Baby Protection
Why some people are more susceptible to dermatological conditions than others is still unknown. Normally, something in the person’s environment will cause the skin complaint to occur almost immediately they come into contact with it. Baby eczema is often first noticed on the face of the infant as a reddish, scaly rash that becomes more irritated, red, thick, ridged and cracked. in the USA as many as twenty percent of infants will be treated for this complaint at some point.
Strangely, this condition is short lived and in most cases it seems to cure itself before the child reaches the age of two. A small percentage of children will not be this fortunate and will experience this condition when they are adults and it will sometimes become a chronic complaint. This is primarily a condition suffered by babies and young children although it can affect someone of any age. Although statistics vary, almost all sufferers will have experienced bouts of this condition since their fifth birthday but almost one third before they were a year old.
Baby eczema is most likely to be most common type (atopic eczema) and is normally found on the arms, legs, face and scalp as a red rash that itches and has a scaly appearance. This type, atopic eczema, tends to run in families and is often triggered when the baby’s skin isn’t moisturized correctly. In some babies, wearing clothes that have been washed in certain detergents or treated with fabric softeners may trigger the condition. Some medical research into baby eczema has found a link to mothers who cease breastfeeding their baby’s early so continuing this practice for a longer period may help ease the condition.
However, other problems the baby might have including those of a respiratory nature or an associated medical condition could also act as an asthma trigger. It has also been found that if the baby’s mother has asthma, they are more prone to suffer with this condition but other contributing elements include food allergies and allergic rhinitis. Specialists in food allergies believe that up to 3 cases in ten of childhood cases are because the child has a food allergy,however, once the food responsible is discovered, it can be taken out of the child’s diet. some commonly implicated foods are:
Sea and freshwater fishFood containing milkBreadEggs that contain peanuts
Doctors also know that baby eczema can also be the result of the antibiotics received by the baby at birth. Babies naturally have more sensitive skin so treating them requires bathing in lukewarm water and then using hypoallergenic creams, using only fragrance free products.When they are dry, the use of fragrance free products is highly recommended and only natural fabrics like cotton for example. A baby with this condition can easily cause infection to damaged skin if their nails are not kept short because they will undoubtedly scratch themselves constantly. For infants with more serious baby eczema, antihistamine cream may be prescribed which should help stop the itching,the application of a steroid cream for a limited time to help heal the skin quicker may also be used. Conquering this condition is proving to be complicated but at least some relief is obtainable from the products we have to hand right now.
