What’s the Best Way to Treat Eyelid Eczema?

Are your eyelids red, irritated and easily susceptible to scabbing? Well, you may have eyelid eczema. This type of eczema is fairly common among patients with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, and can be an extension of the skin condition. However, it also affects patients with no real history of skin problems – so what’s the best way to treat it?

Understanding Eyelid Eczema

Doing our best to get to the root of eyelid eczema is important for safe and effective therapy, but it’s not always easy. Eyes are delicate and can be affected by signs of inflammation and allergy when other areas may not. It’s a very thin layer of skin too, therefore more effective and harsher treatment options shouldn’t be used for it.

For example, a relatively common cause of eyelid eczema is allergic contact dermatitis to a cosmetic or cleanser. In this case, you might expect the entire face — even the scalp when the culprit is a shampoo or conditioner. However, many times, it’s largely limited to the eyelids.

It’s a very sensitive area with some of the thinnest skin on the body, so we have to be extra careful in the eyelid area. It’s also very close to the actual eyes, so longer-term side effects such as cataracts and glaucoma are much more likely when treating in this area.

Detective work can take time. It can be tempting to just throw some steroids at it and hope for the best. And steroids might do the trick with acute irritant dermatitis, but in the setting of allergic contact dermatitis, underlying eczema or even less-common diagnoses such as connective tissue disease, steroids are not a long-term solution. A careful examination, a good history and often patch tests to discover the root of the problem are required when you visit your dermatologist when considering treatment options.

Or, you may simply need to search for specific eczema skin care products to help soothe and help reduce the eyelid eczema more effectively.

How to Treat and Not Treat it

Prescribing potent corticosteroids or even milder corticosteroids over long periods is not very safe for the eyelids. Dermatologists and other providers have to be extra careful in treating patients around the eyes. It’s recommended against starting with nonsteroidal topicals, as they seem much more likely to sting and burn.

Sometimes the very treatments used to control atopic dermatitis can cause eye issues. Eye problems can occur with prescribed eczema drugs. It has been a tremendous advance for many patients with moderate and severe cases, but it’s not without adverse effects, either.

The eye issues seem to occur in around 10% of patients and include conjunctivitis, eye pruritus, blepharitis, keratitis, and dry eye. In addition, there have been reports of head and neck dermatitis that has developed in patients on certain eczema prescriptions.

In the meantime, not treating, incorrectly treating or undertreating eyelid eczema or dermatitis can result in unnecessarily painful flares for people suffering from this disease. They rub their eyelids. They sometimes get infected. They can actually cause damage to their eyes with enough chronic rubbing.

So what can be done until a more effective and safer treatment for eyelid eczema is found? With skin conditions, it’s wise to consider using proper skin care as your first step to getting the upper hand on it. Most drugstore brands are filled with irritants and chemicals known for triggering eczema outbreaks.

For eyelid eczema, the best options are to find a face wash and moisturizer that can probably clean, soothe, and nourish the delicate eye area. A skin care line created specifically for eczema would be ideal, right? Well, then Wild Naturals is your knight in shining armor! For all hair and skin care products that were tailored for eczema skin, the Wild Naturals store is ready and waiting for you.

You can treat eyelid eczema naturally and that path begins with stocking your bathroom with Wild Naturals products!