We’ve all heard of eczema – where your skin becomes itchy, dry, cracked and sore. It’s usually triggered by skin irritants, or, it’s an allergic reaction, such as to pet fur. Sometimes just eating a certain food can cause your skin to react too.
It’s a very unpleasant condition and can cause absolute misery, and it seems to be getting more common. According to the National Eczema Association between 10-13% of Americans have eczema. The British Skin Foundation tells us that one in five children in UK are affected by eczema at some time. Even more people complain of sensitive skin. Quite shocking really, but why is it becoming so rife?
It is almost certainly multifactorial, but not all causes are beyond our control. Although we usually think about what we apply directly to our skin – moisturisers, shower gel and such, we may forget that residues of laundry products on clothes and sheets are in close contact with our skin 24/7.
So it’s important to choose laundry products carefully, and to hunt out companies like Surcare, who have done much research to create skin-kind products. Surcare’s product development expert, Claire Lancaster explains:
‘Everybody is different and everybody’s skin is different – which is why pinpointing specific ingredients that could be irritating the skin can be a bit of a minefield.
‘We’ve spent years researching how the skin reacts to certain things – including ingredients that are commonly used in laundry products, which can affect sensitive skin when clothing and fabrics come into contact with your body.
‘Many washing detergents and softeners will contain fragrances, dyes, acids and enzymes which can easily irritate sensitive skin. In fact, fragrances can be one of the biggest triggers of flare ups.’
Consequently Surcare products are gentle for everyone, and particularly for those with sensitive skin or eczema – their complete range has the Allergy UK Seal of Approval.
You may worry that products for sensitive skin don’t clean effectively. After all, it’s good to have healthy skin, but if it means our clothes remain smelly, people may not get close enough to notice. I’ve used Surcare for a while now – both the Laundry Liquid, Capsules and Fabric Conditioner and my clothes come out clean, but without a strong artificial fragrance. Remember these added fragrances serve no good purpose and can be a serious trigger for eczema and other skin reactions.
Surcare also have a nice Washing Up Liquid – important as hands can easily become dry, sore and cracked with frequent exposure to irritants in some dish-washing products.
The Surcare range can be found in Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Coop – checkout the Surcare website for more information.
By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q
Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.