7 Tips For Managing Eczema In The Winter

As the winter season approaches, spend a little time understanding how to care for the largest organ of the human body, inside and out. Cold months are particularly difficult for patients with eczema because the dry, frigid conditions dramatize the symptoms so severely. Before tackling the most irritating signs of cold weather, take a look at the condition itself and at the many variables that control its manifestation. According to extensive research, the body must be balanced both internally and externally for eczema to be conquered at its best and worst.

A Brief Overview: What is Eczema?

Patients who experience itchy, inflamed, dry skin may suffer from eczema or atopic dermatitis, as itis known in the medical community. Just a step below psoriasis, eczema is a condition that makes the skin more sensitive to everything because it weakens the skin as a barrier to stressors like germs. Research has revealed that skin afflicted with eczema does not generate enough filaggrin, a structural protein that keeps moisture locked in the epidermis. As few as four years ago, studies began referring to eczema as having pathogenic factors, meaning that the skin has difficulty repelling bacteria and other microorganisms and reacts accordingly. The good news is that both internal and external solutions can be applied for relief.

Go With Your Gut

Because the body can become compromised by environmental stressors, it is essential for patients with eczema to maintain strong internal health. The National Eczema Association confirmed that the first approach should be a probiotic, which contains a collection of good bacteria strains the body needs to cut back on bad bacteria. Though the probiotic courses through the intestines, it supports immune function necessary for both treating and preventing a flare-up. Remember staph infections? The bacterium Staphylococcus occurs in abundance on the top layer of the skin; when it occurs too abundantly, the result is a dangerous infection. By taking a probiotic supplement once a day, especially during winter, the skin is less likely to become inflamed from an infection.