Hi mums and dads,
I'm a long time sufferer of eczema, which started when I was in my early twenties. It started out as a small red patch on my legs. Went to my family doctor, and he diagnosed it as eczema. Steroid cream was prescribed, and it solved the issue. But it soon spread to the rest of my body, and steroid cream isn't helping anymore. My doctor recommended me to change my regular shower foam to Cetaphil Well, the shower gel of Cetaphil looks disgusting.. Slimy gel with no lather. When I tries to change back to my regular shower foam, my skin became too dry and irritated. I have no choice but to stick with Cetaphil. Also, I have to apply moisturizer on my skin, and he told me to use Aqueous cream. The moisturizer does help to moisturize my skin to control flare-ups, but Aqueous dries too quickly, and I have to constantly apply it whole day long.
I experimented with various creams and moisturizers, but non can last for the whole day. Then my doctor recommended me to try Physiogel. Wow, it was good! It lasts the whole day without re-applying, and my skin felt moisturised all day long.
In recent years, I was receommeded by a fellow sufferer of eczema to try this cream. It's called Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream
http://www.aveeno.com/product/aveeno- eczema therapy moisturizing cream .do . I bought a tube to try, and it has totally changed my life! It is much better than Physiogel, and there are less eczema patches on my body!!! I'm also using the shower foam
http://www.aveeno.com/product/aveeno- daily moisturizing body wash.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn . And YES, the shower foam has lather unlike Cetaphil!!! Although there is lather, my skin doesn't feel dry.
For those who has a sudden flare-up of eczema, try the bleach bath. half a cup of regular bleach to a bathtub of water. Soak for 30 minutes, and then do your regular bath. Remember to apply moisturizers on your body after the bath, as bleach might irritate your skin. Do this every 3 days, and you'll realise that the flare-ups will be gone sooner.
For small patches, try using hydrocortisone cream which can be purchased from any pharmacies. Apply on the patches, not more than 2 weeks as it is a steroid cream.
For daily maintenance, I'd highly recommend Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream, and Aveeno Daily Moisturizng Body Wash. Sad to say, both this products are not available locally. I bought in bulk from US. Even for non-eczema sufferers, the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash can be used. I passed some bottles to my friends, and now they love using it!