Atopic Dermatitis Treatment
The atopic dermatitis condition, also called eczema, mainly affects the skin. The condition ranges symptoms from person to person, and therefore the treatment can also vary from person to person. Several treatment approaches are used to treat atopic dermatitis. Although the condition affects people at any age, it mostly begins before age 5 (Ramos et al., 2020). It can periodically flare off or persist until adulthood or adolescence. Skincare is the best approach to treating atopic dermatitis conditions. There are different skincare routines that a patient can practice.
When using the home care approach to treat atopic dermatitis, an individual should avoid scratching the skin or the itchy parts. At times, patients feel itchy and have to scratch the itching parts. When they scratch these parts, they make the condition worse. The best way to relieve the itchiness is to use topical steroids or moisturizers (Ratchataswan et al., 2021). Some medications and steroids are designed to help relieve the itching and reduce severe itchiness that mainly occurs at night. Taking antihistamines help patients to avoid scratching themselves, which is one way to treat atopic dermatitis.
It is vital for patients with itching problems to keep their nails cut short to avoid hurting themselves when scratching (Frazier & Bhardwaj, 2020). When scratching, it is good to lubricate the area to make it oily to avoid deep scratches which might damage the skin. Keeping the skin humidified helps to avoid itchiness and helps the healing process.
Several substances can exacerbate the condition; therefore, it is important to avoid these substances when treating atopic dermatitis. For instance, substances that irritate, such as soaps and detergents. Substances such as makeup, cosmetics, lanolin, wool, and sprays or colognes have chemicals that irritate the skin leading to the urge to scratch the itchy parts. It is also important to avoid sweating caused by stress, anxiety, depression, or abrupt body temperature change (Frazier & Bhardwaj, 2020). Sweating releases chemicals irritating the skin, causing the itching effect, which is unsuitable for treating atopic dermatitis. Again, particular foods cause allergies when an individual consumes them. It is important to avoid taking foods that can cause skin allergies that can affect the condition. Also, some foods with acid, spices, and eggs must be avoided to avoid triggering the atopic dermatitis symptoms.
When taking a shower, keeping it short and avoiding too much water contact is advisable. Gentle body washes are advisable to avoid regular bath soaps that irritate. Scrubbing the skin is not advisable for a person with atopic dermatitis (Ratchataswan et al., 2021). Also, drying the skin for an extended period or doing it hard can affect the rashes causing complications in the healing or treatment process. Therefore the recommended way to take a bath is lukewarm bathing. However, after taking a shower, patients need to apply lubricant ointments while their skin is still damp to trap as much moisture as possible. It is also advisable to take bleach baths from the neck twice weekly to help fight bacteria-causing germs and infections (Frazier & Bhardwaj, 2020). The bleach has to be household bleach and not concentrated bleach.
Subsequently, apart from home skin care, the other approach is therapy. Wet wrap therapy involves various home skincare routines incorporated together into one routine. Patients must take at least three lukewarm baths daily (Ramos et al., 2020). After taking each bath, they have to apply the medications, such as topical medications and also apply moisturizers, and then wrap themselves with wet gauze. In medical treatment, skin care medications such as hydrocortisone cream are recommended to be used to reduce itching. The cream is applied twice a day after the patient is done moisturizing the affected area (Ratchataswan et al., 2021). The moisturizer is used before the cream to help the cream have a better effect and easily penetrate the skin. Other medications, such as oral antibiotics, can be prescribed by the doctor to help repair the skin damage and the cracks. They also help fight bacterial infection and the small bumps on the skin.
References
Frazier, W. T., & Bhardwaj, N. (2020). Atopic dermatitis: diagnosis and treatment. American family physician, 101(10), 590-598. Ramos Campos, E. V., Proença, P. L. D. F., Doretto-Silva, L., Andrade-Oliveira, V., Fraceto, L. F., & de Araujo, D. R. (2020). Trends in nanoformulations for atopic dermatitis treatment. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 17(11), 1615-1630. Ratchataswan, T., Banzon, T. M., Thyssen, J. P., Weidinger, S., Guttman-Yassky, E., & Phipatanakul, W. (2021). Biologics for treatment of atopic dermatitis: current status and future prospect. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 9(3), 1053-1065.