Baby Eczema - How To Treat It And Cure It

Baby eczema, atopic eczema, or dermatitis is an irritating, dryness of the skin, that can show up on any part of the body, from face to hands, legs to back.

No part of the body is immune from eczema, and it affects up to 20% of children in some part of their lives.

It usually occurs within the first 2 years of your child's life, and happily by the time your child reaches his or her teens, it should disappear.

What causes baby eczema?

It's not really known what causes the condition, but it often runs in families, and can be a reaction to an allergy. It can also be an over-sensitive immune system.

It's interesting to note that, suffering from one type of eczema, actually increases that chance that your child, and even you, will develop other types of eczema!

So try and notice when your baby's eczema flairs up, and try and trace what may of caused it. You are really going to have to put on your dear stalker and act like Sherlock Holmes.

How to treat it.

Many experts say that it is an allergic reaction, and so there is no specific treatment. There are several remedies that may help to ease the condition and reduce the terrible irritation.

* Moisturising creams - As one of the signs is baby dry skin or cracked skin, it's important to keep the skin moist. This can help to reduce the irritation and discomfort. Apply generously, baby moisturising cream, such as; Johnson's Baby Moisturising Cream. Apparently, this does help a great deal if your baby is suffering.Apply any type of moisturising cream just after a bath.
* Bath water - Now this is an interesting one. Bathing your baby in lukewarm, rather than warm water. This helps to keep your baby's skin moist and hydrated. The problem I can see with this is, what temperature is lukewarm?The general consensus is that lukewarm water is 26-36 degrees C or 79 - 97 degrees Fahrenheit. I think a little experimenting is required.You should not use soap based products when washing your baby. Use the lotions that are designed for sensitive skin. Also, wash your baby with a product at the very end, just before taking him or her out. This stops your baby from sitting in a bath or soap suds for a long time.Pat your baby, don't rub, when drying his or her body. Rubbing removes some of the precious oils that form part of the skins defence.
* Don't use detergents - Household washing detergents are known to cause irritation to baby's skin. Try to use sensitive skin products. Try and dry newly washed items on a clothes line outside, rather than use a tumble dryer, if it is possible, and use cotton rather than synthetic cloth as it far better for your baby skin, than synthetic, and even woolen clothes. Cotton allows your baby's skin to breath more, and this helps to reduce irritation.
* Also, think about having cotton bed sheets for your baby. Cotton bedding will help prevent your baby from over-heating. This will also help with breathing, and a possible prevention of cot death.Dust free - Where ever your baby is sleeping, them please keep it as dust free as possible. Keeping dust away may help reduce dry skin, and skin irritation.Most of the time, you just need to hoover up once day where your baby is. Keeping the place well aired. Keep soft furnishings down to a minimum, and if you have carpet, rather than laminate flooring, or wooden flooring, then lay down a cotton sheet before placing your baby down.
* Pets - It is known that pet hair can irritate your baby's skin if he or she is suffering from baby eczema. You will need to keep your pets out of your baby's nursery. Every time your baby has touched your pet, wash your baby with a clean cloth.This may seem laborious, but at the moment, you need to do all you can to prevent any flair ups of eczema.
* Food - There is some evidence to show that sensitivity to certain foods can cause baby eczema to flair up. If you are in the process of weaning your baby, the only introduce one type of food at a time, making a note what seems OK or not.You will need to stick closely to information on when to introduce certain kind of foods to your baby, leaving 'allergenic' foods such as cows milk till later on.

Some allergenic foods to watch out for are: Celery, Sesame, Milk, Eggs, Peanut, Nuts, Fish, Shellfish, Soy, Wheat.

Don't fret at the list, just be-careful when you introduce the above, and make a note of any reactions. But, if you are not sure, always consult your local doctor for more advice.

What we did to help our son cure baby eczema

Our son, Solomon started to have dry, red, itchy skin on the back of the legs, the folds of his arms and small patches on his back. The worse parts were on the back of his legs.

Typically he would want to scratch, and when he did the eczema would really flair up like it was on fire!

We constantly tried to keep the areas well moist, and washed all his clothes with detergent free liquids. He also would sleep in cotton clothes.

He was about 13 months old when I started to look into alternative methods, as he had been suffering for a few months, and there was no-way I was going to try out a steroid cream, so the other alternative was herbal.

The first thing I immediately tried was an Aloe Vera cream, which was very good. It would dramatically reduce the redness and would keep the skin moist for hours, mostly through the night.

But, the dry skin would still appear, and so the redness would follow, but at least the itchiness was greatly reduced. Then after many days of researching, I came across a natural oil than can be taken orally or used directly onto the baby eczema.

The oil I found is called Black Currant (Ribes nigrum) Seed Oil, which can easily be found online or in a good herbal shop.

I actually first started to rub the oil directly onto the eczema, but after talking to a herbal doctor, Solomon would take 2 to 3 capsules a week, orally.

He enjoyed chewing it, but I did notice after a couple of weeks that the redness was lessening.

The itchiness had gone completely after three weeks, the dryness was not there after 4 weeks, and after about 2 months, the eczema had gone.

It has also shown to prevent or lessen allergic reactions, because allergy suffers often have lower levels of gamma-linolenic acid in their blood.