ECZEMA FLARES IN THE SUMMER

When you’re having trouble with your skin, it can seem like there’s never an end to battling the symptoms you’re experiencing. Eczema is one of these bothersome skin issues that can cause pain and aggravation as you learn to navigate the ways in which to combat it and the ways in which to live with it. If you’ve experienced red, itchy, dry patches of skin, you may have eczema, which is also known as atopic dermatitis. This red and itchy skin is most common in children but it can also occur in adulthood. Token symptoms include dry or itchy skin that seems worse at night, as well as, patches of small bumps on various parts of the body like the hands, elbows, neck, chest, face, and scalp. Your skin may crack, leak or become scabby or scaly. For many children, eczema is generally a chronic condition, meaning it will last throughout your life, flaring up at different times. It can vary from a few spots to a head to toe breakout. You can be clear of it for certain stages of life and then it can return. It can be painful and hard to treat. A connection with food allergies has been studied, as well as, a look at a family history of asthma or hay fever. One of the most common times for eczema to flare-up is during the summer months when raw, sensitive skin can be further aggravated by warm weather activities and the summer sun. Here’s a look at why eczema flares in the summer and the best way to treat it.

SUMMER FLARE-UPS

You can experience eczema flare-ups during any time of the year, especially when the seasons change from one to the other, cool to hot, hot to cool, cool to cold or cold to cool. But many people experience a worsening of their eczema symptoms during the summer months when the weather is hot and scenarios allow for a ton of perspiration from your sweat glands. Human sweat is composed of many elements that help to cool off your body. When you sweat, you release water, salts, and sugars. These can be irritating to your skin and cause your eczema to be itchy and bothersome. If you’re sitting or lying down, you allow this sweat to pile up on your skin which can also make your symptoms worse. Sweat isn’t the only reason to blame for flare-ups. There’s also the heat itself which can aggravate symptoms—especially when the weather is humid. The humidity can cause eczema to be unpredictable in how it normally shows up. Food allergies and seasonal allergies, like hay-fever or pollen, can cause symptoms to flare-up as well as your body’s anti-inflammatory system is triggered. The use of sunscreen and bug spray is also to blame for unwanted flare-ups. They both contain chemical ingredients which can cause your eczema to worsen. Stressful times and situations can also trigger eczema symptoms to become worse. If this sounds just like you, rest assured there is something you can do to help alleviate the painful symptoms that come from eczema in the summer months.


HOW TO HELP YOUR ECZEMA SYMPTOMS

According to the National Eczema Association, there are many techniques you can try in the summer months to help keep eczema flare-ups at bay. They suggest trying things like drinking plenty of water, using cool towels and gels, showering after swimming and applying a moisturizer and wearing loose-fitting clothing, changing a few times of day if needed. There are also two big ways to help combat your symptoms and handle your eczema during the summer months. Here’s how.


1. Reduce Inflammation. Inflammation is the red effect you notice when you cut or scrape your leg. It means the body is healing. But inflammation of eczema is being studied to find out what role it plays in eczema itself. One thing being looked at is that by reducing inflammation in the body (through diet and exercise), you may also reduce the eczema symptoms that you’re experiencing. The link between inflammations due to an underlying issue inside the body is constantly being studied when it comes to eczema and other skin conditions. What is known is that we must reduce the inflammation to get a handle on eczema symptoms, especially in the summer months.


2. Build the skin barrier. Another way to help fight the symptoms of eczema is to protect and literally, build up the skin barrier. Your skin barrier is a precious part of your body. It’s made up of proteins, fatty acids, cholesterol and special lipid molecules called ceramides. The molecules work together to form a skin barrier so that harmful things like bacteria or allergens aren’t allowed to come through. With eczema, the inflammatory factors attack the skin cells which produce all the necessary components for the skin barrier and therefore, the skin barrier could not get enough materials to make it resilient. A leaky skin barrier is more permeable for unwanted allergens to pass by and cause further inflammation, constituting a vicious cycle.  Most of the barrier repair products on the market utilize a paint to hide approach (like when we paint over the cracks on a wall), they add ceramides, as well as, some hydrolyzed proteins in the products to alleviate the leakiness of the skin barrier. This approach, even though effective to some extent, does not fix or prevent the problems as the molecules have to be interwoven to form the barrier and many of the proteins including filaggrin cannot be manufactured in the factory. To truly repair skin barrier, the skin cells have to be activated to produce the necessary proteins and lipids to fill in the cracks.



ILLUMINE OIL: JUST WHAT YOU NEED

If you’re battling the symptoms of eczema, you want to look for a treatment that keeps your skin hydrated while also not causing your eczema symptoms to flare-up or worsen. Thankfully, there is something we can do to help. DermYoung has a specially formulated oil called Illumine Oil that is gentle enough to use on the sensitive skin every day while powerful enough to treat many common skin ailments. DermYoung’s I-Genesis Illuminè Oil is a high-performance multi-benefit face and neck oil that not only provides ingredients that help reduce inflammation and boost the skin barrier, it also contains a special formulation that makes the oil age-defiant, as well as, treats against dark spots and melasma. It’s really a superpower in skin treatments. The power of treating eczema, however, lies within its anti-inflammatory and skin barrier building properties. DermYoung’s proprietary blend of natural extract helps to soothe inflammation and promote a formation of a resilient skin barrier. It’s super easy to use as well. You’ll simply apply to your fingertips and massage on cleansed and toned facial skin twice daily. In addition, it helps to erase the sun damage you may get from summer sun! What’s not to love about that! Get started today, your skin is thirsting for it. It might be just what you’re looking for this year to battle those symptoms of eczema and finally conquer the summer sun, once and for all.

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