2018 Update: I’m so thankful my video and blog article has helped as many people as it has. It’s amazing how many doctors have misdiagnosed dyshidrotic eczema and I completely understand how stressful it is to both have and deal with.
I first got dyshidrotic eczema back in 2014 and it took months before it was properly diagnosed. The good news is through keeping my hands away from harsh chemicals, I have kept my dyshidrotic eczema from returning and have managed it very well. If you do what I do, you’ll likely be able to manage your dyshidrotic eczema as well. I wish you the best!
As I explain in the ‘dyshidrotic eczema & how I got rid of it’ video, using soaps that contain harsh chemicals caused me to get dyshidrotic eczema on my finger.
After receiving the diagnosis from a dermatologist I took my low-quality harsh chemical-filled hand and body washes and threw them in the garbage. With the help of my dermatologist I purchased some much healthier alternatives.
Here are the products I use to stay eczema-free:
LOTIONS:
Lily of the Desert Organic Aloe Vera Gelly 2-Pack (my favorite aloe vera gel)
Gold Bond Ultimate Eczema Relief Skin Protectant Cream
Hand and Body Washes:
For the Entire Family:
EO Everyone Soap Coconut and Lemon
Everyone Soap for Everyone and Every Body, Lavender and Aloe
Everyone Soap for Everyone and Every Body, Citrus and Mint
Great for Children:
Everyone Soap for Every Kid, Tropical Coconut Twist
Everyone Soap for Every Kid, Orange Squeeze
Geared Toward Men:
Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Care for Men Body Wash
Every Man Jack Citrus Scrub Body Wash and Shower Gel
Every Man Jack Cedarwood Body Wash and Shower Gel
Every Man Jack Signature Mint Body Wash and Shower Gel
Bar Soap:
Dish Soap (don’t use dish soap containing sodium laureth sulfate/sodium laurate sulfate. I use the following brand):
Eco-Me Natural Sudsing Liquid Dish Soap, Fragrance Free
Aside from switching out my hand soaps dish soap and body washes, I also made the following changes:
-I no longer used hand dryers. Instead, I used a towel or simply let my hands air dry
-I use the two lotions listed above
-I no longer use antibacterial soaps or gels
– I wear dish washing gloves when I do the dishes to keep the ultra-concentrated dish soap off my skin. I recommend the following gloves because I’ve found them to be the most durable and longest-lasting:
Playtex Gloves Size Small (3-Pack)
Playtex Gloves Size Medium (3-Pack)
Playtex Living Size Large (3-Pack)
I hope you find this information to be useful! Since posting this article I’ve created a separate health website and would love to send you a weekly health newsletter. If interested, please subscribe to the newsletter here:
http://healthcodeacademy.com/subscribe
Thanks for this advice. I have been using aloe gel for three days and can already see a huge improvement.
My pleasure, Maggie! I’m super glad it helped you. A lot of people have reached out to me in thanks which is awesome – there’s not always a need for prescription drugs or steroidal creams. Many thanks for your comment & please share this article with others!
-Karl B.
Hey Karl,
I’vr moved recently and my roommate has this soap called softsoap aloe vera moisturizer that I’ve been normally using. It sounds great but the ingredients kinda match what you mentioned in the video to stay away from.
water, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, laureth-3, cocamidopropyl betaine, glycol stearate, sodium chloride, fragrance, solient green, polyquaternium-7, DMDM hydantoin, citric acid, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, tetrasodium EDTA, glycerin, poloxamer 124, hydrolyzed silk
What do you think?
P.S: I used normal bar soap before and it didnt happen then.
Hi, Sam,
Are you having the typical symptoms of dyshidrotic eczema (the tapioca pudding bumps)? If so, use the old-school Ivory bar soap and use aloe vera gel to moisturize your hands. Always apply the aloe vera gel after washing your hands as well.
A lot of soap companies try to make their products sound real or natural and they’ve got tons of drying chemicals in their product. All soaps need some sort of sodium-based ingredient to produce the bubbles but the ingredients you provided seem to have a lot of them (I counted three and there might be more!). Also, when you wash dishes it’s important to wear the yellow latex dish gloves to keep your hands from those ultra-concentrated chemicals. I hope this helps!
Hi Karl!
I’ve been getting these bumps on my hands and a little bit on my feet as well. Thanks for the 411. Glad to know that I’m not the only one in this world who acquired this type of skin irritation. I was starting to get worried. I’m gonna go ahead and try all the lotions, hand & body washes, bar soaps, and dish soap that you recommended. Hopefully, these bloody things will start to go away.
OMG!!! #herpesofthehands YIKES!!!
Jay Ci
My pleasure, Jay. Many thanks for the message. Also, it’s important to keep your hands away from chemicals such as hand soaps that contain sodium laureth sulfate and sodium laurate sulfate. Antibacterial gels are bad as well as they dry the skin. And if you do the dishes use the yellow latex gloves as dish soaps are SUPER CONCENTRATED. Let me know how it goes. Thanks!