Handling Eczema When Pregnant: Treatment Options For You

When you are pregnant, all of your health care needs tend to revolve around the baby that is growing inside of you. As such, if you begin to experience your own health conditions like eczema, it can be all too easy to disregard them and try to suffer through rather than seek out treatment that you may need to relieve your symptoms and feel better. Many women assume that medications and other remedies for eczema would be unsafe for their baby during pregnancy. However, even while you are pregnant, there are treatment options available to you. Get to know some of these options and get the eczema relief you need while pregnant.

Use Topical Moisturizers and Use Other Skin Soothing Techniques

If you are experiencing an eczema outbreak during your pregnancy, the first step you will want to take is to moisturize the affected areas of your skin regularly. When choosing your lotions, you want to select something that is soothing to your eczema but also will not have any chance of harming your baby.

As such, you will want to select a moisturizer that is free of parabens and phthalates, which are chemicals used in many topical products that can cause skin irritation and may have other effects on your body's internal functions and your baby. Parabens for example disrupt hormonal balance and production in the body, and hormones have a great deal to do with pregnancy and your baby's development.

Other skin soothing techniques you can try include applying cool damp cloths to irritated skin, keeping the temperature in your home cool and comfortable (even if this means higher energy bills), and wearing loose comfortable clothing that breaths (like cotton) to avoid sweating and further irritation.

Topical Corticosteroids

Many women tend to shy away from prescription treatments for eczema during pregnancy. While some systemic drugs are not recommended due to the effects they can have on the baby, topical corticosteroids are considered safe for expectant mothers.

Topical corticosteroids are creams or lotions that you apply to your eczema flare-up on a regular basis for a short period of time (a few days to a week usually). During pregnancy, low or medium dose steroid creams are usually recommended. Some physicians will also recommend that the steroid cream be combined with non-medicated moisturizer to further dilute the medication and heal the skin.

Very little of these low to medium dose topical corticosteroid medications get into the bloodstream through the skin and therefore will not have a dangerous effect on your unborn baby. Sometimes, a flare-up is so bad that higher dose medication is needed. In these cases the steroid is prescribed for a very short period of time so that your pregnancy is unaffected.

Now that you know more about the ways that you can handle your eczema while you are pregnant, you can be sure that you are taking the necessary steps to take care of yourself and your comfort as well as that of your unborn child. Go to websites like http://www.nwasthma.com for more information.

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