
many fabrics have different dyes in them
especially blue dyes that can be
particularly
irritating to the skin of people with
eczema and if you wash your clothing
before wearing it when it's new
it will help kind of dilute out some of
those compounds and
it will make your clothing less
irritating
eczema disdains extremes of temperature
or humidity
really really dry cold climates are a
setup for
dry skin and flaring the eczema pulling
water out of your skin
however really hot humid climates
can also aggravate your eczema by
increasing
vasodilation at the surface of the skin
to cool the body
you then perspire and you sweat more
sweat is an irritant
and it dissolves some of the natural
lipid barrier so you really just want to
avoid extremes of temperature
so regulate the room that you spend the
majority of your time in and of course
your bedroom
to really dial in the optimal humidity
and
temperature sleeping with a cool mist
humidifier in the bedroom is one way to
improve the
ambient humidity if you live in a dry
climate bathing is actually a really
important part of controlling the eczema
but it also can and
often does aggravate the eczema so you
have to approach it strategically
the reason bathing is so important for
people with eczema is that
things from our environment like dust
mold pollens pet dander
they actually can get on your skin and
if you leave them on there and don't
rinse them off remove them it can
aggravate the eczema likewise sweat left
on the skin like after a workout
it can trigger itch and start to degrade
the skin barrier and lead to a bad flare
up eczema so you actually need to
clean the skin but unfortunately
with bathing you start to strip away
some of the lipids that help keep your
skin barrier intact and prevent those
flares of eczema
keep the shower really short no more
than 10 minutes
and use lukewarm water again eczema
detests
extremes of temperature you don't want
ice cold water and you don't want
scalding hot water so keep it lukewarm
and you may not even need to use
soap but if you do use soap make sure
you use
a gentle non-soap body wash or cleanser
because harsh soaps you know they're
just going to eat away
at that lipid barrier even further and
aggravate your skin
so i do recommend bathing daily in the
evening time before
bed however there are some other
situations in your life
where you may want to step in the shower
during the day if you work out during
the day and get really sweaty
or if you go swim in a pool and you're
exposed to chlorine
or bromine in the water you're going to
want to
at least rinse your skin after
afterwards
because sweat and chlorine left on the
skin
it is it's going to trigger a flare so
just rinse it off
and you may want to employ a gentle
cleanser if you've been swimming in a
swimming pool
to ensure that you adequately remove it
so that is a time where
you might want to step in the shower
again but generally speaking
once a day for bathing is more than
enough
tip number seven though is any time you
bathe
or rinse your skin maybe with just water
wash your hands wash your face any time
you you embark on cleansing after you
rinse your skin
of the cleanser or just rinse it with
water make sure
you apply a moisturizer immediately to
the skin
while it's still damp this is what's
kind of referred to as the soak and
smear technique
by using a moisturizer at that time you
really put the brakes on what's called
trans epidermal water loss
that can further aggravate the skin and
trigger a flare
not only that but you moisturizers have
humectants
humectants hold on to water and keep it
in the skin
improving moisture retention and again
coming back to the aveeno eczema therapy
itch relief balm this is a fantastic
product
to slather on for the soak and smear
technique as soon as you get out of the
tub or the shower
or done rinsing your skin as you can see
the consistency is quite
thick underlying its name is a balm as
opposed to a cream or a lotion which are
a little more lightweight
um so this is really going to put the
seal
right there on your skin think of it
almost as like second
skin it's going to trap that water in
there and it's going to reduce trans
epidermal water loss
and it's going to it's going to guide
your skin
to begin to repair the lipid barrier
which is really what people with eczema
need you need a cheerleader that's going
to help your skin
and that comes in the form of a
moisturizer
really what i mean is an occlusive balm
or ointment
so slathering this onto the skin once
you step out of the shower or the bath
or after you've rinsed your skin maybe
after a workout
it's key for keeping your skin happy in
addition to the colloidal oatmeal in
this product you also have glycerin
another wonderful humectant for helping
hold that hydration in the skin which is
so key
for addressing the lipid barrier and
moisture retention
in in eczema and reducing the burden of
those inflammatory mediators
that drive itch in people with eczema so
putting this on after you get out of the
shower or bathing
is key using the aveeno eczema therapy
itch relief balm
will provide long lasting sustained
relief from edge so for example you
bathe in the evening time
you apply this it's going to help you
overnight sleep without flares of
itch all right my next tip is to be
cognizant
of how stress affects your eczema
i mean it stress in our life
feeds directly into our skin our brain
releases those stress hormones
that signal to our immune system and
that
ends up driving inflammation into the
skin nothing can kick off a flare
faster of eczema than being under stress
if you are a parent or a caregiver of a
child with eczema be
really aware of how stress can impact
their skin
your stress they can pick up on so in
the evening time for example when you're
putting them to bed
try and maintain a calm demeanor speak
in a soothing voice
and that can help guide them to a more
relaxing transition
to sleep and to bedtime it really can
help a lot
stress really does affect children
speaking of stress and sleep that's
another part of stress management is
making sure that you get
good quality sleep i mean aim for eight
hours
that is when your skin is going to be
able to heal
and if you are sleep deprived that
triggers stress responses in your body
that further exacerbate itch you then
want to scratch
um and then the skin further you know
becomes inflamed and aggravated with
eczema i mean it is a vicious cycle
so much so that as a matter of fact
children with eczema
are often misdiagnosed as having
learning disabilities or attention
problems
because they become sleep deprived
and so actually treating their eczema
and getting their eczema better
results in better sleep and overall
improved performance in school so it's
you know it's really directly related to
how
how eczema impacts sleep cycle because
if you're
itchy at night you're going to want to
scratch that and you're really just not
ever falling asleep properly
number nine is be aware of the role of
allergens
in your environment and their
contribution to flares of eczema so the
most common
environmental triggers are dust mites
mold pollen and
pet dander dust mites uh
you know they can live on your they live
on your skin cells that flake off and
get in like your bedding and stuff
so to reduce the burden of dust mites
make sure that you vacuum
your bedroom furniture like the
headboard
you are frequently laundering your
bedding and
yet another reason to bathe before going
to bed is that
if you bathe before going to bed you
kind of exfoliate some of the dead skin
cells off while you're in the shower
or bath as opposed to getting in the in
the bed
and rolling around and exfoliating them
where then
dust mites can snack on them so
yeah that's another way to reduce the
burden of dust mites if you have
pets make sure you groom them regularly
to reduce the dander
and also with pets i know it's hard but
don't let them sleep with you in the bed
because
again you're going to be right there
trying to sleep at night and have that
dander
which can can aggravate the ex mom make
you want to scratch
keep you up at night be really really
really critical of skin care products
and keep your skin care routine to a
minimum
fewer things that come in contact with
your skin the better
for people with eczema you need a gentle
non-soap cleanser
a moisturizer and a sunscreen sunscreens
that are mineral sunscreens are often
easier to tolerate for people with
eczema they're less likely to sting or
burn
those three things are it and
honestly keeping it restricted to those
three things
can really help because a lot of
products that have
ingredients in them that cumulatively
can end up being quite irritating on
your skin so the more products that
you're using
the more exposure to those potential
irritants that can aggravate your skin
now speaking of products if you wear
makeup so
important that you take it off
completely at the end of the day
because the longer your skin is in
contact with the ingredients and makeup
the more likely it is to aggravate your
eczema especially i see this a fair
amount in my patients with excellent
eye makeup eyeshadows can really lead to
a flare of the eczema around the eyelids
um and you know rubbing the eyes
itching i mean it can get quite bad
remember the skin around your eyelids is
very thin
so making sure that you remove the
makeup in total at the end of the day if
you wear makeup
is really important so those are my 10
tips for managing your eczema
it is a very frustrating condition to
cope with
it can get better and go away and burn
out but remember it's a lifelong thing
that kind of stays with you
and can rear its head up at different
times in your life i've had it
my entire life and you know for the most
part
as an adult it's more or less under
remission
but if i get stressed out if i
wear certain fabrics i can feel it
coming
and because i've been living with this
my whole life and because i'm a
dermatologist
i know how to manage it better than i
did when i was a child but if you
are a young person out there or a parent
of a child with eczema
believe me it it is a journey to
managing and the good news is
with these tips you can really be
empowered to take control of the skin
condition yourself
and learn to cope with flares as they
come i hope these tips were helpful to
you guys and thank you aveeno so much
for sponsoring today's video
if you guys liked it give it a thumbs up
share it with your friends and as always
don't forget
sunscreen and subscribe i'll talk to you
guys tomorrow
bye
[Music]
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