Pharmacist

Moisturizers

This will hydrate the skin.

The more moisture the skin can retain, the better. Not only does moisturizers increase the water content of the skin, they also act as a barrier against moisture loss.

Make sure you choose one that is free of perfumes, additives or fragrances. Apply as often as you feel you need it. Your goal is to keep the skin moist all the time.

Cream, ointment or lotion. Which should you choose?

Well, the ointment lasts longer on the skin but is more greasy.

The cream vanishes into the skin, less greasy, but not as long lasting as the ointment.

Lotion spread easily, but comes last in terms of duration.

Our best advice is to use what you prefer. Keep cream with you everywhere you go, ointment for legs, cream or lotion for the hands since you can easily reapply on the hand anywhere you are.

Bathing practices

A warm bath at least once a day for 10 minutes. Use a neutral or low pH non-soap cleanser. Make sure it is fragrance-free and hypoallergenic.

Moisturize immediately after bathing.

Cortizone

Hydrocortisone 1% is the strongest over-the-counter steroid you can use for inflammation and itch.

Use this once a while to prevent flare-ups.

Make sure you don't rub this to a large skin area.

Wet-wrap therapy

You will use wet-wrap therapy to quickly reduce flares in areas of red, hot, weeping eczema. 

To use a wet wrap, first moisturize your skin after bathing, get wet bandages, wrap around the skin.
Then wrap a layer of dry bandages over the wet bandages and secure it.

What this does is to increase penetration of the moisturizer, makes sure you don't scratch the area, reduce the loss of water from your skin and makes the skin heal quicker.