Nurture Your Own

In the last post, I shared that oatmeal is a good homemade remedy to curb eczema spread and itch. Today, I’m sharing another excellent and very easy to make home remedy for eczema - ice therapy.

Why ice therapy? Applying ice onto an inflamed skin is akin to using water to douse the flames of a fire.

For those who are familiar with the onslaught of eczema, each outbreak brings about red, angry and very itchy rashes. They are mostly developed in the hands, limbs and joins. Some folks even had them on the face, chest and groin area. The inflamed skin is tigh, dry and excruciating itchy and many of us couldn’t help but scratch. Even I know I should not scratch, I did because the itch was simply unbearable but only after I put a piece of fabric (like a clean t-shirt) over my skin. The more you scratch it, the worse the condition gets. If your skin is tore and bleed during the scratching process, you might get bacterial infections through the open wounds.

Ice therapy for eczema numbs your inflamed skin. The icy cold of the ice makes your veins contract and thereby cutting down blood circulation. When you remove the ice pack, your veins will start to dilate. Blood is rushed into the area that you are treating. The blood carries necessary nutrients thus enabling your damaged skin tissues to heal.

You can buy a hot-cold pad from the pharmacy or you can make one. You can put a few ice cubes in a small plastic bag and have it wrapped in towel. Alternatively, do what my friend did, she wrapped a frozen raw beef steak in a plastic bag and use it as ice pack. She said the ice therapy took less than a few minutes and there is no danger of the steak getting defrost.

Anyway, place your ice pack directly above the itchy area. You may initially find that the itchiness intensifies instead of subsiding when you first apply the ice. Get a grip and ensure for a few moments because the cold sensation will definitely eliminates the itch.

Take precautions before you attempt to use ice therapy for eczema:

1. Never put ice directly onto the inflamed rashes. Always use a towel to wrap the ice pack. Do not let the ice pack stay on one spot for too long, move the ice pack. Prolonged period may cause cold sore.

2. Commercial hot-cold pack can be a lot colder than a homemade ice pack, so you may want to wrap that with a towel too.

3. Limit to a maximum usage of 15 minutes on any one spot. You do not want to damage the nerves here.

4. Ice therapy is not recommended if you also suffer from cold allergic conditions, paralysis, rheumatoid arthritis or have blood circulation problems.

Among all the homemade eczema treatments, this is one that dermatologists and doctor will not frown on - if you follow the above recommendations.

Homemade remedies help to relieve pain and itch but they are temporarily relief. To prolong a blissful eczema-free period, you have to observe dermatologist’s advice of staying away from alcoholic based and fragrance based toiletries, keep a balanced and healthy diet with lots of greens (raw greens where possible … sprouts are recommended and there’s reasons to that) and exercise to minimize stress. For some who like to seek alternative treatments, eating raw sprouts or using essential oils are possible options. Alternatively, check out folks who have similar experience. Janet Simpson has some interesting information in her Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days and Evelyn Lim compiled her research and experience into an Eczema Diet Secrets book.

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