Treatments can include:
- Skin care that helps heal the skin and keep it healthy.
- Avoiding triggers (things that cause an allergic reaction).
- Medications:
- Skin creams or ointments that control swelling and lower allergic reactions.
- Topical corticosteroids.
- Antibiotics to treat infections caused by bacteria.
- Antihistamines that make people sleepy to help stop nighttime scratching.
- Drugs that suppress the immune system.
- Light therapy.
Varieties of treatment are available:
- Topical Therapies are available in different forms. Topical treatment includes products that can be applied directly to your skin.
- Ointments: most common types of moisturizers used to treat eczema; tend to have more oil than water and are usually more thick and greasy.
- Creams: a mixture of oil and water; usually looks white and smooth
- Solutions: more liquid form; feels like waterLotions: thicker than a solution
- Topical corticosteroids (TCS) are anti-inflammatory medications that are used on the rash areas of the skin (the red and inflamed areas of the skin, not just dry areas). TCS come in different strengths. Some are stronger than others. Low dose TCS can be bought over the counter. Higher potency TCS require prescriptions from a provider.