It’s nearly that time of year again, when the leaves have been changing into their fall colors and people are putting up carved jack o’ lantern pumpkins on their front porches, lit up with candles or LED lights.
Your kids may have already selected their Halloween costumes, excited about going out to scare neighbors and collect treats. And chances are good that you have your own Halloween getup ready to go and are looking forward to the celebration.
During any holiday when there are plenty of treats available, people sometimes let their guard down and eat things that maybe don’t agree very well with them. For some, there are issues with costumes and masks that can irritate your skin, and food triggers that can lead to a need for relief from eczema reactions.
Before you take your children out trick or treating this Halloween or go to a party to celebrate the spooky, candy-filled holiday, here are 10 tips to help you protect them from eczema reactions. Adults can also follow this advice before putting on masks or costumes when celebrating the holiday this fall.
- Provide allergy-safe treats to hand out to trick-or-treaters visiting your own home, or at your Halloween party. Your eczema-friendly efforts should always begin at home!
- Examine the ingredients list of all treats your kids bring home in their bag of goodies, looking for any items that might cause a flare-up. Reject small packaged items that do not include their ingredients unless you are already familiar with the treat.
- Consider giving alternatives to treats, such as handing out small games, glow-in-the dark spooky jewelry (like skull head rings or a necklace of plastic teeth) to avoid any possible allergens.
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Do a quick test on a small patch of skin before letting your kids put on any Halloween makeup or face paint. Ideally you will find hypoallergenic makeup at trick-or-treating season. Artificial dyes and fragrances can set off an eczema reaction, as noted by Mount Sinai.
- Make an inventory of all treats when your kids have finished touring the neighborhood. Sort out the ones that are very high in refined sugar, as this ingredient is implicated in skin inflammation. Your kids will be glad at not suffering from a flare-up if this helps avoid a reaction, and their dentist will be glad that you’re encouraging them to cut down on sweets!
- When shopping for Halloween costumes (or of making one yourself from scratch), look for apparel that is loose-fitting. It would be good if the costume is made from breathable fabric too, as pointed out by Our Eczema Story.
- Use hypoallergenic candles. Many people light candles for celebrating Halloween, from using one inside a pumpkin to illuminate a scary carved jack o’ lantern to decorating their homes for holiday gatherings. Look at the labels of candles before purchase to make sure they don’t contain any fragrances that could trigger an eczema reaction and painful flare-up.
- Double-check older costumes from storage. If it’s been years since anyone has worn a costume, such as a hand-me-down that an older child no longer can fit in, make sure that it is clean. As Dermvada explains, accumulated dust as well as invading mites that find the costume a great hiding place will trigger allergic reactions that eczema patients need to avoid at all costs. If you can’t clean the costume thoroughly, consider retiring it for a new one.
- Check accessories and jewelry to see if they contain nickel, a metal that is often implicated in allergic reactions among eczema patients. Costume jewelry made of plastic may be a better alternative and it will likely be less expensive, too. Or use metal jewelry that you already know is free of nickel.
- If you plan to attend a Halloween party with other adults or are throwing a frightening get-together at your home, try to avoid consuming too much alcohol and refrain from smoking. These two habits can lead to people getting a painful eczema outbreak.
Here’s to Having a Fun and Safe Halloween!
The entire team at Eczema Honey hopes that you and your family have plenty of fun this Halloween.
Whether you are out and about visiting every neighbor in search of treats or are planning on attending a Halloween party, you want to make sure flare-ups don’t put a damper on the evening. Following the above tips will help you steer clear of an eczema reaction.
Of course, kids can suffer from uncomfortable eczema flare-ups at any time. Because we recognize that many children suffer from nut allergies we are proud to offer a special formulation for those who don’t tolerate nuts very well. Many parents prefer to give their kids Eczema Honey Nut-Free Skin-Soothing Cream to treat nagging symptoms.
Sources
- Mount Sinai: Skin Reactions to Halloween Costumes and Makeup
- https://health.mountsinai.org/blog/skin-reactions-to-halloween-cosstumes-and-makeup/
- Our Eczema Story: Halloween And Eczema – Don’t Let Eczema Spoil Your Fun!
- https://www.oureczemastory.com/halloween-and-eczema/
- Dermvada: 3 Tips to Ditch the Halloween Costume Itch
- https://www.dermveda.com/articles/3-tips-to-ditch-the-halloween-costume-itch
- Eczema Honey: Eczema Honey Nut-Free Skin-Soothing Cream
- https://eczemahoneyco.com/collections/eczema-relief/products/nut-free-eczema-honey-natural-healing-cream
