Treatment For Eczema To Prevent Baby Eczema

By Selina Smyth

Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin which can range from a mild discomfort to a horribly itchy rash with boils and open wounds. The causes of eczema are so varied it is hardly even worth listing them, but they can include your diet, allergens in the air, sunlight, house dust mites and...well just about everything else. When the dermatitis becomes so severe that the skin becomes broken, cracked or weeping, then the diagnosis is usually changed to eczema.

Eczema in Infants

Many people begin getting eczema outbreaks during childhood which continue with occasional bad patches throughout their lives. This type of eczema is usually referred to as atopic eczema and can often be inherited from the child's parents. The eczema can appear anywhere (or everywhere) on the body, but the most common places are the elbow and knee joints. Atopic Eczema usually stems from having very dry skin and can be controlled to an extent by keeping the skin moisturized. Sufferers of Atopic Eczema are also more likely to be asthmatic, suffer from hay fever and be more prone to allergy.

What are the Symptoms?

Eczema can appear very early in babies, usually around the second month, and the problem will most likely continue until the baby is around five years old. In many cases it is very hard to distinguish from natural redness and rashes that babies are prone to. There are several things to look for to be able to tell the difference:

* Dry Skin - As with adult eczema the babies are likely to have dry skin. However the baby has not yet learned to control the urge to scratch and may scratch the inflammation and break the skin leading to infection.

* Red inflammation around the checks and neck - Look for a red rash running from the checks down to the neck. The chubby arms and legs may also develop this same redness which arises naturally, not due to rubbing or contact.

* Recurring rashes - look for rashes that reappear over and over again. Pay particular attention to the ankles, arms, neck and wrists. The more regularly you start seeing this the more likely it is that eczema is the cause.

Treatment for Eczema - how do stop it?

The problem with eczema in infants is that they will naturally scratch what is itchy. This will break the skin and spread the itch, only making matters worse. So the most important step is controlling the itch, controlling the itching and doing what you can to prevent the irritant from effecting the baby again. Controlling the itching is easy if you are there, but often the irritation occurs so quickly that the baby is scratching before you are even aware of a problem. This is especially true at night. Keep fingernails well trimmed, and if this becomes a major problem you may have to take direct action to prevent itching. I remember still sleeping with bags on my hands and feet as a young child.

The main thing you can do is to identify and remove all irritants from contact with the baby. Use baby friendly products whenever possible and try and keep the room temperature constant for the child. Prevention is far better than having to deal with a full outbreak and recovery later on, so make it your business to find out what the baby reacts to.

Don't let eczema rule your life. I've accumulated the collective results of my years of study on my website Cure My Eczema.com.

Come and learn what's happening to you and what you can do about it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Selina_Smyth