Treatment for Eczema Flare-Ups: Tips and Strategies for Parents
image via shutterstock
I never thought I would be a mother of 4 children with eczema, but here I am, 10 years into this atopic dermatitis journey and I can confidently say it has gotten easier through the years.
My oldest who just turned 10 had very dry skin coming out of utero, and I was so confused because I thought all babies had that soft skin! Wrong. Not all babies are lucky enough. 😒 Unfortunately, it was the same for the next 3 kids. They have woken up with bloody sheets, open and raw skin, and have cried lots of tears because of how irritated and painful their skin was.
All 4 of my children have seasonal and food allergies as well as eczema. Depending on the time of year, food consumption, and contact with certain materials, my kids will have eczema flare-ups. This is our tried and true process for managing the flare-ups.
Step 1: Clean the Area
Step 2: Apply ointments, moisturizer, and emollients
Step 3: Wet-wrap
Wet-wrapping helps heal the skin faster and we see such a difference even within half a day. What is wet-wrapping? Wet-wrapping helps keep the skin hydrated and helps retain the moisturizer and ointments applied to the skin so they can work more efficiently. You soak wraps (this can be cut up old clothing, socks, etc), apply ointments and moisturizer, apply the wraps, and then cover with dry wraps, and put on clothing.
For a more detailed breakdown, go to the National Eczema Association here.
Now onto the detailed breakdown of our routine for wet-wrapping!
Step 1: Clean the Area
If during the day, clean the area with soap and water, then pat dry with a towel. DON’T RUB the skin with a towel as this can irritate it more. At night, my kids will shower or take a bath, and then when they’re done, pat dry their skin (not rub). While your child is bathing, soak the wet wraps.
Step 2: Apply ointments, moisturizer, and emollient.
image via Target
Depending on the severity of the flare-up, we rotate through different ointments. We have prescription steroid ointments (hydrocortisone, triamcinolone, desonide, tacrolimus, betamethasone). Please consult with your dermatologist before giving anything to your child, I am very particular about how long my kids are on the steroid ointments, and I don’t like to give them unless their skin absolutely needs it.
We LOVE La Roche Posay products. And Cicaplast is one of my favs. This is a great non-steroid option to use when wet wrapping.
Apply lotion and an emollient to seal it all in.
image via Amazon | https://a.co/d/34uE9zA
image via Amazon | https://a.co/d/2kC9ERg
I subscribe to these 2 items on Amazon because we go through them quite often: VaniCream and Aquaphor. I also love La Roche Posay Lipikar Eczema in place of the VaniCream!
Step 3: Wet-Wrap
image via Amazon | https://a.co/d/iNlc3pH
We have cut up old leggings, socks, and shirts and bought a handful of products over the years, but these Soothems are my favorite to date. We use socks, too, a lot at the moment because that’s a hot spot for my youngest.
Squeeze out the excess water from the wraps, and leave them a bit damp. Cover the hot spot with the wrap, and then cover with a dry wrap. If using socks, just put another dry sock over the wet one.
We continue to wet-wrap the area until the skin is healed so we will wet-wrap during the day, too. If your kids go to school, I’d send them in with it, and tell them to take it off after a few hours, and then wet-wrap again when they come home. You want to be on top of the wet-wrapping so the skin can heal faster.
My last bonus tip: if you have FSA/HSA, use it to buy all these products! My HSA covered most of these. 🙌🏽
I hope this information was helpful! Please send me any questions you may have! I’d love to offer insight into our eczema journey. I intend to write another blog on Dupixent and how that has been LIFE-CHANGING for our family.
