Re: hot water on eczema euphoria phenom; anyone?

Glad to hear from some other fellow skin sufferers,

I know this post is a couple of years old, but this seems like a problem that isn't addressed by doctors and the medical community nearly enough. who would have thought that hot water could provide a feeling of euphoria? It seems like people with serious eczema walk into this discovery with out even meaning to. At least thats what happened to me. When I was younger I used to have a lot of problems with my skin, and i used to hate feeling itchy all the time. I remember going to bed, waking up in the middle of the night feeling itchy and overheated. When I first found out that hot water felt good on the inflamed regions on my body, I quickly became hooked. The everyday shower became longer and more enjoyable because I knew it would provide me with the relief that I wanted. As my eczema got worse and after I went through several topical creams prescribed by my dermatologist, I realized that the showers were the main problem that prevented me from getting better. i think it is important for people with eczema to know that taking hot showers can turn into an addiction that is hard to kick. From the start doctors will tell you to take cool showers and to stay away from heat because obviously hot showers will dry the skin out. The doctors advise is definitely worth sticking to. I never knew that hot showers would form a hard to break daily routine. The times that were hardest for me were when I had multiple inflamed areas on my body that were very uncomfortable. applying heat to all of those spots provided euphoria several times over. It came to point where i felt like i couldn't control myself and I knew what I was doing needed to stop, so I decided to take action. I marked a line on my my shower knob where the water temperature was cool/warm. I then forced myself to stay below that line for a month. I gotta say the first week was rough because everytime I took a shower I wanted to turn the heat up and and get the everyday high I was used to having. About half way through the second week, I started to lose the cravings and I slowly started to feel more comfortable. By the third week my skin started to look a lot better and i noticed during the weeks following that my skin stopped itching dramatically. I still stick to this cool water routine today and honestly I don't crave taking those hot showers anymore. My skin feels great and I know it isn't worth going back. I would encourage anyone that is experiencing the same problem that I did to try and make an effort to stop. applying hot water to rashes, inflamed areas, or hives may feel great and provide temporary itch relief, but in the long run it does more damage than good. Tweet