How does DermaSilk fit into the management of eczema?

Normal clothing protects us from the elements but can irritate sensitive skin and cause eczema to flare and itch. Despite this, cotton underwear remained the medical choice for eczema patients despite no evidence to support the advice.
If the eczema becomes severely flared nurses may use a bandaging technique called “wet” or “dry wrapping” to help bring serious eczema under control. These bandages have evolved over the years into vests and leggings and work very well if their usage is maintained. However, there are a number of drawbacks to their use which can make it difficult to maintain their use and they are very costly, both in terms of the actual costs of the garments and the time needed to correctly apply them.

Drawbacks of Emollient Retention Garments.

Problems   Drawbacks Made from Rayon   Artificial fibre. Woven design does not allow free passage of air and moisture making the clothing overheat the wearer in summer and supercool in winter. Occlusive to keep moisturiser in place   Cannot be used if the eczema becomes infected. Wet Wrapping uses two layers of clothing, the inner layer being saturated with moisturiser or dampened with water   Requires significant education and motivation from the family to ensure that the correct application is done morning and evening. Uncomfortable for the patient and very time consuming. Dry Wrapping uses a single layer of garments to cover the moisturised skin   Less cumbersome than wet wrapping but education, motivation and time consumption can still be an issue. Require significant amounts of emollient to be applied each time they are used   This can be messy, time consuming and expensive. It also limits the lifespan of both the garments (around 20 washes) and the washing machine used to wash the clothes. (the life of a washing machine in an eczema family can last half as long as in a non-eczema family).

As a result of these issuess, this type of garment is generally reserved for the management of severe eczema flares with the patient being returned to “normal” clothing once the skin has calmed down.

Up until DermaSilk, these were the only choices available to you.

So what is different about DermaSilk?

DermaSilk is the first in a new type of clothing – Therapeutic Clothing. It is designed to have a positive therapeutic effect on the wearer and in the case of DermaSilk it controls temperature and humidity close to the skin thereby reducing itch and irritation.

Treats all flares at once rather than individual flares

It is used as a preventative base layer of underclothing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, effectively replacing normal underwear and nightwear. Unlike wrapping garments it allows the skin to breathe and maintain a healthy microclimate so that the wearer will not overheat in summer or become too cold in winter. DermaSilk has natural anti-inflammatory properties and has been clinically proven to control the symptoms of eczema far better than cotton underclothing. Think of it as a second skin with the ability to control temperature, humidity and itch – just like normal intact skin does!

Built in natural moisturisers

DermaSilk has natural moisturising properties, no need to add softeners to the silk; it is smooth enough on its own! Consequently it needs only a small amount of emollient to be applied to the skin before it is worn so it is extremely easy to use and the garments will wash and wear repeatedly. In many cases the child will grow out of the garments before they are worn out! Less moisturiser also means less wear on the washing machine!

Free of potentially sensitising dyes

Whilst fashion might dictate designer colours it is comforting to know that DermaSilk only comes in its natural silk colour. No dyes are used in the manufacture which might provoke allergic reactions and the permanently bonded antimicrobial finish on the silk fibres protects them from contamination without sensitising the skin.

Soft seam technology

The DermaSilk designers have tried to think of everything. Even the soft seams have minimal stitching to prevent the thread from scratching the skin and on the smaller garments the seams are on the outside of the garments, just to make sure. The body suits have long mittens built in to allow the infant to stretch out their fingers and all poppers are nickel free.
Everyone can benefit from the therapeutic properties of DermaSilk Clothing.

• Children itch less, sleep better and are more alert during the day

• Parents get more concentrated sleep and have fewer battles with children and their medications

• Eczema flares are less severe and less frequent when wearing DermaSilk

• Fewer flares means fewer trips to the GP and possibly fewer hospital referrals

Just look through the rest of the site and you’ll see what we mean when we say that we really do change lives!

Reassurance