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Eczema, while not contagious, can be quite painful for your little one and stressful for you, which is why figuring out how to manage it is essential to both of your wellbeings.
WHAT IS ECZEMA?
The most common forms of pediatric eczema, a skin condition, are atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, dyshidrotic eczema, and seborrheic dermatitis. All of these can cause painful itching, flaking, and inflammation on your child’s skin - ouch! When these symptoms become worse, your child may be having an eczema flare-up - meaning something in their environment or on their body has triggered the condition. But what could have caused these painful outbreaks? Well, many things can disrupt the health of a young child’s sensitive skin - including scratchy clothes, artificial ingredients, temperature, or even irritants in the air! To prevent this eczema, you will need to pay close attention to where your baby is, and what they are eating and touching.
We know this can sound daunting, but here is where to start to keep your child’s eczema at bay!
HOW TO PREVENT ECZEMA FLAREUPS
Moisturize - Never be afraid to moisturize an eczema-affected child too often - the more the better, as moisturizers actually act as a barrier and keep the irritants out. When choosing a lotion, make sure to choose a brand that is gentle and contains no fragrances or irritating ingredients. While you should moisturize throughout the day whenever your child’s skin starts to feel dry, you should also make sure to moisturize within three minutes after your child comes out of the bath. This will help seal in the water from bathtime.
Natural Materials - If your child has a skin condition, you should make sure to not dress them in synthetic materials. Synthetic clothes do not absorb excess moisture like natural fabrics and can be full of artificial dyes and manmade chemicals. Why does this matter? Your child’s eczema can easily flare up from sweating, as well as artificial ingredients that are rubbing against sensitive skin all day. Choose organic clothing, like our pure cashmere pieces, that naturally wicks away excess moisture, cools down body temperature, and contains no synthetics.
Cleaner Home - This one can be a little more difficult, but keeping your baby away from allergens like dust, pollen, and pet dander can do wonders for your child’s skin. This may call for extra cleaning around the house to keep these irritants off of surfaces and out of the air in your home.
Bathing Better - It is incredibly important to “soak and seal” your baby or young child when they have eczema, and more often than you usually might. Try to bathe your little one in lukewarm water once a day, and make sure to never use soaps with fragrance, which can be an irritant to their skin. Once they are out, pat them down dry gently and moisturize immediately afterwards to “seal” the moisture from the water into your child’s dry skin.
Keep Nails Short - Your baby or toddler doesn’t know better! Try to keep their nails short at all times so that they are not able to scratch their itchy, irritated skin throughout the day or in their sleep. Scratching can cause the flareups to become more irritated and can even cause infection.
Resources:
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/children/
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/children/treatment/
Mila Christina has no medical license; all team articles are written using research from medical sites.
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