Apply your emollient correctly to ensure effective treatment against eczema
Emollients provide the essential base for daily treatment against atopic eczema. As true masters in soothing relief, they hydrate, nourish and rebuild the skin. They help you scratch less, which speeds up skin healing and prevents flare-ups. But only if you use them correctly!
Steps to apply your emollient
Practice this method when you’re in a good mood to avoid stress. As you know, the emollient should be applied to clean skin! The key to a successful treatment is consistency. So, every effort should be made to make it a pleasant moment. This can sometimes be tricky, given the fatigue and distress associated with eczema. Why not transform this treatment into a soothing moment for everyone, parents and children alike?
- Wash your hands
- Place a good dose of cream in your hand
- Warm up the cream between your hands
- Spread it on the face
- Spread it on the rest of your body
- Ask someone for help to apply it on your back
How to spread on your cream effectively
You need to apply a sufficient amount, so feel free to take what you need in your hand and to apply more as you go. The goal is to prevent feelings of skin tightness from coming back too quickly, but without applying so much that you feel sticky and uncomfortable when getting dressed. Apply in large circular motions, without rubbing.
The face
After warming up the cream with your fingertips, place your fingers flat along the
top of the forehead, moving down the temples and back up along the nose, then beneath
the eyes. Then move down along the sides of the nose, then the cheeks and finally down to the chin.
The back
From the neck, move your hands down along the shoulders in an enveloping, wrapping-like motion. You can have your child sit down and rest their head against your shoulder, then massage their back by placing your hands on the lower back and moving up the nape of the neck, then up to the ears.
The torso
Place your hands flat on the lower stomach and, in circular motions, move along the torso up to the neck.
The arms
Massage the arms, moving up from the wrist to the underarms, before moving on to the hands, massaging from the fingers to the wrists.
The legs
Start by massaging the legs, moving up from the ankle to the upper thigh and back to front.
In the evening, take advantage of this moment to relax!
You can even give yourself a foot massage, starting from the bottom of each foot and moving out towards each toe.
- Forgetting to wash your hands.
- Rubbing the skin to help the emollient get absorbed can make irritation worse.
- Applying the emollient directly on oozing, red patches can cause problems with tolerance.
3 tips on how to create a pleasant moment
The ladybug technique
Place little dots of cream all over their body, then let the child spread them out.
The singing race
Can you apply all your cream before the end of the song?
Make skin hydration “a family affair”
It’s more fun if everyone, each with their own cream, takes this moment to hydrate their skin together.
