Medically Reviewed
Paying attention to the fabric of your clothing, as well as how you wash it, can help reduce skin irritation.
Marti Sans/Stocksy
For many of us, doing laundry is automatic, and we treat it as a simple chore to check off our to-do list. But if you’re managing eczema, you may want to put some extra thought into how you wash your clothes and what you use to do so.
“The wrong laundry product can be a real nightmare for someone with eczema,” says Jeffrey M. Cohen, MD, a dermatologist and an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. “Some laundry products have chemicals that can be irritating to the skin, and any irritation to the skin can trigger eczema,” Dr. Cohen says. This can lead to itching, burning, redness, and other symptoms, according to the National Eczema Association.