Wet Cloth Treatment For Eczema

The other day I read that applying a wet cloth to your eczema sections could help reduce the hot, itchy feeling.

Now, at first, I was kind of shocked because water typically causes eczema to itch. Whenever I get my skin wet (other than showers, swimming, or any instance where my whole body is emerged in water) my skin gets even itchier than it originally was to begin with. For example, washing dishes causes my hands to itch uncontrollably. Another example, if it is raining outside and the water droplets land on my skin, it causes unnecessary itching. So you can see why I lifted an eyebrow when reading this. 

A Personal Experience With The Wet Cloth

As I was reading, I took a second to think about a spot I could test it on. Recently, the tops of my hands and my whole wrists have been breaking out pretty badly and have been itching 24/7, so that was my answer. Thus, I went and grabbed a wash cloth and soaked it with cold water and rung it out so the cloth was cool and damp. I then placed it over my hands and wrists for a couple minutes. 

The feeling while the cloth was on felt relieving. The itching disappeared and the hot sensation had gone away. The cool cloth numbs your nerve endings so you don't feel the pain / itchiness / hot feelings.

When I took it off, I tapped it dry and instantly applied a moisturizer. The coolness remained, however, the itchiness did not fully go away. I was still trying to scratch spots here and there, but I feel that the after effect was still worth it. I say that because there was no pain afterwards and my hands were no longer feeling warm. 

Focus On Treating One Symptom At A Time

In order to control eczema, you have to treat what you can. You may not be able to treat all the symptoms, but eliminating some here and there is what counts and is what helps. In this case, we were able to control and rid of the pain and warm feelings. The one thing that was uncontrollable was the itching. Two out of three is not bad. And whose to say that  this would not eliminate all three symptoms for someone else. 

Give it a try! Worst that could happen is that it doesn't help any of the symptoms. But at least you will know that. Remember, failure is success. 

An Alternative Treatment For Eczema

Also, if you are trying to really numb the itching, grab something out of the freezer or buy an ice pack. I use to hold an ice pack on my arms when I was laying down trying to sleep or when it is hot outside and I begin to sweat, I use cold objects from the freezer to help keep my body temperature down, as well as numb spots that are itching.