to think it wrong not to wash everyday?

[happyclappy]

I went to see my GP yesterday, I have some eczema on my legs and the usual creams are not doing the trick. he asked if I wash/ take a shower everyday, I said of corse, and he advised me to keep it to once a week! AIBU? instead of prescribing me some steroid cream which will ease the itching enough, so i can control it with moisturiser, he gives me useless advise which I'm not going to follow.
but seriously who would only wash their body onlt once a week?

Why don't you try it for a week (just washing your pits etc)? Or every other day.

If the eczema gets no better he is talking bollocks, if it gets better- result

Well, my DS had terible eczema a few months back. Once I started giving him a bath every 2/3 days (as opposed to everyday), it disappeared. So your GP just may be talking some sense ...

yabu. Not only is your doctor more informed than you are, but eczema is irritated by excessive washing. And every day is excessive.

and long term steriod cream messes up your skin

washing definetley drys out eczema

why dont you try the doctors advice

its not going to hurt you and could help you

I mean isn't this why you went to the doctor, for advice

and you do realise that steroid cream used alot (not saying your using it alot but this is why the doc will be avoiding it til neccessary) thins the skin in the long term

I think only showering/bathing once a week is a bit extreme. It probably would work but can see that it would feel rather unpleasent.

Why not try cutting down so have one every other day? You can still wash your hair over a sink and clean the important bits. It will hopefully only be a temporary thing to let your body calm down and then you can go back to normal for a while.

well i think yanbu - i wouldn't be able to manage without a daily shower/bath.

have you tried aqueous cream? my GP advised mixing aqueous cream with water (needs a bit of mixing!) to create a liquid 'soap' to be used instead of shower gel/soap etc.

'wrong'?

As in morally?

I wash my face + under arms every day, but only have a full shower/bath about once or twice a week. I don't know whether it's the water, the hardness of the water/chemicals added etc (XFIL always used to swear by it being this) or the soaps etc we use which are also full of chemicals.

YABU. Excessive washing / soap use is a trigger for eczema.

You could try avoiding detergents / soaps and using alternatives. DD has bad eczema and we keep it under control by avoiding the triggers - washing powders, soaps, shampoos, bubble bath etc. She showers. We use E45 cream and her clothes and bed sheets are washing with either soapnuts or an ecoball and sometimes very little soap powder but an extra rinse. We rarely have to resort to cortisone cream which is damaging long term.

wasn't thinking long term, just enough to get ontop of the itching.
is everyday excessive? the only time i've not had a shower everyday is when I'm sick and in bed 24/7 and i just feel really dirty.
if there is something in it I'll give it a go

He probably means have a wash at the sink every day - armpits etc - but a hot shower/bath just once a week. That's what many elderly people do. Water (especially hot water) is dreadful for drying out your skin.

Have you tried a bath oil eg. balneum/oilatum in the bath? Are you in a soft or hard water area? Soft water is better for eczema.

or you could shower just washing the top half of you and avoiding the places where the eczema is.

Your skin can definitely get dried out by being washed every day, water is VERY drying. I don't think he is being unreasonable, so I think YABU. Try it, you can still wash your armpits and between your legs every day.

YABU Your doc knows best, if you don't like his advice ask to be referred to a skin specialist. And is it really necessary to bath/shower everyday?
I have really bad excema and very sensitive skin. For me just sitting in a bath makes me feel like I am in a vat of acid. I shower once every 2-3 days and have to put on cream beforehand, use an oil instead of bath product and then slather myself in cream afterwards.
Water is rerally drying and if you hot shower/bath every day you will notice your skin getting itchier.
As for steroid creams, don't overuse them as the thin your skin and overtime they make your excema worse, I'm talking several years not just a few months. I have scarred my legs through excema and they don't fade.
If he gives you aqueous cream do not use it as a moisturiser it is best used as a soap substitute

Oh, and steriod cream is to be avoided at all costs if there is alternative. It does real long term damage.

if he means washing with soap, then you really don't need to do that every day.

i have dry skin and i wash with hot water and a flannel every morning (strip wash i think they call it), but soap on my underarms and smelly feet!

i only shower/bath with soap once a week

YABU

A quick rinse around the key areas is fine.

I doubt your legs would get particularly dirty if you didn't was them every day! I find it interesting that in the last 20 years or so it has become the norm to bath or shower every day, it never was in my childhood, and we were a pretty normal middle class family, I think. We did wash though, it just involved water, soap and flannel.

I'd echo the anti-steroid advice. My eczema has always been worse on my fingers and now with each flare up my skin splits horribly. I have recently found Aveeno cream is fab.

No, it's fine. I have always had a bath every other day, I don't like showers and only have them if I have to. I grew up like that from being in a family of 6, with an ancient immersion heater and no shower.
My ILs live in another (hotter) country. They have no shower in their house, and no hot water. They go to public baths twice a week. They use water instead of toilet paper so they are always clean down below, and they flannel wash their pits every day, along with faces etc.
I have never noticed any of them getting whiffy, even in summer. Their skin is lovely and soft and when they do wash they do it properly so I think their skin stay cleaner longer.

I also used to get awful itchy skin after showers which is why I still avoid them. But - I haven't had the itchiness since I gave up dairy 7 years ago. I now eat dairy again but the itching never came back. Something to try? Cutting down at least.

All very interesting, I've been using aqueous cream, I'll try it as a soap substitute.
I've not heard about the dairy thing and i'll keep it in mind if it gets worse.
thak you for all your suggestions

I have a 'whores bath' everyday, but only a bath or shower when my hair needs washing every 2-3 days.

DD was advised to bathe twice a week at the most to help eczema and it does work.

riven maybe only a teeeeny bit more