Eczema occurs in around 1 in 5 infants, but usually improves with age. Many people who have eczema, especially infants, either have, or will develop other allergies. Although eczema can be effectively treated, no cures are currently available.
1. If the eczema is severe (doesn't respond to treatment and worsens or spreads), seriously consider allergy testing. My allergist says that there is, in particular, a very strong connection between egg allergy and eczema. At any rate, eczema and food allergies often appear simultaneously.
2. Be aware that the eczema will likely worsen in the colder months and ease in the warmer months. The winter months dry everyone's skin and the dryer the skin, the worse the eczema.
3. Use prescription creams sparingly. Steroid creams are prescribed for serious cases of eczema, but should be used sparingly, especially in very small children and infants. Just rub a tiny dab over the affected area, and restrict its use to inflamed patches of skin.
4. Clothe your child in all-cotton or specialty clothing. Soft cotton is the most soothing to itchy skin; and if your child's eczema really makes him itch and scratch, there are companies that make clothing designed to keep their hands off the eczema patches.
5. To help your child sleep better, begin a night-time bathing/moisturizing routine. People are divided about this, but I swear by it! After a month or more of no sleep at night, waking every 10 minutes to put my itchy child back to sleep, I was desperate to try this regime as described by my allergist: Allow your child to soak in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes before bedtime. Immediately upon removing from the tub, pat him or her gently with a towel to dry, then massage a rich lotion or cream all over his or her body. Once we started doing this, our son actually began sleeping for longer stretches at night; it really seemed to soothe the itch a lot.
6. Take steps to minimize scratching in children 18 months or younger: cover hands with mittens or socks whenever they are unsupervised (in bed, in the car seat), and cover the itchiest spots with a breathable, clear bandage.
7. Don't resort to Benadryl. Sometimes parents or even doctors will recommend this, but I think it's dangerous. It's only a temporary measure, and when its effects wear off, your child will still be itchy and you'll have to give him or her more. It is possible for bodies to de-sensitize over a long period of use, which is a potentially precarious position to find yourself in if your child has food allergies, where Benadryl is the first line of defense against a reaction.
8. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. There are a lot of different products available, depending on your needs and desires. Many people swear by Aquaphor, but just as many people find it completely ineffective. We use Vanicream twice a day in the winter, and once a day in the summer. In the winter, I also apply petroleum-free jelly to his cheeks. California Baby also makes some great, all-natural creams and lotions that work very well. Some moms even swear by straight coconut oil, massaged into the skin. No matter what product you choose, you will need to moisturize your child at least once a day, even if no eczema is present.
9. Use dye-free, fragrance-free laundry detergents, and no fabric softener. These chemical products only irritate the skins, so avoid them.
10. Bathe without soap for the first year or two, then use a gentle hypo-allergenic soap. Sounds gross? Then let me tell you that both my pediatrician and my allergist recommended in the strongest terms that I avoid soap completely for his first year or two. They both said that babies don't get that dirty (except for the diaper area!) and don't need soap until they really start playing in the dirt and the like (toddler age). Now that my son is 2, and gets plenty dirty, I just use a generic gentle baby wash that doesn't irritate him. Others highly recommend Cetaphil.
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