How to Treat Eczema With Behavior Therapy

A patient that has suffered from eczema for a long period of time can often scratch the affected areas out of habit rather than need. The act of scratching has been linked to the release of brain chemicals that relieve the stress involved with the feelings of an itch. When eczema scratching becomes habitual, behavioral treatments can help to ease the stressful struggle. Read on to learn how to treat eczema with behavior therapy.

Things You'll Need

• Behavior therapist
• Doctor or dermatologist

Instructions

1. See a doctor. The first step in treating eczema through behavior therapy is to treat the condition of eczema. Visiting a doctor or dermatologist for cream and oral prescription treatments is necessary to eliminate the flair ups causing the need for scratching.

2. See a behavior therapist. A behavior therapist can offer advice and methods of self training to deal with the habitual itching. These therapies are often more successful with older patients. Children who habitually scratch eczema flair ups often do not understand the therapeutic methods prescribed by the therapist.

3. Modify behaviors. Following the guidelines set forth by the behavior therapist, the eczema patient will be able to learn how to recognize the need to scratch and treat that need by changing the body position, applying a lotion or cream to the area and diverting the attention given to the itch to other activities.

4. Understand the itch. Eczema itches, it is as simple as that. The key to behavior therapy for eczema is to notice the need to itch and treat that need through methods other than scratching.