Patients with AD should be advised to wear comfortable, soft, layered cotton clothing and to avoid contact with irritating fibers, such as wool products. In addition, patients should also avoid exposure to known chemical irritants, such as bleach and solvents.
The use of ion-exchange water softeners for bathing and laundry is not a recommended environmental modification for patients with AD owing to lack of data demonstrating their effectiveness in reducing skin irritation. Rather, one large randomized controlled showed no benefit to the use of softeners in patients with AD.
Although frequent hot baths are not recommended for patients with AD, as previously noted, tepid, 5-minute baths, followed by application of an emollient to wet skin, are effective to improve hydration.
Patients with AD should expose affected areas of skin to cool, moist air, not dry ambient air, to optimize moisturization.
Learn more about nonmedical supportive care for AD.
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Cite this: Richard P. Vinson. Fast Five Quiz: Atopic Dermatitis - Medscape - Feb 11, 2020.
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