Lifestyle and home remedies

These self-care habits can help you manage dermatitis and feel better:

• Moisturize your skin. Routinely applying a moisturizer can help your skin.
• Use anti-inflammation and anti-itch products. Hydrocortisone cream might temporarily relieve your symptoms. Oral antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, may help reduce itching. These types of products are available without a prescription.
• Apply a cool wet cloth. This helps soothe your skin.
• Take a comfortably warm bath. Sprinkle your bathwater with baking soda or a finely ground oatmeal that's made for the bathtub (colloidal oatmeal). Soak for 5 to 10 minutes, pat dry and apply unscented moisturizer while your skin is still damp. A lotion of 12% ammonium lactate or 10% alpha-hydroxy acid helps with flaky, dry skin.
• Use medicated shampoos. For dandruff, use OTC shampoos containing selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, coal tar or ketoconazole.

• Take a dilute bleach bath. This may help people with severe atopic dermatitis by decreasing the bacteria on the skin. For a dilute bleach bath, add 1/2 cup (about 118 milliliters) of household bleach, not concentrated bleach, to a 40-gallon (about 151-liter) bathtub filled with warm water. Measures are for a U.S. standard-sized tub filled to the overflow drainage holes. Soak for 5 to 10 minutes and rinse off before patting dry. Do this 2 to 3 times a week.

  Many people have had success using a dilute vinegar bath rather than a bleach bath. Add 1 cup (about 236 milliliters) of vinegar to a bathtub filled with warm water.

• Avoid rubbing and scratching. Cover the itchy area with a dressing if you can't keep from scratching it. Trim your nails and wear gloves at night.
• Choose mild laundry detergent. Because your clothes, sheets and towels touch your skin, choose mild, unscented laundry products.
• Avoid known irritants or allergens. Try to identify and remove allergens and other factors in your environment that irritate your skin. Avoid rough and scratchy clothing.
• Manage your stress. Emotional stressors can cause some types of dermatitis to flare. Consider trying stress management techniques such as relaxation or biofeedback.