Babies and Eczema

When your baby has eczema, one of the first things you want to know is how do I stop the itching now? We will get to that in a moment, but first it may interest you to know how your baby got eczema in the first place? The answer to this question can probably be discovered if you consider his genetic factors. Eczema like asthma, and hay fever are considered atopic diseases. When one parent has an atopy there is a 50 percent chance that his offspring will also develop it. Should both parents have it the chances of offspring also having the atopy climbs to 80 percent.

When no parent has an atopy, and eczema or another atopy exists it is then presumed that your child has either a skin barrier defect or immune system defect. Allergies could be another cause, but in most instances when an allergy is involved, rather than causing eczema, it only serves to make the existing condition worse.

Adults and children "wear" their eczema in different places. Infants that fall in the age range two months through to two years of age carry eczema on their foreheads, scalp and cheeks. If it spreads, it usually travels to his arms, legs and trunk.

The symptoms your baby will display if he does in fact have eczema are dry and scaly skin. He may also have small reddened bumps that are filled with pus like fluid which ooze if they are scratched. These bumps when scratched turn into a bigger boil or sore like bump, so it is best to avoid scratching it as scratching makes things increasingly worse.

Atopic eczema is a disease in and of itself. It is not a reaction to an allergy. However, if exposed to an allergen, your baby can have an eczema flare up. If your baby is breastfeeding, there is a possibility that any allergen that affects the baby can be passed to him by his mother if she consumes any of the allergens that set off his eczema. Foods that should be avoided are milk, and other dairy products, citrus and tomatoes, wheat and nuts.

You also need to keep him away from moisturizers containing lanolin. You also want to avoid using soap, bubble baths, and shampoos. The active ingredient in these products which promote sudsing and bubbles are major skin irritants.

Be careful to keep your baby's skin moist. The previous statement warrants repetition. When grasping control of eczema, your biggest effort has to go into keeping your baby's skin moist. No eczema treatment is complete unless a good moisturizer is used. The best moisturizers are heavy and somewhat greasy in nature. The butter balms are a good choice for a moisturizer. They are natural and have no lanolin in them. Most crè­¥s and lotions on the market are actually bad for eczematic skin. Even when a product brands itself as a mild moisturizer you still need to be wary of it because something that is mild for regular skin can and in most instances are an outrage for eczematic skin.

I like the idea of wet wraps for babies. Within three minutes of his bath, you moisturize his skin. You then make a wet bandage and apply it to the areas where the eczema is, or could possibly break out. Cover the wet bandage with dry ones, and let it stay on for as long as it can.

The chances are good that your baby will outgrow eczema by the time he is two years old, if he does not outgrow it by two, then maybe by five, or even into his teens. The bottom line is that most people with eczema do outgrow the tormenting disease. Until then you will want to keep current with new information as it comes out.

About the Author

Broyde McDonald writes on the subject of Eczema treatments and Home Schooling.

You are invited to get the "recipe for the day creme that moisturizes and stops itching when you are away from home. It is not expensive to make, and costs you nothing to get.