It’s bad enough managing eczema during the day, but have you noticed it gets worse at night?
If you have been wondering why this happens, discover the following factors and your mind will be put to rest;
- Temperature
- Bed clothes’ material
- Stress
- Dust mites
TEMPERATURE
Your body gets warmer in the evening as you prepare to go to bed. So it is a good idea to air your room to make it cooler. Or have a fan on.
Central heating is definitely a big NO as it will heat up your room and have you in a scratch-fest.
MATERIAL
Avoid wool and polyester throws, sheets and pillow cases. Make sure your pillow does not contain duck feathers as they can cause facial eczema. Woollen fibres can rub through your night wear and cause the dreaded itch.
Also, polyester is a non-breathable material that can rapidly heat up your body.
If you can remember that eczema sufferers get over-heated quickly, resulting in the itch-scratch-itch cycle throughout the night, you will do well to use cotton bedclothes or silk.
Also, remember to use night wear made from cotton or silk. If you tend to get sweaty at night, stick to cotton night wear.
Sleep without underwear to allow your nether parts to breathe.
FLOORING
When I moved to my new apartment years ago, my friends removed my carpet when I was having a scratch-fest.
I’m glad they did as it was full of dust even though I vacuumed every week.
I replaced the carpet with vinyl flooring. With a cotton runner in the hall way which I wash every few months.
Wearing soft slippers made all the difference to my feet and kept them cosy.
STRESS
College or working from home can give you a lot of stress, especially around exam time. In jobs where performance is important it can be very easy to pile up stress mentally and emotionally.
To combat it, putting on soft, soothing classical music does wonders for your psyche.
If you take a nightly bath – keep it lukewarm with dim lights to create a cosy cocoon to prepare you for bed.
NIGHT TIME BATH ROUTINE
You will need the following:
Dead Sea Salts 1 cup
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of shea butter
1/2 cup of freshly ground jumbo oats
Forever Living Aloe Vera Gelly
Method:
1. With the bath tap running lukewarm water, add the Dead Sea Salts and 3 tablespoons of olive oil
2. Add 1 tablespoon of shea butter to the water and let it melt.
3. Add the ground oatmeal and swish it to disperse in the bath water.
4. To your skin (if the eczema is on your body) apply 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and massage it.
5. Get in the bath and soak for just 20 minutes.
6. Get out of the bath and let your skin air dry to damp for 2 minutes.
7. Slather your body with the Aloe Vera Gelly
8. Apply a tablespoon of olive oil mixed with 1 tablespoon of shea butter onto your eczema patches.
NOTE:
iF you have eczema on your face, apply aloe vera gelly followed by olive oil to your skin. If you are not allergic to coconut oil, this is an excellent ointment for your skin. DO NOT USE SHEA BUTTER ON YOUR FACE.
If you are having a full body flare up and your eczema is chronic, put onTubifast bandages.
You can get them from your local chemist or pharmacy. Tubifast bandages can be used by children as well as adults. They come in different sizes for limbs, torso and even a child’s head (with holes for the mouth, nose, eyes and ears)
Make sure you get the right size.
If the eczema is weeping or raw – put on the aloe vera gelly, followed by the shea butter/olive oil mix, then wet Tubifast bandages.
Next, put on dry Tubifast bandages followed by a cotton T-shirt and leggings. Then normal clothes.
This is the way I got a good night’s sleep when I was having my last eczema flare up in 2016.
Because I followed this bath time routine and also did herbal colon cleansing, followed by a liver flush – I have been clear for 6 years.
For the record, I steer clear of highly processed foods and stick to natural plant foods for the most part.
I do it lightly roasted chicken and fish about twice a week. In winter I eat a lot of rice with all kinds of beans or lentils.
I also avoid food containing any kinds of flour. This means bread, biscuits and cakes. I make my own flourless baked fancies.
If you read my other blog posts, I am a huge fan of green juices and smoothies. These have kept my eczema at bay as I make them every day, drinking up to 6 glasses a day for breakfast.
The side benefit is that I look 20 years younger!!
DUST MITES
These are tiny insects that live on dead human skin flakes hidden in our mattresses, pillows and duvets.
These little creatures also leave their faeces in our bed clothes. This is why it is important to get a mattress protector which you can wash every 2 weeks in your washing machine.
Swap duvets which make you hot and sweaty, for cotton throws and cotton sheets. For those of you who sleep on your side, get a memory foam pillow for side sleepers. Change your pillows at least every 6 months.
The problem with washing pillows is that they may not completely dry inside and can grow mouldy, hence it’s better to just invest in a new pair every 6 months.
Conclusion
Eczema can get worse at night, but if you have satin clothes on, you will not only keep cool, but the satin keeps the moisture in your skin.
You wake up feeling peachy!
Evening baths with lukewarm water as described above will keep you moisturised and calm at night. You will also be put into a sleepy mood. Perfect for bedtime.
So that’s it!
If you have any more questions about how to keep cool at night, please let me know…In the comments section below.
