Eczema flare: how to calm dry, itchy skin, and when to get care

• Dry, itchy skin. The itch often comes before the rash.
• Patches that are red, or lighter or darker than your normal skin
• Rough, scaly or cracked skin
• Small blisters that ooze and crust
• Thick, leathery skin from scratching

In babies, it often starts on the face and scalp. In older children and adults, it is often on the inside of the elbows and knees, the neck, the hands or the feet.

Common triggers include dry air, long hot baths, harsh soaps, wool, sweat, stress and allergies. Scratching makes it worse.

• Use a thick moisturizer, cream or ointment, like petroleum jelly, 2 to 3 times a day. Pick products without scents or dyes.
• Put it on right after bathing, while your skin is still damp.
• Take short, lukewarm baths or showers. Use a gentle cleanser instead of regular soap.
• Pat your skin dry. Do not rub hard.
• Keep fingernails short. Light gloves at night can stop scratching in your sleep.
• A humidifier can help when the air is dry.

A mild steroid cream, like hydrocortisone, can calm a flare. If it does not help, a doctor can prescribe a stronger cream. An allergy pill (antihistamine) may help with itching.

Go to the emergency room right away for groups of small blisters or punched-out sores that show up on the eczema. This can be a serious skin infection.

• Fever, or feeling very sick
• Pus or yellow crusts
• Redness that spreads fast, or a lot of swelling
• Skin that hurts and looks infected
• Large areas of raw or deeply cracked skin
• A rash near the eyes with swelling or vision changes

If you are in Virginia or West Virginia, you can start a visit online at any time. It is for adults and children 4 and older (with a parent or legal guardian) with a typical eczema flare or dry, itchy skin. You send clear photos.

A board-certified physician reviews your answers and photos. If medicine is right for you, the doctor can send a prescription to your pharmacy. If you need to be seen in person, the doctor will tell you.

It is not for anyone with the emergency signs or the in-person reasons above. It is also not for a new flare in someone who has ever had cold sores or herpes.

Visits start at $59. You see the price before you pay, and you do not need insurance. If you are already in ongoing care with us for eczema, check-ins are $39, and your first one is free.