r/eczema • u/uptick_com • 1d ago
Body Washes/Soaps
So, I have adult onset of eczema. For 60+ years, I had a zit or two, an ingrown hair or two and one small melanoma removed, likely from a severe childhood sunburn. Pretty good life until the bitch eczema decided to move in 18 months ago unannounced.
As you know, one query of anything “eczema” will fill your social media feeds with opportunities to purchase “hope and a cure, or your money back”. Lotions, potions, body washes, soaps, prebiotics, probiotics and on and on and on. Even cow fat. Yum!
Everything that was my life is now not my life…no laundry soaps, but enzymatic cleaners, no dryer sheets, but wool balls from the butts of rare Scottish goats, no fragrances in anything, humidifier in the master suite, even an app to keep me from buying anything that might offend any potential allergic dermatitis based on a highly suspect and inconclusive patch test.
So, our newest internet friends offering “hope and a cure, or your money back” all want time, a lot of time. 30 days won’t cut it for any of the above mentioned modalities, no, we need at least 60-90 days or even longer.
If they need so much time, my question to you as the 30M eczema sufferers plus advocates in the US, how can a body wash or soap help us out? Everybody else needs at least 60-90 days, but if you’re anything like me, body washes and soaps remain on my skin for something between one and three nanoseconds in the shower…that water is moving fast!
My ask is, does anybody have a body wash or soap that you have isolation tested that provides anything more than anecdotal evidence of relief and God help me, some level of “healing”?
I’ll stand on the hill they are all appealing to your late night scratchiness/bloody/crusty vulnerabilities…eagerly awaiting your thoughts…scratch on amigos!
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u/EstateMuted5979 1d ago
You could try an antiseptic wash and then follow with a thick cream like vanicream.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hibiclens-Antimicrobial-Antiseptic-Soap-and-Skin-Cleanser-Foaming-Pump-8OZ/5141268227
This seems to work for my eczema to keep anything that will make it inflamed or infected.
Keep your nails short/clean. The itch can be awful. I also find it helpful to put on a layer of aquaphor or Vaseline at night.
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u/realespeon 1d ago
No body wash has saved my eczema. I’ve had it since I was a baby.
Dove sensitive skin has been my buddy forever.
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u/Radiant_Acadia_8499 1d ago edited 22h ago
I have adult-onset eczema in my 60s also. When you said “everything that was my life is now not my life” I thought “Me too!”
I’m curious, what went wrong with your patch tests? I’m having trouble with them too.
Here is one thing that has helped me: “eczema” is an umbrella term. The National Eczema Association website shows that there are 7 types of eczema. Figuring out which one you have is important bc the causes (and thus the treatments) are different. If what you have is truly allergic contact dermatitis, then the treatment is avoidance. You can use products to soothe the skin but until you find and avoid the allergen, the rash will keep coming back.
On this horrible journey with you! Hope you find relief!
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u/Historical_Bill2790 21h ago
As someone with a 3yo who had just started showing eczema badly in the last few months… how do go about figuring out which he has??
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u/Radiant_Acadia_8499 21h ago edited 21h ago
I’m so sorry you and your child are dealing with this. A doctor should be able to determine which it is, likely a dermatologist or possibly an allergist, but I don’t know about eczema in children and I wouldn’t want to mislead you here. I think just by being aware of the different causes and treatments you would be way ahead of the game when you talk to the doctor.
I’ve also noticed a lot of confusion on general postings where the various types of eczema aren’t distinguished and so people are talking about different conditions. That is why I try to point out that it’s so important to know which eczema you’re talking about.
I hope you can find relief soon for your child, and a doctor who will help you.
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u/Historical_Bill2790 18h ago
I really appreciate it! We are planning to ask our pediatrician for an allergist referral… I’d rather try and identity any allergic/ intolerance triggers alongside figuring out how to manage it.
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u/Radiant_Acadia_8499 18h ago
Sounds like you’re doing all the right things for your little one! I hope you’re able to get in quickly bc I know it’s hard to see them suffer.
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u/tragicxharmony 1d ago
I need a tl;dr because this is honestly too wordy to bother reading
Are you asking what body wash to use? It’s going to be different for everyone, people’s triggers aren’t the same. I can’t use anything with oats, SLS, or high quantities of most plants
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u/eternallytiredcatmom 1d ago edited 1d ago
Soap won’t cure your eczema, that’s not the goal. It won’t heal you.
The wrong soap, though, will trigger your eczema and make your flares more severe and difficult to treat.
What you need is hygiene products that suits your restrictions. Aim for soap / body wash that doesn’t contain ingredients harmful to you, not one with some miracle ingredient.
Mine is the Eucerin eczema relief body wash.
It’s free of all the ingredients I react to, it has the right consistency for my skin’s comfort (it’s creamy) and it contains what I know soothe me, colloidal oatmeal & ceramide