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I recently heard a dermatologist describe eczema as “asthma of the skin.” Great analogy. The importance of this is that eczema is a long-term problem. Our goal should be to control this scaly, itchy skin so that the patient and their family lead a life with normal activities. When eczema is not well controlled, the patient itches which can disrupt (patient and parent’s) sleep, increased time spent on skin care and physician/hospital visits.

Eczema, like asthma, has symptoms that will wax and wane, triggers that worsen eczema, and may be passed down from the parents. Some suggestions are to use nondetergent cleansers instead of soap: Cetaphil or Dove. Pat skin dry after bathing so as to not rough up the skin. Put a rich cream on the skin twice a day: once after bathing and one other time during the day. Lather them up with lotion and let it soak in. A dilute bleach bath once a week can help decrease bacterial load on the skin and thereby decrease skin infections. 1/8 cup to a full bath is all that’s needed: more bleach won’t be helpful.

Hope this helps.