Stop Itching Fast

Try each of these steps to calm your itching quickly. We recommend trying them in the order they’re shown here at first. Over time you’ll learn what works for you and what doesn’t work, and you can adapt them to suit your own body.

1. Stop scratching!

I know, this sounds like such a cop-out. Unfortunately, it’s one of those pieces of advice that really can’t be avoided. Eczema thrives off what is called the “itch-scratch” cycle. You feel the itch, so you scratch it. In scratching your skin, you actually irritate it further.. which causes it to feel even more itchy! There’s really nothing for it but to restrain yourself.

Pro tip: keep your nails short and wear light, long sleeves and trousers to make it harder to scratch. I recommend breathable, organic fabrics like cotton and linen.

2. Remove the irritant

This might sound obvious, but the very first thing to do if you’ve suddenly found yourself feeling itchy is to attempt to identify and remove the trigger. This is often environmental – exposure to a pet, dust, sweating, etc.

3. Moisturise

Eczema is first and foremost a dry skin condition. When your skin dries out, it has lost the moisture (water) and/or oils that are necessary to keep it healthy. The single most impactful thing you can do to keep your skin under control is to keep it moisturised.

If you’re experiencing a flare-up, you may need to choose a different moisturiser than your every-day one. Since your skin is already reactive and angry, it may become irritated from products that it normally responds well to. I recommend finding a very light, non-commodogenic moisturiser for these occasions. This will mean you avoid trapping heat in your skin which can actually make the itching worse!

4. Cool down

Itchy sensations always feel worse when you get overheated. When your skin is dried out or inflamed it loses its ability to self-regulate its heat correctly, which actually makes things worse. You can help out by cooling your body down – take some fresh air outside, or use a fan or a/c to get cool.

If you’ve got a small section of your body that is bothering you, try applying a cool compress. You can wet a clean wash cloth and hold it on the area, refreshing as needed. Ensure you keep the skin moisturised too, as a wet cloth will actually dry out the skin otherwise since you may be removing necessary oils with the cloth.

5. Drink a pint of cold water

This is really just a further step in your efforts to get your body temperature under control, but it’s so useful that it’s worth calling out as its own step. Drink a large glass of cold water as quickly as you can. This does a few things:

• hydrates you
• cools you down
• takes your mind off the itchy feeling

6. Deep Breathing

You’ve taken away the source of the irritation, you’re starting to cool down, but you’re still feeling that urge to scratch. It’s time to make some space and time to give your first steps a chance to work. Deep breathing can be hugely beneficial here.

Find a quiet space by yourself, preferably darker – as if you’re going into a meditation session. Remove any noise, bright lights or other distractions – they are all causing your body to be hyper-active and continue its overreaction.

You can find tonnes of great videos on deep breathing techniques online – they all boil down to bringing awareness to your breathing, slowing down and taking deeper, intentional breaths. Keep your focus on your breathing and hopefully within just a few minutes you’ll find yourself feeling far less itchy.

7. Medication

If you’re still struggling with the itching, this might be the time to turn to medication. If you’ve been seeing a GP, dermatologist or other doctor, ensure you’re following their advice as it is tailored to you. A community pharmacist might also have some useful information for you.

All that being said, I have found that antihistamines are a very important part of my toolkit for managing my eczema. Histamines are your body’s response to irritants – it causes you to sneeze and itch, in your body’s attempt to remove the irritant. Antihistamines are medication that you can take to counteract this response from your body. You will need to try out different active ingredients to find which ones work best for you, but I have found that antihistamines with the active ingredient of Cetrizine work well for me.

8. Shower

If my skin is still really not responding to any of the above, my last resort (and usually very effective) is to change the bed sheets, take a shower, and get dressed in a set of clean clothes. That ensures that the most likely irritants are removed. If you can manage it, a very quick vacuum of the house will ensure dust-mites are taken care of too, which can be another big trigger.

Your shower temperature should be at most lukewarm. Hot water is only going to inflame your skin even more. Use a thick moisturiser as a soap substitute, and avoid all other shower products for now. After your shower, gently pat yourself dry with a clean towel, and immediately moisturise again. This locks in the water from your shower and replaces some of the oils that have been washed away.

9. Rest

Hopefully by now you’re feeling much better. The best thing you can do for your body now is to give it a bit of a break. Take a lie down if you can, avoid activities in the water or that would make you sweat until your skin is back to a more manageable state.

10. Lessons?

When you’re feeling back to yourself, it’s a really good idea to take a note of what caused your skin to flare up (if you were able to identify it), what you tried in response, and most importantly, what worked and what didn’t work. You can use that information to help tweak your response next time you have a flare-up, and maybe even help to avoid the next flare-up in the first place!