Wet Wrapping for Severe Eczema

Wet wrapping for severe eczema can be an absolute godsend. Wet wrapping may sound strange, but it’s literally just applying lotion or cream to the skin, and then immediately “wrapping” the skin with a wet, well, wrap.

You can wet wrap any time of day, but my favorite time to wet wrap is right out of a bath or shower when my skin is already a bit damp. This is typically in the early evening for me, ideally after I’ve done a sweaty workout in my home followed by a quick and cold shower. I personally don’t like the feel of wet wraps when I’m trying to sleep (though some people swear by that), so they’re more of an evening thing for me. They also tend to dry out in about 2-3 hours and lose their efficacy, so using them until right before bed is pretty perfect.

How do I use wet wrapping for my severe eczema?

I slather, and I mean slather (on thick), myself in ointment/lotion/whatever my crème du jour is. Today I slathered on pine tar salve, which I used to get from Red Antler Apothecary, but I unfortunately no longer see it on their website. It has a strong smell but is somewhat cooling and my skin seems to like it.

I slather it on thick like this:

Then I wrap myself in this stuff. I absolutely love this cotton cast material for wet wrapping. It’s relatively cheap, so I generally only use a roll once or twice before discarding and starting anew. I wouldn’t re-use the roll with weeping eczema though – the infection risk seems too high. Assuming my skin is relatively clean and not oozing, I just allow the wrap to dry after I’m done using it, then re-use at a later date assuming it still looks clean and isn’t crusty (ew). Here’s what the package looks like:

This material is also far more comfortable in my opinion than the brand-name wet wraps (e.g. I didn’t like this one). I found these were always way too big for my arms and the material was scratchy. The material just felt too “unnatural”, so I decided to try cotton and was glad I did.

Here’s my step by step process for using wet wraps for eczema:

Step 1: Ideally, take a bath to introduce some baseline moisture into your skin. Per my dermatologist, showers are drying, but baths can actually introduce moisture into your skin. At worst, take a cold or luke warm shower.

Step 2: Absolutely slather the areas you are wrapping in ointment/steroid/lotion/balm, etc. (see above).

Step 3: I typically wet wrap my arms. This requires about half of a roll per arm. I literally just fold these in half (“hamburger style”) and cut them at the middle with a standard scissors. If you were wet wrapping your legs, you might need one whole role per leg. In the photo below, I’d cut right at this fold point.

Step 4: Soak the cotton cast material. You’ll want to use warm liquid for this, unless your skin is extremely angry, then ice cold feels phenomenal. There’s some research that shows certain teas are beneficial to apply topically to eczema. I’ve personally had good luck with high-quality green tea (organic, loose leaf), especially when combined with red light therapy. To use the tea method, I simply brew up some tea in a large glass extra strong, let it cool a bit, but not too much (warm wet wrap is way more pleasant than cold wet wrap if your skin isn’t in its most angry state), then dunk the cast material into the tea until it’s somewhat saturated.

The tea (it looks like beer, but I promise it’s strong-brewed organic green tea):

The saturated cast material:

Step 5: Next, I wring out the wet wrap cast so it’s not dripping immensely, but I don’t wring it out too much. You definitely want a good bit of wetness retained in the cast material. Your skin will soak much of this up, and it’s wonderful.

Step 6: Then, I start at my wrist and wind the cast up my arm. I keep it pretty tight as this seems to reduce itching for me and helps the material stay in place. Getting the material to stay in place can be a bit tricky. I typically just tuck the material in on itself once I get to the top of my arm. You could try a series of safety pins in the material, too. You might need a buddy to help with that.

Step 7: Next, I put on a big, warm, loose sweatshirt, get myself a hot beverage, and find a blanket. Using warm tea helps with this part, because you’ll notice you pretty quickly become cold when using wet wraps, because you’re effectively sitting in wet clothes (or mimicking sweating, effectively). A sweatshirt helps as do warm socks or slippers. I’ve also been known to sit on a heating pad at nearly all hours of the day. I’d highly recommend this once you’re all bundled up in your sweatshirt for added warmth.

Step 8: Once cozy, just keep the wraps on! I like to pretend I’m having a spa day when wet wrapping for severe eczema and spend hours reading while I have them on. It’s actually quite nice. Some people sleep in them. Others take them off after a few hours. I’m a terrible sleeper, so I can’t imagine keeping wet wraps on at night, but they’re my go to in the evenings.

I do wet wrapping for severe eczema as often as feasible. Given I wrap in the evenings, if it’s my turn to cook dinner or if we’re leaving the house, obviously they become less feasible.

But, they do really help! (Even if they are a bit annoying). I’m always amazed by how nourished my skin looks after using these wraps compared to before. I just wish they were more practical for daily use!

As always – I’m not a doctor. This is just my experience.