Skin care tips for extremely dry eczema prone skin

Dry skin can sometimes feel like a curse. It is especially more noticeable on dark skin. Like people who suffer from dandruff, dry skin can also flake and leave a white trail of dead skin in your wake. It can lower your self confidence and leave you feeling self conscious.

There are a whole bunch of products on drug store shelves and in beauty supply stores that are meant to be for very dry skin. From lotions, to oils to thick creams, these products are touted as miracle cures that will banish your dry skin issues for life. Before condemning their claims to be false utterances, it is worth pointing out that these creams can only be effective if the cause of your dry skin has been identified. In this post, I’d like to address dry eczema prone skin.

Skin that breaks out in eczema is usually very dry, flaky and more annoyingly itchy. The staple GP (General practitioner doctor) response is to recommend or prescribe emollients. The most common choices are Aveeno lotions and Oilatum. Oilatum contains liquid paraffin while Aveeno contains oat extracts that are meant to be soothing for dry skin. After using these products for a few weeks, it is not uncommon for the condition to remain the same.

When this happens the next option is for the doctor to prescribe a strong steroid cream to obliterate the eczema. Steroid creams thin the skin out so should only be used for a very short time. So what are you meant to do if the eczema returns? Surely repeating the cycle of steroids can not be a long term solution to your problem. Well I’ve got a suggestion that may come in helpful.

Eczema may be caused by an intolerance to milk protein. A lot of babies that are allergic to milk suffer from the same problem. It has nothing to do with the skin not producing enough sebum, which is your body’s natural oils. You’re body is protesting against the introduction of a product we can’t tolerate. Whether the body’s reaction is an over reaction or not, we are left with patches of eczema. If you have been through the cycle of trying emollients followed by steroid creams, then try going down the dairy free route for at least a month and see if you experience a reduction in your symptoms.

It may not be an easy option but it may just be what your body wants. Cut out milk, cream, coffee creamer, and cheese and notice how your eczema disappears. The truth is we humans have become too clever for our own good. No other animal consumes the milk of another animal. Animals feed their young on it’s mother’s milk until it is weaned and that is it. On the other hand humans continue consuming milk products because of the calcium in it. Or so we claim. But it isn’t necessary to consume milk or milk products in order to get an adequate amount of calcium in one’s diet. Vegetables like broccoli contain calcium and so do sardine bones just to name a couple of examples. If our diet wasn’t so processed and more along paleo lines, using milk as a source of calcium wouldn’t be an option. So if you struggle with the thought of not eating milk derived products for a month, consider what benefits this will have on your health now and in the future.