As the weather gets warmer, some people with eczema “inexplicably” relapse, and one of the culprits is the weather. Some studies have found that climate factors can affect the severity of eczema: the higher the temperature, the harder it is to control; the higher the humidity, the more severe the eczema. Today, let’s talk about how eczema sufferers can survive the summer. What should I do if I itch when I sweat in the summer? Many people with eczema find that their skin feels “itchy” or “pins and needles” when they sweat. In severe cases, eczema can recur in areas where there is a lot of sweating, such as the folds of the neck, elbow folds and popliteal folds. Why does this happen? Research has found that when sweating a lot, the composition of sweat will change and the pH will increase (normal skin pH is 4.5-5.5), so there is a certain amount of irritation to the skin. At the same time, some proteins in sweat will combine with microbial components on the surface of the skin, stimulating skin cells to produce the itch-causing substance histamine, which aggravates the itchy skin symptoms. The outermost stratum corneum of the skin of eczema patients is often incomplete, and sweat components are more likely to come into contact with cells within the epidermis, stimulating the skin to produce some inflammatory factors and inducing an inflammatory response in the skin. What should I do? Avoid outdoor exercise when the temperature is high and the sun is strong, you can exercise in the early morning or evening, carry pure water and towels or wet wipes with you, and use wet towels or pure water wipes to gently wipe sweat in sweaty areas in a timely manner. Change wet clothes in time after exercise, or shower in time to flush away sweat. After the shower or wet towel wipe but also apply moisturizer, you can choose light and easy to absorb moisturizing milk or moisturizing lotion, the skin is particularly dry parts can choose moisturizing cream. Do I still need to apply moisturizer in summer? Of course you do! Because more sweating, humid air, increased UV exposure, more cleaning and bathing, etc. in summer will aggravate the damage to the skin barrier, so moisturizers must be used. It is important to note that the form of moisturizer should be chosen according to the degree of dryness of the skin. Patients with particularly dry skin can still use moisturizer (cream), but in the neck, elbow fossa popliteal, underarm and groin areas that tend to sweat, you can use a light moisturizing lotion or lotion; patients with easily sweaty skin, whose dry skin is less pronounced in the summer, can use a light moisturizing lotion or lotion all over their body. Do I need sun protection in summer? The intensity of ultraviolet radiation in the sunlight is enhanced in summer, which can easily cause acute skin sunburn in outdoor activities, especially at the beach. This is not an allergic reaction, but a sign that UV rays have directly damaged the epidermal cells and destroyed the skin barrier. Another situation is that if the whole summer is not sunscreen, we will see the skin gradually tanned, at the same time we can not see with the naked eye, can detect the destruction of the outer layer of the skin stratum corneum, the skin will appear to reduce water content, more sensitive performance. Therefore, for eczema patients who have dry skin, an acute sunburn, or chronic UV damage caused by inattention to sun protection, can cause increased skin sensitivity or even a recurrence of eczema. Therefore, eczema patients should also do a good job of daily sun protection, you can use sunscreen, it is recommended to choose a medical sunscreen skin care products suitable for use on sensitive skin. After prolonged outdoor activities, it is especially important to apply moisturizer or moisturizing lotion to exposed areas. Is it okay to stay in an air-conditioned environment every day? Patients with eczema tend to itch and have their eczema aggravated in hot and humid weather, so it is more comfortable to stay in an air-conditioned room with constant temperature and humidity. For example, if the outdoor humidity is 90%, the indoor humidity will be below 60%, and the lower the temperature, the lower the humidity will be. For normal people, the summer indoor temperature of 26℃-29℃ and humidity of 40%-60% will feel more comfortable. But for eczema patients, if the temperature in the air-conditioned room feels more appropriate when the humidity has been reduced to less than 60%, at this time the skin to the environment will increase the loss of moisture, dry skin conditions will increase. Therefore, if you are in an air-conditioned environment for a longer period of time, you must remember to apply emollients several times, or you can use pure water or distilled water spray before applying emollients. Can eczema patients swim? Swimming is one of the best exercises to beat the summer heat, but many eczema patients will have dry skin, increased itching or recurrence of eczema after swimming, mainly because the pH of the pool water is alkaline, and the chlorine disinfectant in the pool water can cause skin irritation. Therefore, apply enough emollient ointment or cream to the whole body before entering the pool, and rinse well and apply emollients after swimming. Avoid swimming if your skin is cracked or oozing because of eczema.