Eczema and Sweat: How They’re Linked and What to Do About It – Greatist

Its not your imagination, your sweat-inducing workouts are a likely trigger of itchy eczema. Well explain why and how to calm your skin so you can still get the feel-good benefits of moving your body.

Youre not alone in the itchy skin club. Up to 20 percent of children and 1 to 3 percent of adults have eczema (aka atopic dermatitis).

Having eczema means your overactive immune system responds to irritation with inflammation. If your delicate dermis doesnt like a product or fabric or environmental trigger, it lets you know with itching, redness, and painful skin.

Eczema triggers are hard to identify because theres a lag time between exposure to something irritating and an inflamed reaction.

Common triggers include:

There are a few ways sweating is believed to aggravate people with eczema:

For those with eczema, the buildup of sweat on top of the skin, like under a tight polyester top or in a hot gym with poor ventilation, sweat glands become plugged and prevent the release of sweat. This leads to overheated skin and dryness which both exacerbate eczema.

Thats not all. If sweat cant escape the clogged sweat gland, it leaks into the surrounding tissue under your skin and causes a histamine reaction. Histamines are released when the body is exposed to an allergen.

People with atopic dermatitis have an allergic response to antigens (a substance that causes an immune response) in sweat. Studies have shown that between 77 and 96 percent of people with atopic dermatitis have an allergic response to sweat.

Researchers have also found that people with atopic dermatitis have more glucose in their sweat which is also associated with more skin problems.

If you have impaired sweating, altered sweat composition, and dry skin, they all add up to an itchy situation. Also, studies have found the sweat of people with eczema has lower antimicrobial properties making them more prone to skin infection.

To make matters worse, worrying about itch while you work out can actually make you itch. People with atopic dermatitis are more vulnerable to contagious itch. Contagious itch is that peculiar phenomenon where you feel real itchiness after seeing someone scratch, hearing the sound of scratching, or even just seeing a picture of a creepy crawly.

Roughly rubbing your skin can also induce itch, so take it easy wiping down with a scratchy gym towel.

Dont despair! You can still work up a sweat. The thing to avoid is letting the sweat sit on your skin too long. Keep a soft, clean towel handy to mop up sweat, and shower or rinse off as soon as youre done working out.

It goes without saying, but were saying it. Exercise is generally good for you and your eczema because of health benefits like:

Heres how you can get the exercise that makes you feel good without stimulating extra itchiness.

How you dress when you exercise can have a big impact on eczema flare-ups. Tight spandex may look cute, but its not your skins friend. Follow these tips for dressing to sweat:

If your Crossfit box is more like a garage with no air conditioning, your eczema is probably not happy. Hot temps and a lack of ventilation mean more sweat pooling on your skin, triggering an eczema flare. Try this instead:

Yes, sunshine is glorious for your mood and vitamin D levels, but ultraviolet (UV) rays are rough on eczema. You can still exercise outside and soak up nature, just follow these tips, for your skins sake:

If your current workout causes a flare, switch things up.

If youve been dealing with eczema for a long time, you probably have a soothing skin care routine established. If not, here are the basics of skin care for eczema:

Its not out of line to think what you eat could impact eczema flare-ups. Theres some overlap in food allergies and atopic dermatitis: about 40 percent of children with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis also have food allergies.

However, theres not much evidence that diet can improve eczema. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, avoiding foods that cause an allergic reaction rarely stops an eczema flare.

Experimenting with elimination diets to identify possible food triggers can backfire with children, leading to:

If you have a diagnosed food allergy or sensitivity, absolutely avoid that food! Just dont expect cutting out certain foods to cure your eczema.

Its not your imagination, sweating it out at the gym may be getting your eczema fired up. You may even be allergic to sweat (gasp)! But you dont have to resign yourself to a life without movement. There are steps you can take to exercise and keep your skin calm, like wear the right workout gear, watch the temps, adjust your routine, and follow a good skin care plan.

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Eczema and Sweat: How They're Linked and What to Do About It - Greatist