There Are Still A Lot Of Unanswered Questions About Eczema
Moisturizers are a big part of the way eczema is treated, but until now they havent necessarily been used to prevent the problem. The evidence is still unclear as to how they actually help thwart the condition in a big part because the evidence is still unclear about what exactly causes atopic dermatitis in the first place and why individuals who have it are so likely to go on to develop allergies, hay fever and asthma.
The researchers suspect using moisturizers during infancy helps correct outer-layer skin defects in babies who will go on to develop eczema. Those defects are thought to play a role in how the condition actually develops, along with hereditary and environmental factors, too.
Whether or not preventing eczema would also prevent the allergies, hay fever and asthma that come along with it is yet another unsolved question. But theres a growing body of data that suggests that atopic dermatitis does in fact makes individuals more susceptible these comorbidities, which some doctors refer to as the atopic march.
Vaseline petroleum jelly is one of the moisturizers recommended for the treatment of eczema by the National Eczema Association, though not as a prophylactic treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends petroleum jelly as one of the top choice moisturizers for treating eczema, including atopic dermatitis, because its among the most moisturizing.
What Are Aquaphor And Vaseline
Heres a little history lesson on these products. Aquaphor is an over-the-counter ointment first developed by Beiersdorf Inc. Laboratories in the US during the 1920s. It is marketed as a treatment for minor cuts and scrapes, dry and cracked skin, chapped lips, as well as diaper rashes. Aquaphor comes in various product lines, ranging from body care to minor wound care products. Vaseline , on the other hand, is also an American brand known for their petroleum jelly-based products such as ointments, lip balms, lotions, and moisturizers to relieve dry skin. They have been in the industry for the past 150 years and have since been a skincare shelf staple.
Managing Atopic Dermatitis Requires A Multifaceted Approach
Think of maintaining healthy atopic dermatitis skin as supported by a three-legged stool that simultaneously requires attention toward limiting bacteria, causes of inflammation, and itching/scratching. If you cant manage, maintain, or fight any of these individual things, you can worsen an already impaired skin barrier, which then causes problems in the other two areas. It becomes a vicious cycle of discomfort, leading to that eruption of fiery inflammation.
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When Looking For The Best Eczema Cream To Keep Your Symptoms Under Control Keep These Dos And Donts In Mind
DO choose an eczema cream thats dermatologically tested. The best lotion or cream for eczema is one that has been reviewed by a doctor who specializes in the treatment of the skin, further supporting the efficacy and safety of the product.
Vaseline® Clinical Care Eczema Calming Therapy Cream is a cream that relieves itching and irritation due to Eczema. It is also approved by the National Eczema Association.
DONT choose a cream with fragrances. Sometimes creams can include compounds to make them smell better. Stay clear of these, as added fragrances can put you at risk for skin irritation.
DO read the ingredient label. Moisturizing ingredients, colloidal oatmeal and shea butter to name a few, will leave your skin smoother and prevent further dryness. Whats more, be sure to lather up within three minutes of taking a shower so you can effectively lock in the water your skin needs.*
DO make certain it can be used on any part of the body. Vaseline® products are versatile enough to be used on the hands, feet, and body. Having these product options can make it easier to treat the areas you need.
Vaseline Eczema Calming Therapy Cream
Disclaimer: Product complimentary from Topbox Circle for review purposes. Views expressed are honest and of my own.
Vaseline is one of those brands that one can depend on. For me, the Vaseline brand never fails me, from helping heal cuts and burns to keeping chapped lips moisturized. They have come a long way of simply just being a Petroleum Jelly brand. Did you know they have a range of moisturizing products that help replenish your skin? Ive tried their Intensive Care line before and I love how it made my skin feel and I know their Clinical Care line will be just as effectively moisturizing.
Vaseline Clinical Care Eczema Calming Therapy Cream with Colloidal Oatmeal Skin Protectant provides instant relief for dry, itchy, irritating, eczema prone skin. It is formulated with unique Barrier Restore Complex to help strengthen skins moisture barrier. This effective moisturizer is unscented and is suitable for dry and sensitive skin.
How to Use:Apply generously and massage cream onto dry, cracked, chafed skin and problem areas twice daily or as often as needed for instant relief and long-lasting hydration.
I dont suffer from eczema but my skin does take its toll during the winter months, such that its dry and can lead to itchiness if its not properly moisturized. That said, I practically lather myself in creams and lotions to prevent my skin from being irritating.
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Wrap It Up: Skin Strategies For Little Kids
Parents have seen that when it comes to babies skin, the diaper area tends to be the smoothest and most hydrated. When it comes to babies with atopic dermatitis, more often than not, we often see that their skin can be the best in the diaper area. If we could diaper the whole body, then kids suffering with atopic dermatitis would do really well. But since we cant diaper the whole body, what we need to do is come up with other ways to compensate by providing a physical barrier for that inherently impaired atopic dermatitis skin.
Everybody has to try different things and decide what works for them, but I like plastic wrap for focal rashes. I dont suggest securing the wrap onto the skin with tape because a lot of kids can develop allergies to the adhesive in tape itself. In order to conceal the plastic wrap and make the look more fun for kids, covering the wrap with colorful duct tape sold at hardware stores helps disguise the weird-looking wrap, possibly creating something kids might be willing to wear to school.
Can Vaseline Or Aquaphor Make Eczema Worse
Sometimes I get questions about if vaseline makes eczema worse. I will tell you from personal experience that it did not. It was actually very helpful. I will use Vaseline or Aquaphor after bath time to lock in the moisture and then use a moisturizer. I personally did not have issues with Aquphor, but because it contains lanolin, it MAY cause some skin sensitivity. Its always important to do a patch test .
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Natural And Organic Options + Product Costs
For those who are worried about impurities in petroleum , or the environmental impact of using petroleum products, there are products like Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly. California Baby products are popular, as are a few other products that bill themselves as being organic and all natural.
However, for severely atopic and allergic patients, make sure that there are no allergies or sensitivities to the plant derivatives that are in some of these natural or organic products. Also keep in mind that such patients are at increased risk of developing new plant allergies from these products. Remember, poison ivy is all natural, too. These all natural products can also be more expensive, at an approximate cost of $7 per ounce as compared to a petroleum product at about 35 cents per ounce.
More expensive creams arent necessarily better. I say, save the money for college or a vacation!
Finding The Right Ointments/occlusives In A Sea Of Selections
There are many products designed to maintain skin moisture and it can be overwhelming to choose. Every now and then, I cruise through the pharmacy aisles, just to see the options for patients. The truly hypoallergenic products are not always organized together.
To help make the process a little less daunting, I recommend a few products that can help.
My favorite thing to talk about is actually vegetable shortening because most people dont think about using it to help their skin and its really inexpensive. If you think about what all these barrier compensation creams or ointments do, its to help seal the water into your skin once its already wet from the bath or the shower. Vegetable shortening does the same thing. If you have a lot of food allergies, however, make sure youre not allergic to the vegetable ingredients that the oil is derived from, because we cant speak to how well its purified.
Dermatologists also recommend petroleum jelly a lot because it is generally well tolerated, even for patients who are truly sensitive and for whom many products sting. Of course, petroleum jelly can be tricky in that its heavy, sticky, and can get onto furniture and clothing. So while smearing petroleum jelly all over the body can be particularly messy, I encourage applying it on what I call your hot spots, places on the body where the fire tends to recur, because those patches of skin are going to be the most sensitive to chemical irritants and other ingredients.
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Best For Families: Vaseline All Over Balm
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Easy to apply to targeted areas
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Travel-friendly
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No need to rub in
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Can feel greasy on skin
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Difficult to use the whole balm stick
Dr. Saedi is a huge fan of Vaseline products, specifically endorsing Vaseline All Over Balm as an effective eczema family treatment. It is great for local areas because the petroleum jelly creates a great barrier to lock in the moisture, she points out. Your average petroleum jelly can be messyespecially with kidsmaking it difficult to target specific areas. Thats why I love the balm stick, she maintains.
Active Ingredients: Petroleum | Uses: Targeted protective barrier to lock in moisture
Is Petroleum Jelly A Good Treatment For Eczema
The main ingredient of petroleum jelly is petroleum, which creates a protective barrier that helps your skin to retain moisture and heal. Petroleum jelly is hypoallergenic and has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antifungal properties, making it a viable option to prevent and manage eczema symptoms.
Eczema can cause broken skin, making it easier for irritants, allergens, and microbes to penetrate your skin barrier. This leaves your skin vulnerable to irritation, allergic reactions, and infection.
Petroleum jelly strengthens and repairs your skin barrier, which improves skin texture and appearance. Its thick consistency protects your skin and seals in moisture.
Moisturized skin also prevents scab formation, which speeds up wound healing. Plus, it may reduce itchiness, which can help you to scratch less.
Petroleum jelly is well tolerated and works well for sensitive skin, which makes it an ideal treatment for eczema flare-ups. Unlike some products that can sting and cause discomfort, petroleum jelly has moisturizing and soothing properties that alleviate irritation, redness, and discomfort.
To prevent eczema flare-ups, you must keep your skin moisturized.
According to a 2017 study, daily full-body use of a moisturizer such as petroleum jelly can help prevent atopic dermatitis flare-ups. In the study, petroleum jelly was applied to newborn babies daily for 6 months. It proved to be the most cost-effective moisturizer of the seven products studied.
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Acting As A Skin Barrier
The skin does not easily absorb petroleum jelly. This means that it is not really a moisturizer, but a barrier that can keep dirt out and prevent moisture loss.
People can try applying it to irritated skin before spending time outside in cold, dry, windy air. People with a cold may apply it under their nose to prevent irritation due to a runny nose or frequent nose-wiping.
No Matter Where You Have Eczema
Theres a universal rule for atopic dermatitis in any location: Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! When you have eczema, your skin barrier is damaged, leaving skin drier and more vulnerable to baddies like allergens and irritants. Frequent hydrating can reinforce the barrier, helping to prevent moisture loss and decrease itchiness, says Marisa Garshick, M.D., a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
A thick ointment can help repair skin on any body part and also protect against external factors, says Dr. Garshick. Slick it on right after showering, when skin is slightly damp, so it will penetrate deeply. And dont skimp! More = smoother skin and, ideally, fewer future flares. Hence, feel free to use such an ointment anytime, even when youre not in the middle of an episode.
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Moisturizers And Eczema: More Than A Treatment
Insights from Steve Xu MD, MSc
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis , is a common inflammatory skin disease with the hallmark of itchy, red, and “angry” skin. It’s the most common skin disease we see in babies and newborns. Babies with a first-degree relative who has a history of AD, asthma, or hay fever are at even higher risk of developing AD.
Anyone who has a child or a close relative with AD knows how tough the condition can be. The itch can keep babies – and everyone else – up at night. Creams and lotions are slathered on multiple times per day. There is an increased risk of potentially serious infections such as eczema herpeticum that may even require a hospitalization.
Moisturizers have long played an important role in the treatment of AD. The American Academy of Dermatology gives moisturizers a Grade A recommendation – they should be a major part of any treatment regimen for AD patients, since they reduce the severity of the disease and decrease the need for prescription drugs.
We know that AD is a complex disease that is driven by many factors. This includes genes that relate to skin barrier function, immune system development, environmental factors, and bacterial colonization. Babies aren’t born with eczema. So if we can intervene before AD even starts, this would reduce suffering worldwide and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs.
The Great Vaseline Debate
Petroleum jelly is a common item found in the medicine cabinet, and for good reason. The product is gentle, hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic and is commonly used to protect minor cuts, scrapes, and burns and to protect skin from windburn and chapping. Most people know petroleum jelly by the brand name Vaseline.
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Vaseline works by creating a sealing barrier between cells, locking in moisture which helps to speed up your skins natural recovery from dryness. For people that suffer from dry skin, irritation, minor cuts, chapped lips, diaper rash, or eczema, Vaseline is likely to bring relief. However, Vaseline has gotten some bad press over the years and I know a number of people avoid using it. Which brings me to the great Vaseline debate!
Why The Debate?
Vaseline is a byproduct of the oil industry. During the refinery of crude oil, the leftover residue is purified and turned into petroleum jelly. Given that this is a byproduct of the oil industry, it is considered to be not eco-friendly. The concern is that it is not a sustainable resource and therefore not good for the planet. Non-Surgical Nose Job
My Opinion
Is there anything I can use instead?
As we become more and more educated about eco-friendly products and gain a better understanding of clean skincare I get many questions about product replacements.
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An Increased Itch Factor
People with atopic dermatitis skin are fundamentally more physically sensitive to sensations and itch. Over the years, publications have shown that with atopic dermatitis, you may have increased proteins that signal for itch and increased nerve endings that help pick up the itch sensation and transmit that sensation to your brain.
Keep Dermatitis Symptoms Under Control With Vaseline
The Vaseline is a best cream or lotion for dermatitis, which is the one that has been reviewed and tested by a doctor who experts in the skin treatment, further helping the safety as well as efficiency of a product as well.
Usually, Vaseline on the face helps with dermatitis that occur any parts of the body. Unlike any other kinds of petroleum jelly, Vaseline is completely safe to use on your skin and hands as well. Even it is a most favourite choice for someone as a moisturizer.
It can also support to soothe the dry skin, particularly handy for the thin skin on your eyelids. People with sensitive skin can also make use of Vaseline on their face and hands without any hassle.
Overall, Vaseline used on several occasions can keep your skin well-moisturized. It is also a most essential substance that found its path from oil fields to medicine cabinets, so people still title it as a cure-all substance.
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How To Use Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly is the ultimate multi-use product. It’s great for sensitive skin, says Kim, because it doesn’t require many “additives/chemicals/potential-irritants to formulate.” This means that pure petroleum jelly is very simple and typically lacking things like fragrance and essential oils that can cause redness and breakouts in some. It can be applied directly to the skin or incorporated as an occlusive ingredient in moisturizers, lotions, and other hydrating products. There’s no real limit to how often you can apply petroleum jelly it can be used as needed or on a daily basis, with some notable exceptions .
“Petroleum jelly is often how ointments are formulated, and ointments are used as effective delivery systems of active ingredients for various conditions,” Kim explains. She cautions against using plain petroleum jelly on open or infected wounds. But that doesn’t mean you need to avoid the ingredient when you’re injured: “For open wounds, you should be applying an antibiotic active ingredient that is delivered via the vehicle of an ointment, but not just petroleum jelly alone.” Basically, look for an ointment like Neosporin that includes petroleum jelly alongside antibiotic ingredients, rather than slathering on raw Vaseline.