eczema babies

Its one thing when you have eczema, at least you can try and soothe it yourself, but it’s quite another when your poor little baby has it. Eczema on babies is actually surprisingly common and the good news is that most children grow out of it by the time they reach pre-school but there are some things that you can do now to help soothe or get rid of your baby’s eczema.

You need to be careful about how you treat their skin because it can become sore and inflamed very easily.

  • Give your child a daily bath with lukewarm water. Studies have shown that this helps keep their skin from becoming too dry and can be helpful for lots of skin conditions.
  • Avoid using soap or shampoo as much as possible, and if you do need to use it then wait until right at the end of the bath so it isn’t in contact with the skin for any length of time (soapy water can irritate skin).
  • Then only use soaps and shampoos that are fragrance free or specially formulated for sensitive skin. You should also change your laundry detergent to one that is for sensitive skins and avoid fabric softeners.
  • After you get them out of the bath, then apply an emollient cream all over their body to seal in their own moisture. Emollient creams (those that provide a barrier on the skin) are the first things that doctors recommend to use on eczema patients before they prescribe other solutions.
  • Try and dress your child in loose cotton clothing that won’t irritate their skin. Avoid anything scratchy such as wool or polyester which doesn’t allow the skin to breathe.
  • Make sure you put the softest sheets you can find on her crib so they don’t scratch against her skin. It helps also if they are cotton so her skin can breathe.
  • If she tries to scratch her skin, you can put on cotton mittens or even socks on her hand so she doesn’t inflame any of her rashes.
  • And during a flare-up try applying a cotton compress rinsed in cool water which will helps soothe the irritation and reduce the redness and itchiness.

If your baby has severe eczema then it’s important to see your doctor to see if it is food or allergy related so that you can remove the irritants from your home.

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