How to Treat Skin Irriation at Home

Is inflammation and itchiness getting under your skin? Take on skin irritation with these steps and learn to recognize when it’s time to seek medical help.

As the body’s largest organ, it’s normal for the skin to experience irritation every now and then. Skin irritation can take different forms, from red, inflamed and itchy areas to dry, scaly patches. However, skin irritation that has extremely bothersome physical symptoms can become a source of mental anguish and stress. To add, it’s hard to determine the source of skin irritation, as it can be caused by infections, medications, immune system disorders, and even the weather.

If you’re struggling to manage your skin irritation, we’ve listed below some tips that can calm and soothe your skin at home.

Apply colloidal oatmeal

One of the most effective home remedies for skin irritation is colloidal oatmeal. Essentially, colloidal oatmeal is a mixture of ground oat kernels that are dissolved in water. According to health information outlet Medical News Today, colloidal oatmeal has plenty of components that are good for the skin. These include antioxidants such as phenols, cleansing compounds like saponins, and moisturizing ingredients like beta-glucan. The combination of such components has given colloidal oatmeal its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that can help with skin scaling, roughness, dryness, and itchiness. While you can find colloidal oatmeal as an active ingredient in many skincare products such as cleansers, creams, and lotions, you can easily make a colloidal oatmeal mixture at home by grinding up oats in a blender and adding water. Simply apply the mixture to the affected area to reap the calming properties of colloidal oatmeal.

Find healing skincare ingredients

When looking for skincare products that you can use to soothe your irritated skin, be sure to check the ingredients list. Stay away from irritating ingredients like retinol, acids and parabens. Instead, choose products that have anti-inflammatory ingredients like aloe vera, witch hazel, calendula, CBD, Centella Asiatica, and niacinamide. By only using skincare products with healing properties, you can avoid worsening your irritated skin and speed up its recovery. If you want to make sure that the skincare product you’re using actually works to help relieve your skin irritation, you can try out prescription skincare such as the products offered by discreet meditation service Wisp.

Consult with a professional

If home remedies can’t help you alleviate your irritated skin, consider seeking medical help. Thankfully, plenty of medical facilities now offer telehealth services that can connect you with a variety of healthcare professionals. In a medical clinic, your first point of contact would be a nurse, and this is true of telehealth. Wheel highlights how nurse practitioners, who can specialize in dermatology and diagnose skin conditions, now work remotely and are available through telehealth services. They will be able to judge whether you need to make a trip to the hospital to see a specialist. By consulting with a medical professional remotely, you can get a proper assessment for your skin irritation issue and be prescribed with the right medication. This will also save you time and money compared to visiting a medical center.

Practice good skincare habits

To find relief from your irritated skin, remember to adopt good skincare habits. These include lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, drinking plenty of water, removing makeup at the end of the day, using the right products for your skin type, and using a moisturizer whenever you can. The Skin Experiment also notes that it’s important that you stay consistent in order to have healthy skin. Like all good things, having healthy skin takes time, so be sure to religiously practice good skincare habits to be free from irritated skin.