Eczema and Exercise: 10 Tips From the NEA Community

We asked our Facebook community to give us their advice on exercising with eczema. Here’s what they had to say:

1. 1. I have an additional fan for the machine I work out on. I also swim right after I work out and the water helps cool me down. Also, I think the swimming is good for a slight bleach bath.
   2. I walk because I find it helps with my skin as it reduces stress and doesn’t get me too sweaty.
   3. Barre classes! Gets the job done with little sweat!

1. Showering and then moisturizing right after is the key. I want to control my eczema not let it control me.
2. I use one of those cooling towels. It keeps your body cool and you can use it to wipe sweat.
3. I race in triathlons. I can tolerate Vaseline and giving my body a thin coat seems to help. The cycling doesn’t cause me many problems and when running I under-dress to keep cool. Open water swimming if fine for me. In pools, I can only swim when my skin is good and I choose pools carefully. They all have different filter types.
4. I find pool chlorine is similar to a bleach bath and clears my skin, but I have to make sure I shower after and then apply Vaseline all over.
5. I sweat a lot more doing housework than when I exercise. I drink water consistently and have a cold shower right afterwards. I also put a few drops of tea tree oil in my lotion.
6. My daughter is a true athlete and she struggles with sports. We are trying different indoor sports so that she can play, but are focusing on keeping her cool and make sure she showers and moisturizes immediately afterward.
7. I’ve begun showering at night and it helps a ton. I exercise later in the day, take a cool shower, sleep, and moisturize again when I wake up, and maybe once more during the day.