If you have ever been cursed with sensitive dry skin then you know what a pain in the butt it is. I've struggled with it my entire life and still don't have complete control over it. Some days it is worse than others but most days it is just there and somewhat manageable.
I was a baby when I first had signs of eczema. The doctor told my parents to use lots of eucerin and to give me oatmeal baths but that only seemed to help somewhat. I had a horrible rash all over (it was the worst on my legs) and nice sized red flaky patches all over the rest of my body. After they got control over it I didn't have another episode until I was sixteen. Being a lifeguard and being in the heat day after day didn't help my symptoms, and I found that sweat in certain areas (like the bend in your arms and knees) can cause eczema to appear. Once again I was told to use lots of eucerin and was even given a cream to apply to the affected areas.
The worst breakout I've ever had came after my dad passed away. I was told that stress can induce the symptoms and I looked like I had been beaten all over my body. My back was completely covered and my neck looked like I had hickey's (I had people ask if that's what had happened daily). It hurt to wash my hands because they would break open and bleed anytime water touched them and my face was red and blotchy. I was miserable. My doctor prescribed steroid pills and cream which helped get everything under control within a few days. Ever since then I've had small breakouts but nothing serious, and I've been able to keep it under control with the cream my doctor prescribed.
Lately I've been having small episodes where I have a spot on my wrist or my cheek and use a little bit of my cream to get it to go away. I don't like using my medicine because it has steroids in it and causes severe sunburn if I'm out in the sun (even with sunscreen on). I needed a better alternative and fast, because on Saturday morning I woke up with a bad breakout on my face. Chris swears he couldn't see it but my face was blotchy and was extremely dry. I could use an enormous amounts of lotion but it didn't help the situation, and my face would soak up any bit of moisture I put on it.
When I got home Saturday night I immediately went on Pinterest to try to find some alternatives to my medicine. The first thing I looked for was a recipe for an oatmeal bath. There were two I found on Pinterest. The first was just a regular bath (just using oatmeal) and the second one was an itch relief recipe using oatmeal plus other ingredients (good for chicken pox, psoriasis, eczema, etc). I tried the oatmeal bath and my skin is already feeling loads better!
The second thing I found was a face wash. All it is is 1-2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats ground down to a fine powder and stored in an airtight jar. I put a little bit in my hand each night, mix it with water, and then cover my face in it and wash it off immediately. In 24 hours my red flaky spots on my face were gone and it was already feeling better. I put loads of eucerin on my face after washing it and that seems to help as well.
I'm sorry to say I don't have any pictures. I wasn't thinking about it when I first started my hunt on Pinterest but now I wish I had taken a few. I guess you'll have to take my word for it when I say that it works! You won't be sorry if you try it.
Also, I use a lotion that I found on Pinterest a long time ago and it really does help keep your skin moisturized (especially during the winter) and helps keep my eczema at bay. You can find that recipe here.
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