Childhood Eczema
Young skin can be particularly sensitive and one of the ways it shows this is with a higher propensity to develop eczema. Childhood eczema is very common in dermatology, and while the good news is that it can often go away as children grow up, the bad news is that it can be very uncomfortable. Luckily, there are some simple ways that you can reduce your child’s discomfort and reduce the dryness and irritation of eczema:
Avoid anything that could make the eczema worse, including perfumed soaps, biological washing powders, and getting too hot or cold.
Prevent scratching by keeping your child’s fingernails short and giving babies anti-scratch mittens to wear. Teach older kids to rub around the itch with the pads of their fingers rather than scratching irritated skin with their nails.
Keep skin well moisturised by applying a gentle emollient cream or lotion at least twice a day, even when your child‘s skin looks fine.
While all these preventative measures and home remedies for eczema can help, you should also speak to your family doctor. It can also help to speak to a dermatology expert who can give you advice on handling eczema in children, and recommendations for the best emollients to use. In some cases, you might also be advised to use a steroid cream to help reduce inflammation and prevent the eczema from getting worse.
Your doctor might also be able to identify triggers such as allergies to certain foods or to dust mites, which can be responsible for eczema in some cases. If these kinds of allergies are playing a role in your child’s eczema, then you may be able to take steps to eradicate them. Cutting out a dietary allergen is relatively simple, but while you can reduce exposure to dust mites by taking extra care when vacuuming, it is impossible to eradicate them completely.
