Hydrocortisone Cream for Eczema

One of the things I have begun to do is researching not only the symptoms and possible causes of eczema, but also different treatments for the condition. Using hydrocortisone cream for eczema has been reported to be one of the most common treatments for this skin problem; I believe that it’s primarily due to the popularity of the use of steroids as an anti-inflammatory agent. See, hydrocortisone cream falls under the category of a much fancier term known as topical corticosteroids, which are basically synthetic substances that have anti-inflammatory properties. The main reason why people use hydrocortisone cream for eczema is because of its anesthetic qualities; it has been known to provide relief from the overall discomfort of eczema. It’s far from being a “cure” for eczema, but at least it can reduce some of the physical discomfort and irritation that you feel with eczema. It is important to note that hydrocortisone cream is also used for other skin conditions such as regular rashes, as well as for injuries such as burns or insect bites. The bottom line to the whole deal is that it’s supposed to help reduce swelling, irritation, and inflammation in the affected areas. The common application for topical hydrocortisone cream is to simply rub it into the skin until it is absorbed by the skin. It has been reported that absorption is facilitated easier when the skin is inflamed rather than on “regular” skin…I read that on one website and then asked myself “Why would you want to put this cream on normal skin anyway?” But…I guess that’s beside the point…I’m just trying to provide some thorough information here. A couple of the common brands of hydrocortisone cream that are out there are Enzone and Pramosone. The debate about potential side effects of using corticosteroids is definitely significant, and due to the fact that they metabolize mainly in the liver. Many doctors caution people who have had any degree of liver disease due to this very fact, and they also advise those who have had any type of blood disorder to use caution as well, because there is a faint possibility (not very likely according to the reports that I’ve read) that the medication could infiltrate the bloodstream as well. At any rate, if you use hydrocortisone cream and experience any type of dizziness or light-headedness, blurred or otherwise problematic vision, consistent headaches, or other unusual physical conditions such as weakness or even weight loss, you definitely need to seek the aid of a physician. Hydrocortisone cream is also very useful when it comes to treating baby eczema. I remember when our 2nd daughter was very little (she’s 16 months now), she had a fairly mild case of eczema, and we had heard of hydrocortisone cream, so being desperate for a solution, my wife & I tried it out. True indeed, it worked pretty well, but we had minor concerns about using too much of it due to the possible side effects it may have on her sensitive skin. Thankfully, she never suffered any kind of ill effects from the cream. Many parents have voiced concerns about the possibility of the cream thinning their child’s skin out, due to the fact that it is a steroid, but much of those concerns can be alleviated by choosing the right strength level of cream. Our doctor prescribed the 25% strength level for our cream, and it would do a great job of clearing up the eczema virtually instantaneously. Although it was very effective, we were still mindful of the dosage due to the fact that we didn’t want to “overload” our baby’s system in any way with synthetic substances, although the cream was topical and nothing that she had to ingest. Please always allow your doctor to prescribe the correct amount of hydrocortisone cream for eczema; you don’t want to push it and do more harm than good.

Eczema Products

All this talk about eczema I’ve been doing this month has led me to look into some eczema products, or basically any kind of creams, lotions, medications, injections, alcoholic beverages (just kidding), whatever I can find that can possibly bring relief to this condition, or even at least seem to have potential of bringing relief for this troubling skin problem. One thing that has in the past made me hesitant to try and seek out any information on products that could cure or treat eczema is the common issue of side effects from synthetic chemicals and so forth, but the truth of the matter is when you’re seeking relief from such a harassing problem, you just want the solution as fast as possible. I can see why it can be frustrating; I myself experienced eczema skin problems, but was hesitant to get any kind of medication for it, because honestly, maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me or something, but I didn’t really trust the whole medicine market; it just seems like all they ever do is put a “band-aid” on problems, and basically treat symptoms without ever getting to the core or root cause of the issue. I guess they would go out of business if they completely cured people’s skin problems, so maybe there is a slight ulterior motive for them not being able to come up with enough “research” to find an absolute cure for eczema, psoriasis, and other skin problems like that. Anyway, as you can tell, I have those conspiracy theorist leanings that I really have to overcome (LOL). But as far as my personal experience with eczema goes and potential eczema treatments, I just tried to stay VERY hydrated, and focused on things that would produce skin health such as drinking lots of water every day and eating foods that are known for their contributions to skin health such as oatmeal. Also, I would make sure to take vitamins that promote overall skin healthiness such as Vitamin E and so forth. One of the main things I would do is to simply put a regular lotion on the affected areas, just to relieve some of the dryness. It didn’t really help at all as far as the itching goes, but it did at least keep the skin from getting too flaky. It would burn like crap when the sores were open, but the skin around them was so dry that I had to sacrifice and endure some pain for the greater good, so to speak.

Some of you may be wondering why I keep speaking about my own struggle with eczema in the past tense, as if I no longer deal with it. I can honestly say that I hardly deal with it at all nowadays, and it’s nowhere near the degree of severity it used to be. I want to talk about that in a future post, as far as my own journey with overcoming eczema and learning a little bit (and I do mean a LITTLE bit) about the things that were triggering it in my own life. I have a theory, and I don’t fully know if it’s true or not, but I have a theory or a sneaking suspicion that sleep deprivation can play a role in these types of skin disorders. Please don’t ask me to substantiate that with any kind of medical information, because truth be told, “I gots nothin’”, but one thing I can attest to is that the more sleep I got, the less I had to deal with eczema. Go figure…again, please don’t ask me for the full science behind this…it’s just something that I know, if you know what I mean. But anyway, back to the issue of finding eczema products, or any kind of cream or lotion or what have you that can possibly alleviate some of the major symptoms of eczema, especially the itching…which, by the way, is why I feel so sorry for babies and toddlers with eczema…they will simply scratch until they scratch the skin off. Okay, before I drift off again, let me say that there are several manufacturers of skin creams for eczema and so forth, and while I don’t have any personal experience with using any of the products, I can say that they are some of the foremost players and advertisers in the market right now. Products such as the Theraplex Emollient, the FreeDerm cream, Cetaphil, or the skin products offered by Dr. Li are all worth looking into. I don’t claim to be any kind of “consumer advocate” so I’m not going to be reviewing the products per se, but did want to expose everyone out there to some of the eczema products that are available on the market. Okay, over and out until next time.