Have Eczema or Just Dry, Itchy, Red Skin?

Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream is perfect for adults too! I love it. After telling a loyal reader about this cream in a comment, I realized that others might want to know about it too.

Quite a few years ago, I got a "patch" of eczema on my chest. Eczema is a red, itchy skin rash that comes and goes. There are many environmental factors that can trigger eczema, including heat, scratchy fabrics, allergens, detergents, or plain old stress. My dermatologist diagnosed mine as stress-induced and gave me a prescription for Elidel. About a year later, I started reading awful news that Elidel had been linked to skin cancer and lymphoma. That was the end of Elidel for me.

A friend told me about the Gentle Naturals product; she swore by it. Off I went to the drugstore, and there it was - in the baby section. It worked for me just as well as the prescription product worked, and at a significantly lower cost than my co-pay. Now, I always have it on hand for use when I get that telltale itchiness - my sign a little rash may be coming.

Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream is formulated with petrolatum and dimethicone to form a barrier on the skin to prevent moisture loss. It contains aloe vera to help heal irritated skin; calendula, jojoba oil, apricot oil, and soybean oil to soften and moisturize; and vitamins A, D, and E to nurture skin and help it heal. It's thick, but spreads pretty easily with the body's warmth. There's a Gentle Naturals Eczema Baby Wash too.

Whether you need this for yourself or your baby, it's a nice product. You can purchase the cream at Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Giant, and other stores on this list. It's not available at every store in a chain, so I recommend calling before you run around looking for it.

Photo courtesy of Gentle Naturals.