How to get rid of eczema, beat the itch and scratch cycle

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Whether you are unfortunate enough to be born with the skin condition or you develop it in later life, eczema can be painful, embarrassing and debilitating. Eczema is red, flaky and itchy skin, which will often crack and weep. The most common type of eczema is atopic (caused by allergies), but people may suffer from contact eczema (flare-ups after touching allergens such as nickel or rubber), discoid (which occurs in coin-shaped patches), or seborrheic (eczema of the scalp).

Atopic eczema is in your genes, and often goes hand-in-hand with hay fever and asthma. "You can send eczema into remission, but you’ll always have it – it’s a case of whether you have symptoms or not," says GP Dr Rob Hicks. "The aim of the treatment is to keep people free from flare-ups." Although you may be genetically predisposed to eczema, it can only be set off by a trigger, which could be anything from nuts to dog hair, wool to cigarette smoke, and establishing what it is, is key to treatment.