Why some people are more susceptible to dermatological conditions than others is still unknown. Typically, contact with some external allergen triggers an allergic reaction, leading to the typical skin symptoms and changes seen in sufferers. For baby’s, eczema can be an awful condition where the rash is followed by flaking skin that can easily become cracked, causing a great deal of distress. In the United Sates of America, up to one in every five infants will be affected by this skin condition.
With most babies, this skin complaint has all but cleared up by the time they are 24 months old. However, in a small number of cases, the condition doesn’t clear and becomes a chronic condition which may even carry on into adulthood. Although many believe the condition only starts in childhood, this is only partially true; it is just more common in babies and infants. 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.
Seen as a red, itchy and scaly rash, baby eczema is usually of the more common atopic eczema variety. Strangely, atopic eczema is also hereditary and often starts when the baby’s skin is not moisturized regularly. Mothers must be watchful about the types of detergents their baby’s clothes are washed in as these are known to trigger inflammation. In some instances it would seem that breastfeeding seems to protect the child from baby eczema as opposed to those mothers who stop this practice prematurely.
Other medical conditions, such as respiratory infections, may also act as triggers. 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. The number of childhood cases where food is responsible for the condition is considerable at almost 30 percent; discovering the foodstuffs responsible should be a relatively simple matter, which once this is done, can be removed from the diet completely. Although the process of diagnosing which food is responsible is often a case of trial an error, there are some that are often found as the cause including:
*Sea-Food *Food containing milk *Foods containing wheat *Food prepared using eggs *Meals or foodstuffs where peanuts have been used in the preparation
Doctors also know that baby eczema can also be the result of the antibiotics received by the baby at birth. Treating babies requires a little more thought as they cannot tell us what irritates them so only bath them in lukewarm water and use fragrance free, hypoallergenic creams. Once they have dried, they need to be dressed in soft natural clothing made from cotton. 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. Unfortunately, baby eczema sometimes needs further help and in these cases, the doctor might prescribe the use of antihistamines to relieve the itching; when required it is not uncommon for the child to have steroid cream applied to the affected area but this cannot be done for very long. Whilst this may be a common complaint around the world, at the present time, easing the symptoms of the condition is the best we can do.
