Eczema Cream

Eczema is an allergic condition of the skin characterized by inflammation of the superficial layer of the skin, leading to distressing symptoms like severe itching and disfiguring reddish lesions, in some extreme cases it might even cause scarring of the skin.

Creams used in treatment of eczema:

There are various types of creams used to treat eczema, steroid creams are the most effective in curing the inflammation, however the most important type is moisturizing creams because they have few side effects if any and provide considerable relief.

• Moisturizing creams (emollients):

Eczema causes severe drying of the skin, which leads to increasing the symptoms and the resulting damage to the skin.



Emollient preparations protect skin by preventing the loss of moisture and by maintaining the oils in the skin.



Because of their simple composition and because they are not absorbed into the body they have almost no side effects at all.
Precaution: some water-based creams actually deplete moisture from the skin and therefore they should not be used.

• Steroid creams:

Steroids are compounds that are found naturally in the body as hormones, when used as a medicine they have a powerful effect on inflammation and allergy in all parts of the body.



However their use is limited by their severe side effects which also affect the whole body, like gastric ulceration and osteoporosis and water retention.
Topical preparations of steroids have less systemic effects and they are used in eczema.
Topical preparations vary in potency from mild types like Hydrocortisone to more effective medicines like Clobetasol. Usually the minimum effective dose and potency is used to protect from side effects.

• Anti-pruritic preparations:

Ointments and creams that contain various compounds known to decrease the itching associated with eczema, like Eurax, Calamine or anti-histamine creams.



They might also contain a steroid as in Eurax-Hydrocortisone.