Happy Housekeeping: The Allergy Free Home

Dear Homebodies,

After battling with your boss and coworkers, dealing with your extended family, and bearing the brunt of everyday life, your home should be your haven. 

Your house, your apartment, should not be a battlefield. Unfortunately, for many with eczema their household becomes a battleground: allergens versus skin. And many American homes are not fit to fight the battle.

The number one enemy to an Allergy-Free home is dust mites. Please refer to Happy Housekeeping: The Battle Against Dust Mites.

Here are a few things that you can do to allergy-proof your home:

-----Maintain Indoor Temperature at 65 degrees or below. Heat causes your blood to dialate leading to an itching sensation.

-----Keep humidity below 50% to prevent mold growth. Purchase a dehumidifier. 

-----Use Air Conditioning. Open Windows invite pollen. Fans attract dust.

-----Consider filtering the air.

-----Don't allow smoking in your home.

-----Consider keeping pets outside, or at least out of the bedroom.

-----Beware of areas where mold can grow.

Until next time...

Love,

Lhea J.

Professional Skin: The Open Office

Dear Workers:

Many of America's most beautiful, appealing and friendly offices may be the eczema or psoriasis patient's worse nightmare: the open office.

Chronic eczema is not just a condition that affects the patient. It affects their family and each individual in their household as well as their coworkers and each individual in their vicinity at work. 

If your eczema causes your skin to dry, flake and shed, you may want to take careful precautions in your workplace. Dead skin is a feasting ground for dust mites. Since one out of every ten people have a dust mite allergy, you may want to take extra precautions on behalf of your coworkers. 

During the normal course of the year, be sure to clean the surface of your desk at the conclusion of every week. This includes the keys of computer keyboard you type at everyday. 

During periods of extreme break out, during periods where your skin is shedding more profusely. Be considerate and clean your desk at the conclusion of everyday. 

While working in an open office, the coworker I was adjacent to noticed that he contracted a sneeze every time he was at work. Actually, not in the office building itself, but specifically every time he was seated at our desk. In retrospect, I realize that he probably was suffering from a slight dust mite allergy.

Be careful while cleaning! Most household cleaners are harsh on the skin, and will cause contact dermatitis patients to break out as well.

Love, 

Lhea J.

A Day in the Life: A Good Night's Rest

Dear Sleepyheads,

The persistent nature of eczema and psoriasis is known to interfere with daily activities. When breakouts are bad enough, they may get in the way with your night schedule as well.

Having trouble sleeping? Here are a few things that you can do to help get a good night's sleep.

TEMPERATURE

1. Sleep in a cool/cold room. Heat tends to enduce or prolong the feeling of itchyness.

2. If a particular location or breakout is bothering you, try an ice pack. Extreme cold soothes the pain of itchyness

LINEN

1. Avoid itchy, synthetic fabrics

2. Try any bedding options made to fight dustmites and dustmite droppings

SKIN

1. Place thick emollient on skin before sleeping

2. Sleep with gloves or mittens on to reduce impact of scratching while sleep

Hopefully this helps.

Love,

Lhea J.

Happy Housekeeping: The Battle Against Dustmites

Dear Concerned Skin:

For a person with eczema or psoriasis, the place that you work and sleep has a huge effect on your skin. Your skin is a portal between the outer world and your internal organs. It is our responsibility to guard this portal as well as we can.

The single greatest enemy to the eczema-patient is dust. One primary obstacle is adults with eczema or psoriasis may actually produce more dust than the average household.

Dustmites love skin. Those with eczema may be get caught in a dangerous cycle: shedding skin attracts dust mites, dust mites leave itchy droppings, dust mite droppings irritate skin, skin breaks out, dries up and sheds again attracting more dust mites.

Beware of skin and dust in three major places 1) bedding/linen, 2) carpet, 3) surfaces & appliances.

1. Linen should be at least rinsed 1-3 times per week depending on the state of your skin. Becareful about excessive washing with detergent. Soaps are often a very strong irritant of sensitive skin.
2. Noncarpeted and Hardwood floors are probably best for the eczema-free household.
3. My poor computer witnesses more skin fall than any other place on earth. The keyboards of desktop computers are much easier to clean than laptops, so I haven't thought of a remedy yet.

There is an argument that babies who grow up in too sterile environments may develop dermatitis because their immune system hasn't fully adjusted to fighting off various forms of germs.  I'm not sure if I support this argument, but I am almost certain it doesn't apply to adults battling eczema. 

The more sterile the environment, the healthier your skin will be. 

Love,

Lhea J.