As a boy, I had “prickly heat” on the inside of my elbows. During high school wrestling, contact with the mats and the solvents used to clean the mats, plus sweat and the unusually warm practice room all contributed to a nasty flare-up on the outside of my elbows, ankles and between my toes and fingers. My skin turned very scaly and became inflamed, broken and itchy. In this case, the advice was never to touch it, which was made very difficult by the severity of the inflammation.

In general, I avoid scented detergents or fabric softeners of any kinds, use unscented moisturizing soap, and try to stay cool and dry. Stress also seems to have a large impact on inflammation for me, during any season. Heat tends to hinder recovery due to a lack, or retention of moisture in the air.

During high school, I used Psorcon cream to help relieve some of the pain, and I tried to keep the patches of bad skin clean and dry. I often wore gauze taped over the spots, since they tended to ooze and bleed a lot. Eventually, the broken skin subsided, and I was able to switch to an oatmeal bath, which slowly helped. Our dermatologist advised against petroleum products in favor of loose wrapping, if I remember correctly, in favor of water-based salves.

Since high school, flare-ups have been occasional and short-lived. Development of broken or inflamed skin due to eczema has largely stopped for me, perhaps possibly as part of aging. It’s difficult to tell, since I’ve used the same routines and products since childhood. Regardless of the reason I am very happy not to have to deal with it anymore.