One of the MOST important things in overcoming and controlling eczema is moisturising the skin. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise all the time… in the morning before changing, throughout the day (every few hours or even more often!), after a bath, and before bed time especially. Even if you think the skin doesn’t look dry or red… if it feels rough, then moisturise!
Another important thing is that if you also use a steroid cream / hydrocortisone in treating the eczema, always ensure you moisturise with emulsifying wax or a moisturiser on top of it as steroid creams just reduce the inflammation and initial itch but are just quick “band aid” fixes that do not moisturise and do not improve the skin’s natural condition long term.
Here is a review of the common moisturisers / emoillients used for eczema:
If you are able to afford to, try out Hope’s Relief Premium Eczema Cream from the very start. It has been the best thing I’ve ever used – antiseptic bath washes, steroids and waxes are out the window and could never have improved my daughter’s skin to what is it now. Pros: Awesome product! It is natural, and has not only stopped the eczema but the skin looks normal now! Cons: Expensive at $26.50 – $35+ per tube, and the cream is not super-thick so I tend to moisturise with Essenchi Aquaderm cream on top of it just to give the skin a real moisturising soak : )
Aqueous cream is a very popular prescription by GPs for dry skin and eczema but it is NOT effective and can make things worse! We were advised NOT to use it by our specialist eczema nurse at Wellington Hospital. DO NOT USE IT!
Pros: Cheap or fully funded. Widely prescribed as a generic soap substitute and a moisturiser.
Cons: It contained Sodium Lauryl Lulfate (SLS) – a detergent – and Phenoxyethanol (an alcohol) as an antimicrobial preservative. These cause skin to dry out even more, so it is NOT a moisturiser, and a real no-no if you seriously want to overcome the eczema. It may also sting a bit on application to raw areas. You may like to read an article in BBC News about aqueous cream aggravating eczema (October 2010).
HealthE Fatty Cream is another popular prescription.
Pros: Cheap or fully funded. Had no other obvious pros to us.
Cons: Stung badly on raw areas. Also contains parabens as preservatives. These two factors never made us try it ever again.
Dermasoft Sorbolene Cream, initially prescribed by our paediatrician as a trial cream to moisturise.
Pros: A general moisturiser for dry skin?
Cons: Not funded so can get costly. Still stung, and also contained high amounts of parabens as preservatives.
Emulsifying ointment is a very cheap and super effective moisturiser (free/funded if prescribed by your GP) and a must have to melt in for every bath! If you use this properly (for very dry / affected skin),
a) for moisturising & bathing, you’ll use about 1x 500g every 2 – 3 days.
b) for bathing only, you’ll go through about 1x 500g tub every 5 – 7 days.
Pros: It’s the best neutral moisturiser to apply when skin is really bad and raw as it does not sting the skin. It was the only moisturiser that worked for our daughter at her worst stages of eczema. It just about seals in the skin and stops any moisture being lost from the skin.
Cons: I’ve heard that some people may be allergic to it, so test a little on the skin before plunging your child into it! It is very very thick & messy to spread and can be very uncomfortable for the child. Our daughter ended up really detesting the feel and texture of it. She also started breaking out into nasty pimples after prolonged use (i.e. past raw skin stage) as the skin just could not breathe. The skin covered by this ointment ends up sweating underneath it, and heats up the child as the child’s skin can’t breathe properly. We eventually moved onto a slightly lighter moisturiser, Essenchi Aquaderm cream.
We were also was getting a bit put off by the 100% petroleum base of emulsifying ointment, and after hearing many goods thing about Essenchi Aquaderm cream (from other parents who had young children with eczema AND overcome it!), started using that and it is GREAT!!
Pros: It’s all natural (free from parabens, mineral oils, perfumes, artificial colourants, animal products and alcohol). It contains vitamin B5 which helps heal the skin faster too. It is super moisturising, the best we’ve found after trying so many different moisturisers.
Cons: Cost – it is definitely pricier than the free or paid for Emulsifying Ointment (over 4 times the price of the ointment, as it is about NZ$30+ for a 500g tub of Essenchi Aquaderm cream). Caution: if the skin is very very raw, it may sting a tiny bit, depending on your child’s pain tolerance.
We’ve also tried the following and they are note worthy as they are all 100% natural and petroleum free:
XmaEase, however it doesn’t moisturise well enough as the cream is too thin, though it is cooling to the skin so can feel nice on hot itchy spots. You’d have to apply a lot more and a lot more often to get the same amount of moisture back into the skin. Costs a lot too.
Naturalene’s Invisible Glove didn’t seem to moisturise the skin much as such. Invisible Glove is a very good waterproofing / barrier application for skin areas that get exposed to water, but you still need to moisturise under it otherwise it seems to end up drying the skin. We use either Aquaderm or this as a protective barrier before our daughter gets into a swimming pool.
PURE nutraceuticals PawPaw Ointment with Calendula seemed good at first, but we found after prolonged use (e.g. over a week), it didn’t have any more impact or ended up actually making the skin go backwards in condition again. Pawpaw (aka papaya fruit) is also not advised for under 1 year olds as it “eats” into the skin a little to remove the dead cells, which is probably what happened with our daughter and made her skin worsen after initially getting better. It is also very costly!
Eczema 101 