Tips on How to Treat Baby Eczema

Baby eczema is becoming more and more widespread. It can cause a lot of distress, especially for a new parent. Nothing is worse than to see your lovely baby covered with red, dry, or scaly skin that he or she can’t stop scratching. When you have eczema one of the most difficult things to do is to stop scratching. As hard as you try, sometimes you just have to have a hard scratch.

Trying to stop your baby from scratching her eczema is a real problem. The major concern is that the constant scratching can make the condition worse and an infection could develop. In more severe cases, baby eczema can be so itchy and irritating that it will even disrupt baby’s sleep, which is not only distressing for your baby, but also for you as a parent.

There is some good news though. Baby eczema is easy to treat and there are several steps you can take to help. Here are some tips that will help to reduce itching, improve the condition of your baby’s skin and even avoid further flare-ups.

Keep the baby’s skin moist by applying a generous amount of moisturizer several times a day, especially after the bath. This helps a lot to prevent the skin from becoming dry and itchy.
Avoid using soaps, shampoos or other skin products that contain perfumes since they may irritate the skin. Look for products that are fragrance-free and/or hypoallergenic.
Use a non-biological liquid laundry detergent because these do not contain bleaches or enzymes which can cause skin irritation.
Make sure your baby wears loose clothing that allows the skin to breathe. Ideally the clothing should be 100% cotton.Using cotton bedding will stop your baby from overheating. Overheating aggravates eczema. Make sure that you wash the bedding often, and use hot water (55 degrees C / 130 degrees F or more) since this will kill dust mites, which are a common eczema trigger factor.
Keep your baby’s nursery as dust free as possible by minimizing the amount of furniture and soft toys. Vacuum the carpet as often as possible. Better yet, get rid of the carpet and have wooden or ceramic floors. Wash down furniture with a damp cloth rather than a dry one and avoid using any strong, harmful cleaners.
Keep your home well ventilated.
Keep furry pets away from your baby. Pet hair and dander are common irritants.
Do not smoke near your baby. Tobacco smoke has been found to increase the risk of eczema.
Breastfeeding your baby until she is at least four months old is one of the best ways to prevent eczema.
Allergies to particular foods have been found to trigger eczema. The most common culprits are dairy products, wheat, seafood, soy products and nuts. If you are in the process of weaning your baby, try to introduce one new food at a time so that you can monitor if there are any reactions. Seek the advice of your pediatrician if you find a food that you think your baby is allergic to.
You can discourage scratching by dressing them in an all-in-one sleep-suit with attached mittens. Minimize damage from scratching by making sure that your keep your baby’s nails trimmed short.

It is very distressing to see your baby suffer with eczema. The good news is that most babies will grow out of it by the time they are two or three years old. Baby eczema is easy to treat, but it takes a lot of hard work and patience on the part of the parent. By following some of these tips you should be able to avoid severe baby eczema and have a happy, healthy child.

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