My Son's Eczema Flared-Up Considerably During Our Mountain Holiday
My husband and I spend our formative years in the snow but sadly had to move to the big smoke in the lowlands for work. As a result we take as many trips to the mountains as we can in order to reconnect, however the first time we took our son, a sufferer of eczema, it ended in disaster. Thankfully, we found a way to counteract the inflaming effects the thin, dry, air has on his skin.
WHAT IS ECZEMA?
Eczema is a common skin condition that instigates due to an allergic reaction. It is frequently called dermatitis, a catch-all term for inflammation of the skin, although some experts use the term 'eczema' for specific types of dermatitis, such as atopic dermatitis in children.
Irrespective of the fact there are different causes of dermatitis and eczema the effect is usually the same: when the skin is inflamed it gets red, swollen or blistered, and intensely itchy, leaving those with the condition in an unrelenting degree of irritation.
HOW DOES ALTITUDE AFFECT ECZEMA
As a rule of thumb, the higher the altitude the more extreme the climate and the greater effect it has on your skin, as was the situation during our vacation to Aspen. As a result of the increased elevation the air was considerably thinner and without moisture. What made matters worse was that the elevated climate's temperatures shifted drastically from warmer days with high UV levels to bitterly cold nights compensated for by hot, dry air in the mountain lodge.
As you can likely assume, this had a considerably negative effect on my son's sensitive skin. The considerably drier air sucked all of the moisture out of his skin leaving it extremely dry, irritated, and red, which enraged his eczema to unbearably high levels.
The first time this occurred we were unsure how to treat the inflammation of my son's eczema so we eventually cut our trip short in order to provide him with relief. In the hope of not denying my son the pleasure of the snow on our following trip we came prepared.
Following a consultation with our son's dermatologist, he suggested to carry a natural nourishing lotion that could replenish the moisture extracted from his skin. To my son's delight, the simple remedy was extremely effective as his skin stayed hydrated, his eczema was kept at bay, and he could ski comfortably for the full two weeks.
Through trial and error we have determined that the most effective natural skin care balms to be those which contain Helix Aspersa Muller glycoconjugates and rosehip seed oil, such as BIOBALM. These two components are the closest natural substances that parallel the molecular structure of human skin, allowing them to hydrate the skin more effectively than chemicals, essentially making it an excellent treatment for eczema. Moreover, putting on BIOBALM every day acts not only an outstanding eczema and dermatitis treatment, it is also a fantastic protector against sunburn and a wealth of other skin conditions and allergies. Needless to say, we don't go to the snow without it!
Published April 23rd, 2009
Filed in Beauty