What to wear in the hot weather ? It's especially tricky for anyone with skin condition such as Eczema.
I don't wish to be churlish but I am exhausted by the heat, finding cool comfortable clothes to wear is fine if you're at the beach but for general wear it has to be natural fabrics and even then I can only seem to cope with white cotton. I hate anything that feels restrictive and tight.
The problem is once educated there is no going back and I have learning about the problems of chemicals in clothing - even seemingly 100 per cent cotton - sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. Unfortunately it seems there is little or no regulation around chemical finishes on imported goods. Of course I'm just feeling hot and bothered but how much worse for anyone suffering from a skin condition such as Eczema. I recently came across Dorothy Clark who founded Cotton Comforts, she developed her own range of pure soft cotton clothing for children with Eczema when her own daughter was a baby.
Hot weather survival tips
For babies/children/adults with eczema
- Do not shower or bath your child before bedtime as the warm water will irritate eczema and make it more difficult to settle to sleep
- Keep nightwear in a bag in the fridge so it will be cool and soothing when you put it on before bed.
- Place soft bedtime toys in the freezer for a couple of hours (in a waterproof bag)- this will destroy any house dust mite allergen and be soothing and cooling to take to bed
- Keep a spare cotton pillowcase in the fridge so it can be placed under itchy heads and faces during the night if needed
- Do not hang washing outside to dry as any pollen will be blown on to it and accumulate on damp fabric
- If you have spent time in an area with a high concentration of pollen during the day - park, countryside etc then consider washing hair before bed as any pollen collected will deposit on the pillow and irritate any areas of eczema around the face, ears and neck as well as affecting anyone with a tendency to asthma
- Remove mobiles from above cots as they gather dust which then deposits on the child with any movement especially when windows are open
If the bedroom is hot then soak a bath towel in cold water - wring it out and hang in front of an open window so that any air coming in will be cooled, it will also prevent pollen/allergens being blown into the room - or position the wet towel in front of a fan so that instead of re circulating existing warm air, cool, slightly moist air will be generated from the towel. This works well if you drape the wet towel over a clothes airer and position the fan behind.
Sea water can be healing for eczematous skins but beware of sand getting into broken skin. Consider using an old long sleeve cotton t shirt and tights to allow your child to go into the sea. The clothes will retain moisture against the skin and keep the sand out as well as being cooling when wet
The cotton Comfort clothing is 100% pure organic cotton, as soft as possible therefore there are no pesticide residues, chemical finishes or bleached white fabric They have just launched the new Inca Colour Grown 100 per cent organic cotton eczema nightwear. The attention to details is high on all their clothing with flat seams inside and out for extra comfort and so they cannot be used to scratch against. They have tear off labels and no zips or Velcro.
Approved by the National Ezcema Society this is a fantastic range of clothing for babies and children and for the adults if you suffer from skin problems, forget the passé Onesie - opt for the all in one pajamas !