I was diagnosed with Eczema as a little girl, and it’s stayed with me into my teens and 20s. I’ve even been told by the British Allergy Clinic and NHS Dermatologists that I may also have Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria. But my brother has asthma, and my Grandad has had eczema, and struggled with the big signs of eczema as a little girl; itchy red patches on my elbows and behind my knees. And I definitely live with it now, but on some medication.
And it does have an impact of my running too.. so I thought I’d share how I manage that and navigate my running journey to make it itch-free, where I can.
All the gear…. *some* idea
Tight fitting clothes are my worst nightmare. Well, that’s not totally true; I love getting dressed up and feeling confident. But wearing overly tight long sleeved running tops or clothing to work out in, doesn’t usually have the best outcome. At the end of a sweaty run in my long sleeved top I can feel my eczema areas about to be triggered.
So I have to get some air to my elbows and everywhere else, before the urge to scratch becomes too much!
It’s a serious magic trick trying to wear the ‘right’ clothes for a run when you have eczema especially throughout the different seasons. Part of me loves the spring and summer months when I can wear lighter, looser running clothes because it gives my itch-prone skin a bit of a break and that’s heaven.
But part of me also finds the warmer months really hard.
A cool shower, if I can tolerate it
The quicker I can ignore the desire to scratch, and get into a slightly cool shower, the quicker I get the relief. If you’ve never had eczema, you’ll never have felt the relieving sensation of cool water on something you really want to scratch.
My sister once said to me:
I bet a hot bath is lovely on your muscles after a run!
And I totally get why she would think that. But I couldn’t think of anything worse than being warm and sweaty post run, feeling the itch is juuuuust about to happen on your elbows, armpits, thighs.. and then to get into a steaming bath, for an hour? No thanks!
In fact, let my mention my dad here; multiple marathon finisher and who I got the running bug from. I remember my mom would always start running my dad a bath for when he’d get home from a big run on a weekend.
I always assumed he was having a cozy version.. Turns out he wasn’t! He’d come home, red and puffy, shout through a quick “hello!” and then walk upstairs after his however many miles.. and within a minute you’d hear sharp gasps, as though he was in pain.
He was getting into a VERY cold bath… of just cold water. Me being Curious Kate asked what the reason was for this madness. Back then he educated me:
The belief is that a very cold bath helps get rid of lactic acid in your muscles, which impeded recovery times… It worked, as I don’t ache the day after, and I can run again sooner.
Even today, 10 years later, I asked him if he still had that belief and he says:
That was the belief back then.. Worth double checking the theory though..”
Don’t take this as a lack of running knowledge; my dad was and is a running pro (in my totally unbiased opinion) and he helped me learn almost everything I know about running!
But I think the semi-confident response was probably because:
- He didn’t want me to try something that worked for him a long time ago, and then blame him if it didn’t work (I wouldn’t have, and I wasn’t brave enough to try a freezing cold bath anyway!)
- Science changes sometimes with new research
- He taught us to get all the information first, and then make our own informed decisions.
So I’ve checked, and apparently, Runner’s World, can confirm the science is still true; cold water does help to:
Reduce the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which is commonly experienced 24-48 hours post-exercise due to muscular microtrauma and inflammation.
Anyway! Unfortunately, my eczema would probably find a cold shower too much. Honestly, a drastic change in temperature can also set my eczema off. So going from super pink, warm and puffy from my to jumping into a freeeeezing (literally) cold shower, would be too much of a shock. I just like it nice and cool, with a quick temperature check as I turn the tap on.
Moisture, moisture, moisture
Over my years of endlessly shopping in Boots, online and at so many brands, I know first hand how hard it can be to find the right post-shower moisturizer if you have eczema. And again, to be honestly, I think there’s a misconception that people with eczema need to have extra helpful ingredients to reallyyyy hydrate your skin.
The thing is, for me, less is more. I use Dermalotion EVERYWHERE, including my face after a shower. It’s cooling, it’s thin and refreshing on my skin. Don’t get me wrong, it dries so fast, like within seconds. But that’s because I have very, very, very dry skin. But the beauty is you can’t put too much on. Just lather it on and your skin soaks it up.
And then on my face, I’ll use Simple’s gel moisturizer, again because it’s cool and gentle. Such RELIEF. Ahh…
Here’s an Instagram reel of me talking about the ways I cope with eczema as a runner… Mainly Dermolotion!
Make a conscious effort to drink 2 liters of water that day
Drinking water is important. But it’s really important for those of us with eczema and dry skin. You really got to get the water in to hydrate. It’s easy to forget once you’ve done your run to actually get some fluids in. But cool down, stretch and start sipping. Trust me it will help you not itch quite as much later.
And then the next day, top up that water bottle and stay on top of it! It will make a difference. It all does!
Written by Katie McDonald, 30th March 2025.
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