Sunday, November 25, 2012

How to treat Newborn Eczema

Many parents are faced with the problems associated with having a baby or young child with eczema. It can be heart-breaking seeing your little one suffering, trying to do all you can to cope with the condition and not finding relief. These problems can have a huge impact on the whole family with sleepless nights being a very common side effect.
 
Eczema affects up to 30% of the Australian population at some time of life. Although there is no known cure for eczema, the condition can be controlled.
 
Eczema, or dermatitis as it is sometimes called, is a disorder which results in dry, inflamed and sometimes weeping or infected skin. It can cause redness and intense itching. The most common form is Atopic. Although it can look unpleasant, eczema is not contagious. With suitable treatment, the inflammation and itchiness of eczema can be reduced.
  • Wash your baby only once or twice a week to prevent drying his/her skin.
  • Only pat your baby's skin after a bath. You want his/her skin to be moist when applying a moisturizer. The moisture helps the skin hold on to the moisturizer.
  • Most importantly, have your baby tested for allergies (food or environment). Once those allergens are avoided, your baby's eczema may clear up almost immediately.


Steps

 1. Give the infant a bath in an infant bathtub with about 8 drops of tea tree oil. The tea tree oil soothes and heals the eczema. It also prevents an infection from occurring.
 2. If the infant has eczema on his/her scalp, add tea tree oil to his/her gentle, fragrance-free shampoo (i.e. "California Baby"), shampoo the hair, letting it sit on the scalp for about 5 minutes before thoroughly rinsing.
 3. After drying baby (Do not dry skin completely), apply Witch Hazel (a natural anti-inflammatory) only to the red, inflamed areas. You might want to dilute the witch hazel (50:50) with water.
 4.Microwave about a table spoon of Organic Cold Pressed olive oil. Massage infant's entire body with olive oil.
 5. Immediately after applying the warm olive oil, apply raw shea butter the the entire body. This will leave the baby's skin moisturized through most of the day.
 6. If the baby is itching, aloe vera gel can help. Apply this to the itchy areas throughout the day.
 7 .Keep repeating the above steps. I noticed a difference in my baby in about 1 week. Just remember...you must eliminate the allergens that are causing your baby's eczema in order to see a very dramatic difference. Good luck!

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