Skincare Solutions for Eczema

Winter Weather Skin Conditions
|
Amy Forman Taub, MD, FAAD

Get ready for winter and tune up your eczema care. You should have these things for all phases of eczema treatment:

  • A barrier cream or moisturizer. The two we love best are prescription products Hyalatopic Plus and Epiceram. These protect the surface of the skin from irritants and water evaporation.
  • A moisturizer and mild cleanser. We favor the Avene products. These are made with spring water from Avene, France, which is visited by people all over the world to bathe in the waters there to heal. These products, including moisturizers, cleansers and bath oil are fragrance free, very soothing and effective and also modestly priced.
  • Prescription anti-inflammatory creams. These include topical steroids and topical immunomodulators (Protopic, Elidel). You will need this for flares of your disease as well as maintenance.
  • Anti-bacterial cleansers. This is not just an antibacterial soap but one that kills staph bacteria, as it has been shown that people with eczema have an increased number of staph bacteria on their skin which contributes to their eczema. This can be accomplished with bleach baths (1 tsp of bleach per bathtub of water- be careful not to get in eyes) 2 times per week, chlorhexidine cleanser daily and/or Auristat Bleach Gel, which comes in the package with Hyalatopic Plus.

SOMETHING NEW AND IMPORTANT

The XTrac laser was approved by the FDA for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema)!!! We have had very good results with this for psoriasis, now if your eczema is not controlled with the other measures outlined above, we could potentially use this laser, which we will pre-authorize with your insurance company. If your eczema is not well controlled or you haven’t been in the office for a while, please come in soon before the winter season hits so we can be proactive and “weatherproof” your skin.