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I've been battling the psorisis/eczema thing for a number of years, so I'll impart some of the knowlege I've aquired over the years. Firstly, as explained to me by doctor friend, this condition seems to be brought on by hyperactivity of the immune system. The skin may react to certain things, particularly protiens such as animal dander, dog hair, cat hair, protiens from insects, insect excretions etc. So a clean dander free environment is important. You want to avoid harsh cleansers/detergents and the like when you clean your skin, and avoid hot water as these tend to strip the skin of natural oils. There are certain soaps on the market such as oatmeal based soaps, sulfer tar compound soaps that help. I've been using a soap called Cetaphil that seems to last as long as a traditional soap (the oatmeal soap seems to last me only a couple of days and for me the results are better with the Cetaphil). Immediately after my shower I'll apply an aloe based lotion which helps a lot to reduce the itching and also the dryness of course. As a last resort I use a steriod cream but very sparingly! You have to be careful with steriods because they relax the body's immune function hence locally the body's immune hyperactivety. The problem is that too much steriod used topically can absorb in the skin and the blood stream and reduce immunity in places that you would not desire this effect. I had taken some prednesone (sp?) and had a horrible adverse reaction ( my skin lost ability to fight infection and I broke out everywhere) plus I gained forty pounds. Good luck.
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