Mark's Story

Mark’s Story (32 years old)

Before

After

‘I was diagnosed with eczema at the age of 2 and suffered through most of my childhood. In my later teens my eczema calmed down a bit, but my feet have always suffered really badly due to playing rugby.’

‘The combination of friction, sweat and often cold, damp conditions at times made my eczema intolerable. I considered quitting the sport I loved on many occasions.’

‘I received a couple of pairs of DreamSkin socks and after about two weeks I really noticed a difference. Even after playing rugby my feet remained soft and the levels of irritation, inflammation and cracking were massively reduced.’

‘These are now my new lucky socks.’

To find out how DreamSkin could help you visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk

Jake's Story

Jake’s Story (2 years old) told by his mother

Before

After

‘From a very early age Jake suffered from very dry skin and was diagnosed with eczema at 6 months. Jake had been to the doctors every month since he was born for different creams including eumovate, hydrocortisone, double base etc... We have even been given piriton to stop the itch but to no avail.’

‘We have recently tried DreamSkin silk clothing and it has been amazing. Within 3 days the skin was clear and Jake was not scratching. In two weeks it was like a new boy, sleeping through the night, no crying because of the pain. Jake was not the only one in the family to benefit from this, I managed to get my first uninterrupted nights sleep in years’

‘For two years we had tried everything the doctor had recommended for treating Jake for his eczema and within 2 weeks of using the DreamSkin product we have seen the best results yet’


To find out how DreamSkin could help you or a loved one visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk

Baby Skin Care

Expectant and new parents alike often have lots of questions about baby skin care. Baby skin care is a ‘hot topic’ and advice can be conflicting – Is water only best for washing? Are all wash products bad? Should you moisturise babies and with what?  Baby skin care is an area where advice, even professional advice, is given on opinion and experience rather than evidence – so what are the facts concerning baby skin care?

All babies have an immature skin barrier and thus are vulnerable to dry and irritated skin. It is believed that about 60% of children with atopic eczema develop it in the first six months of life. According to the National Eczema Society one in five children in the UK sufferes with eczema. The reasons for developing eczema are a combination of genetic and environment factors, so if you have eczema in your family, it may well develop if triggered by a factor in the environment. Therefore this leads to the question – can atopic eczema be prevented? The short answer is we don’t know and currently there are studies looking at if preventative measures can make a difference, the results won’t be known for a good few years, as babies are being studied into childhood.

However, we do know that a trigger for eczema developing is dry skin and a vulnerable skin barrier. So baby skin care should try and prevent dry skin and protect the skin barrier. Washing is important, detergents (including soap and bubble baths) should be avoided. Use either water alone or a pH adjusted wash product especially designed for babies. Dry skin should be treated with a medical emollient or fragrance-free moisturiser designed for a baby.

New cotton baby wear designed with a polymer layer of DreamSkin Health (currently only available at TESCOs) can benefit delicate baby skin. Dream Skin garments improve moisture retention of the skin; help reduce skin itching and irritation, are resistance to common irritants and help maintain comfortable body temperature. To visist F&F's DreamSkin range following the link http://www.clothingattesco.com/baby/dreamskin/icat/dreamskin

By Eczema Expert

Eczema's Autumn Challenge

The Autumn Equinox passed yesterday (23rd September) so there is nothing left to do but accept that Summer is over and colder times are upon us. As the seasons change Autumn and Winter bring a whole fresh new set of challenges for eczema sufferers. Long time friend of DreamSkin and dermatology clinician with more than 20 years experience share their views and tips for surviving the harsh winter months.


I find my patients often dread the autumn, as this is the time when their skin really dries out and consequently their eczema flares. “Why is this?” They say… “I am still using lots of moisturizer and my skin is literally cracking up!  After a good summer with my skin, autumn feels like my eczema is coming back with a vengeance. Is there any way to prevent this autumnal eczema onslaught, as I know this is going to happen every year?”

Of course, every person with eczema has individual factors which they know trigger their eczema. Sometimes, these triggers are seasonal and sometimes a person’s triggers can change. However, one of the few universal eczema triggers is heat; everyone with eczema is affected by changing temperatures. Autumn is often a bad time for people with eczema, as the central heating goes on, humidity is reduced and we are all constantly moving from cooler, outdoor conditions to warmer, indoor environments.  This leads to skin becoming much drier; and as we all know dry skin is itchy skin.

So, remember that as we move into autumn and the central heating goes on; keep on moisturizing, and think about using an ointment or oily cream, to stop your skin becoming drier. If you find the regular application of creams and ointments inconvenient or unpleasant you should try a polymer treated garment such as DreamsSkin. DreamSkin garments improve moisture retention of the skin; help reduce skin itching and irritation, are resistance to common irritants and help maintain comfortable body temperature. Here are a few more tips to help you as we move into winter:

·        Prevent skin from becoming dry, by washing with soap substitutes and avoiding bathing products, such as bubble baths, which will dry the skin further.

·         Moisturize skin regularly all over and don’t forget the lips.

·         If lips become chapped lip licking worsens the situation; apply a thick layer of greasy emollient at night and use chapsticks (without colouring or perfume) in the day.

·        Keep heating at a constant, comfortable temperature and don’t overheat homes; keep the bedroom temperature at no more than 18^oC.

·        Consider using a household humidifier.

·        Wrap up well when outside, use hats and scarves to protect the face and wear gloves to protect the hands.

by Eczema Expert

National Eczema Society week 2014

It’s National Eczema Society (NES) week. With one in five children and one in 12 adults in the UK now affected by eczema, the National Eczema Society recognises the importance of taking its message out into local communities so that those with eczema, and their families, can access the help they need. The National Eczema Society information stands are all run by volunteers who have all had personal experience of eczema or caring for a member of their family with eczema. There will be lots of free information booklets on the stands. The National Eczema Society is also launching a brand new free resource: ‘All about eczema – an information pack for schools’, which is available for parents and teachers.

DreamSkin Health supports the National Eczema Society and sends all good wishes for a successful National Eczema Society week. If you live in any of these areas, please do visit the National Eczema Society information stands to gain more support for yourself and your family.

•  Wednesday 17th September - Fishergate Shopping Centre, Preston
•  Thursday 18th September – Kirkgate Shopping Centre, Bradford
•  Friday 19th September - Kingsgate Shopping Centre, Dunfermline
•  Saturday 20th September - Oxford Westgate Shopping Centre, Castle Street, Oxford
•  Sunday 21st September - Intu Watford, 201 The Harlequin, Watford

br />

For more information on the National Eczema Society, please follow this link:

www.eczema.org

DreamSkin Health Supports National Study

We are delighted to announce our involvement with the University of Nottingham clinical trial for children suffering with eczema. 

To some of you, this might even be old news, as the study was featured on the BBC a couple of weeks ago.  In case you missed it, here you can see Dr Kim Thomas of the University of Nottingham and eight year old eczema sufferer Tahmid Ahmed discussing eczema and the clinical trial in general. http://bbc.in/1fmQ23R

We are obviously very proud to be able to take part in this trial in which we are donating our garments to children who suffer with eczema. The trial hopes to identify the therapeutic effect of silk clothing and highlight it’s usefulness as a treatment for eczema.

We are confident in DreamSkin and proud that we offer a totally unique solution to the treatment of this debilitating disease.  Clinical trials are incredibly important in the healthcare industry, and the University of Nottingham have developed an excellent, thorough trial and we look forward to reading the results.

 Some media outlets certainly agree.  The story has already been shared on the following: 

·         Pharma Business International - http://bit.ly/1dNF962

·         Healthista - http://bit.ly/1dNFcir

·         Talkhealthpartnership - http://bit.ly/Munn2C

·         Skinsmatter - http://bit.ly/1fd24vQ

 

Recruitment is well underway for the study and we have already started supplying garments to children with eczema.

If you think your child may be eligible to participate please contact the trial team on 0115 8844938 or email; clothes@nottingham.ac.uk. The website address is www.nottingham.ac.uk/clothes

 

Winter Blog- Eczema and the Elderly

One of the problems with growing older is that our skin does not work as well. From the age of 60 the protection function of our skin reduces significantly. The result of this is that every older person is prone to dry skin. If you add in the environmental effects of winter such as central heating; moving from hot to cold temperatures, chilly winds and sitting by open fires, your skin becomes even drier and begins to itch. Itchy skin means you are likely to scratch, which in turn causes broken and damaged skin. Dry skin in older people can very quickly become eczema. Many people suffer from eczema for the first time when they are older – or to their horror find that their childhood eczema returns with a vengeance!

 

So, when you are older, what can you do to prevent dry skin, particularly in the winter months?  Firstly, try to avoid things that will make your skin dry.  Moisturise your skin regularly twice a day, and keep moisturising if your skin is dry and itchy. If you have eczema or if your skin is very dry avoid soaps and bubble baths, use emollients to wash with instead. Long, excessively hot baths can be bad for your skin too, try and take shorter baths or showers and keep the water at a comfortable temperature. Wrap up well in the winter; get out your favourite Christmas jumper and woolly hat to help protect your skin from the bitter winds. Finally, try to avoid sitting too close to an open fire, whilst it may nice to feel the roaring heat against your skin, the intensity of this heat can further damage skin, especially of those with eczema.

 

If your skin is dry and uncomfortable, it is important to wear natural fibres, such as 100% cotton or silk. DreamSkin Health therapeutic silk clothing is treated with the unique DreamSkin polymer that is designed to reduce moisture loss from the skin. Therefore, DreamSkin Health garments help the skin to be more comfortable and less dry, thus reducing itchiness and irritation. DreamSkin Health has a range of different types of clothing, so a complete layer of underwear, leggings and long sleeved tops can be worn as underclothing or as nightwear.

Whilst all these tips are especially useful to people over the age of sixty, anyone, regardless of age, with eczema or dry skin would benefit from following the advice given above.

 

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.