How to detect whether or not your child has an eczema?

Eczema is quite a common condition among babies. It shows up as a bunch of red flaky spots on the skin. The disease is easily treated, and usually goes away with age. But if you noticed a suspicious rash or itch, certainly visit a pediatrician – don’t practice self-healing.

What does children’s eczema look like?

An early sign of eczema is appearance of red spots. Skin on the affected areas becomes dry, stiff and itchy. Most often, eczema among kids shows up on the cheeks, or in the folds of the arms and legs.

Another medical term for eczema is “atopic dermatitis”, which has similar symptoms to “seborrheal dermatitis”, but there are certain differences:

• sebborheal dermatitis usually shows up on the scalp, behind the ears, outside of the nostrils, eyelids, or around the eyebrows;
• with sebborheal dermatitis, spots are usually less red and less flaky;
• it usually goes away when the baby turns eight month old.

What causes eczema

Eczema can be genetically inherited, and often appears in families where at least one of the parents suffered from it.

Children with hypersensitive skin prone to allergies are more likely to develop the disease.

Other reasons that can cause eczema among children:

• weak skin barrier, which doesn’t protect it from germs or extra moisture entering the body;
• body does not produce enough fat cells (ceramides), resulting in the skin losing moisture and drying out.

Can children’s eczema go away by itself?

That is often what happens. Most kids “grow out” of eczema by the time they start school. But in some cases, predisposition to atopic dermatitis can remain even into adulthood. Even without obvious symptoms, these people still have extra dry skin. If the disease didn`t go away by itself, you can try eczema phototherapy.

What factors negatively impact skin that is predisposed to eczema?

Dry itchy skin can be caused by very low humidity in the room (when the air is over dried by heating), especially during the cold time of the year. Eczema symptoms can be aggravated by other triggers, such as scratchy wool clothes, items from polyester, detergents, etc.

Health conditions of the child suffering from eczema can get worse in hot air that causes sweating. Other possible triggers are dairy, eggs, peanuts, etc. Breast feeding mothers consuming those foods may also trigger a reaction for the baby.

Skin treatment for eczema-affected children

This type of skin needs special care:

1. Warm, but not too hot, bath can help to reduce itchiness and moisturize skin.You can also add some soaked oatmeal flakes in the water for better results.
2. It is better to minimize the use of detergents as much as possible – the best option is soft fragrance free soap. After the bath, let your child dry. Don’t wipe him with a towel.
3. Special nourishing creams, especially ones with ceramides, help the skin to stay moisturized.
4. Wear comfortable clothes made from cotton or other natural materials.
5. To avoid overheating, don’t wrap the baby.
6. Prevent your child from scratching affected areas. Cut his nails more often, and have him wear special mittens to prevent him from scratching.

Without a doubt, the best method is to follow the doctor’s recommendations. With the doctor’s permission, you can use UVB-lamps as a form of treatment to improve the little patient’s condition. Read more about effective methods of eczema light treatment https://uvb-lamps.com/blog/eczema-types-and-effective-methods-of-treatment/.