Eczema Treatments - Family Health Guide
Skin conditions that cause inflammation and rashes are usually referred to as Eczema. Usually indicated by dry, red, flaking skin, in serious cases the victim may even have oozing or even bleeding. Often the problem is to stop the person from scratching the skin and to do this an Eczema treatment using drugs that help control itching are used.
Even if this can be controlled, the skin is still dry so needs to be re-moisturized which can help the skin to heal. Normally, moisturizing and re-hydrating the skin are just a couple of important considerations and anything causes the skin to lose any of its natural oils, should be stopped. Moistening agents are called emollients and the rule for their use is to match the thicker ointments to the driest, flakiest skin. ight emollients like aqueous cream may dry the skin if it is very flaky, so heavier ointment should be used. Hydrocortisone and Desonide corticosteroids are two creams or ointments that have a good success rate at controlling moderate or lower cases of Eczema but cannot offer a long term treatment. The main method of eczema treatment is colonic cleansing via topical applications or medication to provide relief.
Eczema sufferers are usually warned about the problems of corticosteroid overuse and the skin problems that can be caused when it is applied to frequently. Research has shown that one of the reasons for Eczema could be the type of diet the sufferer has and any allergic reactions they may have to certain foodstuffs. Still in the early stages of research this could prove invaluable for those people whose Eczema is caused by an allergic reaction to certain foods. Foods that seem to fall into this allergy category are nuts, wheat, coffee, milk, cheese, butter, eggs and Soya although not every one of these will affect ever Eczema sufferer.
Other methods of treating Eczema also come in the form of Chinese Traditional Medicine and alternative therapy. However, if you use any of these methods you will need to inform your doctor. It would be fair to say that there are probably more treatments(Natural Treatment Guide) available for the treatment of Eczema with these therapies than with conventional medicine but there is still no guarantees of their efficacy. Eczema can mean that the problem areas of skin allow bacteria to infect the system; so antibiotics are used to help alleviate this problem as well as cure the condition.
Scratching by the sufferer not only introduces infection but spreads it from one area to another. Tender, often open skin which is infected this way will just take longer to heal unless the proper antibiotic is given quickly. A more recent form of Eczema treatment is the use of light, normally UVA but often UVB and Narrow band UVB can also help on occasion. This treatment may have a limited application owing to the destructive nature that UVA Ultraviolet light has on the skin by causing skin cancer. This article cannot possible explain every Eczema treatment available but has been written to give an idea of the main options available.
May 02 2008 11:27 am | Health