Eczema is a common skin issue. As Aveeno® skin expert Rebecca Bennett notes, “As we know eczema is a diagnosable skin condition and should always be diagnosed by a physician with a proper set of treatments. It’s really common – at least one in five children (so around 20 per cent) suffer from it, and around one in ten to 12 adults.” Nuala Gorham tells us about her experiences dealing with skin that’s prone to eczema:

“My eczema started in my teenage years; I may have had some in childhood, but my teens is when I was first aware of it. It came and went – I was aware of patches during college and then post-grad – it tended to flare up at certain times, particularly with stress. A patch would take ages to go and I stopped using any products on my skin for a while. Then in the last few years there’s been less, and I might not see any patches for months. I love fake tan, as I avoid getting too much sun on my skin, and I’ve found that tends to make the patches a lot more noticeable – it makes you feel self-conscious, and can feel itchy.”

As Rebecca Bennett points out, “Around half the children who have it when they’re young will grow out of it; but anyone who’s had a diagnosis of eczema will always retain this disposition towards dry and sensitive skin. And they should always maintain an emollient and moisturisation programme. We now have much better treatments and awareness of this skin condition, with new treatments being developed all the time. So it’s certainly very possible to manage eczema very well with the help of pharmacists.”

To treat her eczema, Nuala Gorham first tried prescription steroid creams. “But I was never too comfortable using them, as I didn’t like using something very strong on my skin, and they never got rid of it completely, so I gave them up and just lived with it. In the past I talked to the GP about it, when it was quite bad. Dry skin is definitely in my family; my sister has it too. Nothing seemed to make it better or worse, diet-wise – I love food, dairy etc and never cut food groups out.

“I discovered Aveeno® probably through word of mouth, quite early on when the Dermexa range came out, and saw good results when my skin was dry and itchy. I started to notice improvements after about six to eight weeks. I found that the itchiness was the first thing to go – the uncomfortable itchiness was gone immediately. I’ve been using Aveeno® for four years now. Every now and then if I experience dry, itchy skin – even the tiniest sign of it – I’ll use the Dermexa Fast & Long Lasting Balm.

“I’m much more conscious of my skin in the summer and so I’m diligent about moisturising thoroughly – I use the Aveeno® Dermexa Daily Emollient Cream after using the Dermexa Daily Emollient Body Wash in the shower. In fact, I gave a bottle of the moisturising cream to my sister recently, and she uses it on my nephew too. I also use it on my hands – especially now when we’re washing hands so often and sanitising. With the Dermexa Fast & Long-Lasting Balm I keep it to use it once a week when I need to.

“One of my favourite things about the Aveeno® Dermexa Range is that the products are full of ceramides – such a good ingredient that I tend to include in my routine for both face and body. My morning routine has changed recently as I’m pregnant, so I’m using gentler products; in fact I had a clear-out and got rid of a lot of pots and tubes that I can’t use. I use a gentle cleanser followed by a high-percentage vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, always followed by SPF50 throughout the year; in fact at the moment I’m using a cream and then a tinted moisturiser that are both SPF50, as I’m going for walks. During lockdown I enjoyed giving my skin a break from heavier make-up, and while I still like self-tan, I look for wash-off ones so they’re not on my skin as long, and I never sleep in it.

“It can be nice to have a cream that smells luxurious, but sometimes you feel like the perfume is going into your pores, and I’d rather wear my own perfume. I’ll keep heavily fragranced creams for an indulgent spa evening with candles; I don’t really like strong-smelling creams for daily use. I’m so conscious of what I can’t use now I’m pregnant – and with products like Aveeno® I don’t have that worry. Since it’s my first pregnancy and everything is new, it’s nice to know it works well; I prefer to know what I’m putting on my skin.”

To find the right AVEENO® product for you, visit www.aveeno.ie.