Wet-Wrap Therapy for Eczema

When nothing else seems to bring relief and your eczema prone skin is red, swollen, terribly itchy and fractured then maybe it is time to talk about wet-wrap therapy as a source of relief with your doctor. Research into this kind of therapy has established that it does indeed bring relief as well as soothe and re-moisturize the sore skin. One study that looked at the efficiency of wet wraps on children suffering from severe Atopic Dermatitis produced successful results.

In the duration of one week a seventy-four percent reduction was found in itching habits of the children. Also, they were also able to experience more fitful sleeps. Even after the ending of two week wet-wrap therapy, improvements continued to be noted. This kind of therapy has also shown noteworthy improvement in those suffering from reasonable to rigorous hand dermatitis.

How the Wet-Therapy Works?

As the name suggests, wet wraps make use of wet bandages that are “wrapped” around the sore skin. So as to prepare for the wet wrap, the eczema sufferer must first immerse in a bath that comprises emollient oil. After the completion of the bath, moisturizer is used on the skin. For severe cases of eczema, meds such as steroid or anti-itch creams can be applied to the affected skin.

By letting the bandages to soak in either a special moisturizer or warm water, the bandages used in the wet-wrap therapy are made wet. After they are considerably wet, the bandages are wrapped carefully on the area of the body suffering from eczema. A wet wrap can be used on every spot of the body where there is eczema and this comprises the sufferer’s face. So as to keep the moisture in even more, dry bandages are put above the wet bandages.

Advantages of Wet-Wrap Therapy

There are numerous advantages to wet-wrap therapy. These include the rehydration of the damaged skin, more fitful night’s sleeps, less severe itching less often, a decreased incidence of redness and swelling and a lesser chance that the staph (staphylolcoccus aureus) bacteria which is on the skin in small quantities will develop into an infection.

Side Affects of Wet-Wrap Therapy

Wet-wrap therapy however does have its negative side. It can take a great deal of time to do from start to finish and children often have a hard time sitting still for the entire procedure. Also, many children and adults in similar find it difficult to be wrapped in wet bandages and cannot sit for a long enough period of time to allow the wet wraps to do their job.

Sometimes in order to treat babies or children, in place of bandages, moistened pajamas or another piece of clothing is used. It is necessary to always make sure that the temperature in the room where the wet-wrap therapy is taking place is such that the patient will not get cold.

Wet-wrap therapy is done over the duration of a week or two and generally no more. It is significant to hydrate the skin a number of times all through the day with a suitable moisturizer after the wet wraps have been completed. Also other methods for decreasing flare-ups must carry on to be utilized, such as avoiding allergens and irritants along with using steroid creams or other forms of medications.