Treatment Strategies for Young Eczema Patients

There are a number of treatment strategies for young eczema patients. One of the oldest is coal tar cream. Tar is often used to give patients a rest from topical steroids or else used as an occasional addition to the treatment. Tar is safe to use on young patients but is most effective for small patches of skin and can only be used for one week once a month (but daily during that week).

Newer non-steroid treatments are becoming available and these could very well cut down on the old standby of tar cream. In cases where patients suffer from chronic atopic dermatitis for example, LCD 5 to 10 percent in hydrophilic petrolatum has been shown to be very effective.

Emollient treatments are safe and effective and are to be found in creams, lotions and ointments. These products are meant to moisturize and nourish the skin. To be of the greatest benefit, these products should be applied anywhere from two to four times per day to hydrate and protect the skin from further damage.

Some of the most popular emollients on the market include Aqueous Cream (UEA), Diprobase or Lipobase with Cetomacrogol, Emulsifying Ointment (HEB), Epaderm, Oilatum Cream and White Soft Paraffin. Thickened eczema prone skin often responds well to emollients. Oilatum Plus works even better than Oilatum Cream when used as an emollient in the bathtub. Two other excellent choices for emollients include Aveeno and Balneum. The former is made of oatmeal and is meant to soothe itchy dry skin while the latter is soya oil based.

Corticosteroids in the form of cortisone or steroid creams are excellent to be used for those periods when eczema flares up and is at its very worst. Steroid creams are only meant for short spans of use. However, they can be used for more lengthy periods if they are first diluted in one form of emollient or another.

The risk you run with long-term use of steroid creams on eczema is that it will thin the skin and eventually cause it to age quicker. There are newer and more advanced kinds of steroids treatments that are proving safer that the type traditionally used in the past. It is extremely rare that cortisone injections or tablets are ever used for patients suffering from eczema.

There are antihistamines that are safe to use for milder forms of eczema and they have been proven to effectively bring down the redness and inflammation of swollen eczema skin. For example, the long acting Cetirizine is one of the few today that can be used for extended spans of time without any adverse side effects.

Another popular over-the-counter antihistamine is Benadryl, which is also beneficial for a variety of allergic reactions. One of the oldest types of antihistamines around, Piriton, can be purchased in either syrup or tablet form. Piriton is especially good to be used at night because it makes a person drowsy but it also is very good at halting the desire to itch.

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