Diagnosis To determine if you have atopic dermatitis, your healthcare provider will probably discuss your symptoms, check your skin, and go over your medical history. They might also perform tests to find out if you have allergies and to make sure it’s not another skin condition.
Treatment Treating atopic dermatitis can begin with regular moisturizing and adopting self-care practices. If these methods don’t work, your healthcare provider may recommend medicated creams that alleviate itching and aid in skin repair. These treatments are occasionally used in combination with other approaches, such as skin care for rosacea or an acne skin care routine.
Atopic dermatitis can be persistent, meaning it might stick around for a while. You may need to experiment with different treatments over months or even years to keep it under control. And even if the treatment works initially, symptoms may come back (flare-ups).
There are many choices to help stop itching and fix your skin, including options available in different strengths as creams, gels, and ointments. Talk to your healthcare provider about what might work best for you, particularly concerning skin care during menopause. Whatever you choose, use it as the instructions say (usually twice a day) before you put on moisturizer. Be careful not to use too much of a skin product with corticosteroids because it can make your skin thinner.
If you’re over 2 years old, you might want to try creams or ointments with a special ingredient called a calcineurin inhibitor. Two examples are tacrolimus (Protopic) and pimecrolimus (Elidel). Just use them as directed before moisturizing, and avoid strong sunlight when you use them.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says these products need a serious warning label about a possible risk of lymphoma, a kind of cancer. But after studying them for 10 years, no proof has been found that they cause lymphoma or increase your risk of cancer.
Medicine for Infections If you have an infection, your healthcare provider might give you pills to fight it.
Medicine to Control Swelling For really bad eczema, your healthcare provider might give you pills to help control your symptoms. Some options could include cyclosporine, methotrexate, prednisone, mycophenolate, and azathioprine. These pills work, but you can’t take them for a long time because they might have serious side effects.
Other Choices for Severe Eczema If you have really bad eczema that doesn’t get better with other treatments, your healthcare provider might suggest injectable biologics, which are like special antibodies. Two examples are dupilumab (Dupixent) and tralokinumab (Adbry). Studies show that they can help ease the symptoms of atopic dermatitis and are safe. Dupilumab is for people over 6 years old, and tralokinumab is for adults.
Therapies Wet Bandages: An effective and intense treatment for severe eczema involves applying a special ointment with corticosteroids and wrapping it in wet gauze covered by dry gauze. Sometimes, this is done in a hospital for people with widespread skin issues because it’s labor-intensive and requires nursing expertise. You can also ask your healthcare provider about learning to do this at home safely.
Light Therapy: This treatment is for people who don’t improve with creams or whose symptoms come back quickly after treatment. The simplest form of light therapy, called phototherapy, involves exposing the affected skin to controlled amounts of natural sunlight. Other methods use artificial ultraviolet A (UVA) and narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) alone or with medications.
However, long-term light therapy can have harmful effects, such as making your skin age faster, changes in skin color (hyperpigmentation), and an increased risk of skin cancer. Because of this, phototherapy is less commonly used for young children and is not given to infants. Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and drawbacks of light therapy, including considerations for skin care for hyperpigmentation.
Counseling: If you feel embarrassed or frustrated because of your skin condition, it can be helpful to talk to a therapist or counselor.
Relaxation, Behavior Changes, and Biofeedback: These methods may be useful for people who habitually scratch their skin.
When it comes to treating eczema in babies (infantile eczema), here’s what you can do:
- Identify and avoid things that irritate the skin.
- Keep your baby away from very hot or very cold temperatures.
- Give your baby a quick bath in warm water, and apply a cream or ointment while their skin is still a little wet.
If these steps don’t make the rash better or if it seems infected, it’s important to see your baby’s healthcare provider. They might prescribe special medicine to control the rash or treat an infection. Your healthcare provider might also suggest giving your baby an oral antihistamine to reduce itching and make them a bit sleepy, which can be helpful for itching at night. But keep in mind that some antihistamines that make kids drowsy could affect their school performance.
