What can make eczema worse?

My symptoms of eczema seems to be much worse now as
soon as I get home from work. As soon as I get in, I start
scratching for no reason, and it gets worse over the
evening and in my sleep. Why is this happening?
The pattern of scratching and irritation you describe could arise
for a number of reasons. First, consider your home environment:
for example, do you keep your home very warm? The use of central
heating can create a dry atmosphere; this plus the heat can act as
a trigger to irritation in eczema so it is best to keep your home cool
if possible. This might not be tolerated quite as well by others you
share the house with, but it will be helpful in reducing your
irritation. Also consider whether other factors at home – for
example, animal dander or cigarette smoke – could be causing the
exacerbation. Your home differs from the environment at work as
it comprises more carpeting, curtains and soft furnishings, all of
which are a potential haven for house dust mites. Measures to
reduce house dust mites (as described in Chapter 4) might help
your eczema so might be worth trying for a couple of months to
see whether they have an effect.
Just being relaxed at home could be part of the problem too as
you are probably busy and distracted at work – so although you
might get the itchy sensation, you might not have the opportunity
to scratch. Once at home, you might feel more ‘free’ to scratch, and
there are fewer distractions to blur the itch sensation. This can
progress to the point at which you might have developed a habit
of scratching as soon as you get home. Once an itch–scratch cycle
is established, it can become habitual. If you feel that this could
be a possibility, you may find the advice at the end of Chapter 4
helpful.Since I have developed eczema, I have been told not to
use soap, but I don’t really feel clean unless I have used
soap. Can you suggest one that I can use?
Soaps have an alkaline base and as such have a drying, irritant
effect on the skin. When we use a soap to cleanse the skin, it
removes not only the dirt, but also the protective grease produced
by the skin to maintain the barrier function. We only have to look
at the hands of people who do a lot of washing-up and cleaning to
see how irritant soap can be so it should be avoided by anyone
with eczema. By soap, we mean anything that creates lather or
bubbles so bubble bath and shower gel should also be avoided. A
soap substitute, such as aqueous cream or emulsifying ointment,
should be used instead; this will still have an effective cleansing
effect on your skin. There are also some more expensive soap-free
lotions that you might find easier to use – they even come in
containers like shower gel. If you are set on using soap, try to limit
it to specific areas such as your armpits and choose a pH-neutral
variety that is non-perfumed and has added moisturising creams.