ALLERGY\MEDICAL HELP: EMOLLIENTS AND MOISTURISERS
Emollients and moisturisers are used in a variety of ways to help relieve the distress of eczema and dermatitis. Their main functions are both to soothe the skin and to protect it against things touching or entering.
It is possible to become sensitive to creams and ointments used in this way, which can aggravate the condition. Sensitivity is moreover highly personal – one person will tolerate one product but not another – so it is difficult to give general advice about what to use, or how and when.
Aqueous cream is used for moisturising and soothing. It is not occlusive, i.e. it does not shut out or prevent anything entering or touching the affected site. ‘Simple aqueous cream’ contains only phe-noxyethanol held in boiled and cooled purified water: ask a pharmacist for this. Some aqueous creams contain wool fat, including lanolin, and preservatives which cause some people to react. These may suit you but Patch Test (>CHEMICALS for method) before widespread use.
Occlusive ointments usually have a greasy ingredient, such as soft paraffin, to put a film over the affected skin and protect it. Some such as Unguentum Merck wash off readily in water.
Some creams and ointments come in combinations of emollient and moisturiser, and some can be used in the bath to soothe.
The National Eczema Society offers an excellent advisory service for choosing emollients and moisturisers, together with a computerised database of product ingredients, if you know you react to a specific chemical. Their address and telephone number are in CHARITIES.
Ultraviolet light treatment can also help eczema, as can a stay at the seaside. Trials are under way of therapy with evening primrose oil, and of traditional Chinese herbal remedies which have shown results in some people with eczema.
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