Lhea's Secret Remedy: Aloe Vera

Dear Bumpy Bodies,

Many people suffering from eczema are prone to other allergy-related diagnosis as well: asthma, psoriasis, hives. People may find that they suffer from asthma in their childhood, outgrow it, while their eczema remains. Others may find that they grew up with eczema, and start to develop hives, quite randomly, later in life. 

Each person's skin and immune system functions differently. You must develop your own personal regiment and remedies. 

There is one plant that every person with sensitive needs to have in their house: The Aloe Vera Plant. 

Yes, you can buy lotion with aloe vera if you want to... You can buy juice with aloe vera from the store. But, the fact of the mater is, there's nothing like the real thing. Besides, the gel within the aloe vera plant oxidizes very quickly, thus there may be preservatives in aloe vera lotions and products that irritate the sensitive skin of people eczema or psoriasis.

The gel inside of the leaves of the Aloe Vera plant are known to have anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties. 

Aloe Vera has cleared up hives within 24 hours on my skin and has helped with hyperpigmentation marks left from healed rashes.

Growing an Aloe Vera plant in your house, just might be the answer to your prayers. 

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.