Contents:
- Medical Video: Daily Bathing for Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
- Why is bathing too long not good for the skin with eczema?
- Prevent dry skin after bathing
Medical Video: Daily Bathing for Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
When you were a child, your parents might ramble on when you take a shower too long. Apparently, parents have a point too. Bathing too long is actually not good for your skin. Especially for people with skin conditions atopic dermatitis or eczema.
The problem is that keeping skin moist is important so that eczema symptoms don't get worse. Whereas if you take a shower for a long time, the skin can become dry.
Now, when your skin is dry, that doesn't mean your skin doesn't contain enough natural oil (called sebum). Sometimes this happens because the skin does not do its job properly to maintain moisture.
Why is bathing too long not good for the skin with eczema?
Actually, water is one of the easiest ways to restore skin moisture. However, taking a bath that is too long, for example, for more than fifteen minutes, can actually make it dry skin.
Dry skin is one of the triggers of eczema and irritation that is often reported. When bathing, water and chemicals from soap will bind the sebum in your skin and wash it. Therefore, the skin actually loses natural oils that can moisturize the skin naturally. The result is even more dry skin and irritation.
The longer you take a shower, the more natural moisture the skin will erode. Therefore, people who have eczema are not recommended to bathe too long.
The ideal bath time according to experts is just five minutes. Five minutes here only includes washing your body and sabotage. So it doesn't include washing your face or brushing your teeth.
Prevent dry skin after bathing
Even though taking a bath can make dry skin, it does not mean that people with eczema skin conditions should not take a bath at all. You certainly still have to take a shower, because bathing can help wash away irritants (causes of irritation) which will also worsen the symptoms of eczema.
However, to prevent dry skin and irritation after bathing, you can do the following steps.
- Choose soap that does not contain too many chemicals such as fragrances, antiseptics, and alcohol.
- Instantly use lotion or moisturizing cream, no later than three minutes after taking a shower.
- Use moisturizers that have high oil content, but do not contain a lot of chemicals.
- Apply moisturizer at least twice per day to moisturize and protect your skin.
- Schedule your shower and when you have to use moisturizer regularly at night, before you sleep. This helps your skin to be maintained better.
- Don't bathe too often in a day. Try not to bathe more than twice a day.
- Do not rub the skin too hard with a towel after finishing bathing. Just pat your skin gently with a soft, dry towel.
