My DH has eczema and it has flared up lately, since he's intensified his exercise. According to the National Eczema Association web site, sweating is the surest way to aggravate the condition and should be avoided at all costs. (I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.) Other than swimming, which he can't do because he's allergic to chlorine, I can't think of an exercise that doesn't work up a sweat. Walking, maybe, but I don't know if that would be intense enough to help him lose weight. He likes mountain biking and skiing, and he will tolerate running as a means to an end.

Does anyone know an eczema treatment that might help? Any ideas about how to exercise without making it worse? Thanks.

Susan,

I don't know if you remember before we moved but I had a workout partner. She has eczema really bad, and has to avoid sweating. One thing that she found helped her was to shower AS SOON AS we were done exercising......she would walk directly from the machines to the shower and rinse off, and then she would slather herself with the lotion that she uses that helps keep everything under control. She always exercised in a temperature controlled environment like home or the gym. Unless it is VERY cold outside, she can't exercise outside at all because of the sweating issue. When at home, she'd have a fan blowing on her at all times to help prevent her from sweating, and at the gym, unless we were on the weight machines, she'd always make sure to be under the ceiling fans.

quote:

Originally posted by susanrows:
Frustrating for me, too, because I can't transfer my enthusiasm for working out to him.

Also... if it was something HE really wanted to do (like skiing) he'd probably figure out how to work around the eczema thing. But YOU being excited and motivated to see HIM exercise... he probably is not so much interested in figuring out the eczema thing.

I hear ya... and experience your same frustration. I'm HIGHLY motivated to see Nelson exercise... however N. doesn't share my enthusiasm.

Homewood shouldn't be toooooo bad. I was at Diamond Peak and the fast chair lift had about 6 million people in line... but one of the slow chairs only had about 20.

It is pretty up there... no matter what!

DH has psoriosis and things like wearing a cap and so on are a no-no for him because of sweating issues. A doctor once told DH to cut back on any products containing yeast (cut it out as much as he could) and that did seem to help.

Also, it doesn't seen as bad in the spring, summer & fall when DH's skin is exposed to sunlight and clothing isn't irratating the areas where he has the most problems.

Your DH needs to see a good dermatologist.

Actually, we're staying about halfway between Squaw and Homewood. Planning to do Squaw on Friday before the mongo hordes arrive, then stay toward Homewood, which is more manageable.

I am bowing out due to my ongoing back/hip/leg issues but I might try snowshoeing.

quote:

Originally posted by susanrows:
PS - We are going skiing this weekend, so I'll ask him about the sweat issue.

Wanna come, Denise?

THIS weekend... no way. Although, I did go skiing the week between Xmas and New Years... but only for a couple of hours a day. And plus, your dh likes to ski at Squaw? Ewwwww this weekend. Unless you like skiing with the mass of humanity!

But you guys have fun!

PS - We are going skiing this weekend, so I'll ask him about the sweat issue.

Wanna come, Denise?

Thanks, all.

He does have a cortisone cream that helps some.

The reason this is so frustrating is that it is only the most recent in a long string of "roadblocks" in his exercise commitment. If it's not an attack of IBS right in the middle of a run, it's knee strain. And if it's not something physical, it's a client who wants to meet at exactly the same time he's scheduled a session with a trainer. (Me, I would tell the client I was already committed for that time, but DH isn't quite at the "workouts are not negotiable" stage.) Also can't see him doing yoga or walking -- he gets bored easily if he's not seeing results.

Frustrating for me, too, because I can't transfer my enthusiasm for working out to him.

quote:

Originally posted by susanrows:
I can't think of an exercise that doesn't work up a sweat.

I think that we are ALWAYS losing moisture thru our skin, but most of the time it evaporates before we realize it... but sometimes we create moisture faster than it evaporates... and thus "sweat".

Maybe exercise in a way that sweat evaporates quickly? I know that doing the elliptical in a cold garage… and/or with a fan going… I don’t sweat that much.

Would wicking clothing help? Does your dh sweat when he skis? I often sweat when I ski… but everything is wicking and it evaporates very quickly.

quote:

Walking, maybe, but I don't know if that would be intense enough to help him lose weight.

According www.caloriesperhour.com, a person that weighs 170 lbs would burn 386 calories in an hour, walking 4 miles per hour. This would be a loss of about 1 pound every 9 days or so. It is indeed possible to lose weight by walking… but for MOST people it takes some combination of diet and exercise and if a person ate 300 cals less a day, and burned 386 cals in exercise a day… they’d lose 1.3 lbs a week... with walking.

Most of the people in the National Weigh Control Registry report that they walk for exercise.

This time of year, it would probably be very possible to walk at a rate of 4 MPH and not sweat. And lose weight.

If you've got one in town, check the college/junior college/high school swimming pool. A lot of competition pools now use non-chlorine systems for their water. City pools, gym pools--those will probably still be chlorinated.

A bonus is that those types of pools often have a diving well (so he could strap on floaties on his waist and water jog) and a cool down/warm up pool (other people call them hot tubs).

Cortisone cream. Where does it flare up? As long as it is not on the face or private parts, cortisone is the best thing.

I would put Yoga on his list if he is interested.