This month, I wrote for leading online Family Publication, Family Capers on “Dealing With Baby Eczema”.

Some of the key takeaways from the article are:

1. What is baby eczema

Baby eczema is when patches of your baby’s skin show as red, inflamed, itchy and irritated. Your baby can either suffer from mild, moderate or severe eczema. When the eczema is sever then these patches of your baby’s skin can weep, ooze, bleed and crust over.

2. Do a lot of babies have eczema?

Yes eczema is quite common – about 15 to 20 percent of babies have eczema. Of these, 20% will be eczema free by the time they turn 2.

3. What things make baby eczema worse?

According to the experts – heat, dryness and anything which prickes the skin can make baby eczema worse. In addition, sometimes food allergies can also trigger eczema. You can read more about this in my blog post ‘The Link between food allergies and eczema’

4. How can I treat my baby and their baby eczema?

Whilst there is no cure for eczema, here are a few things I do every day to help manage my baby and her eczema

• Heat

It is important to remember that babies with eczema have warmer skin than I do. If we heat up their skin, it can make them more itchy, so I am always conscious of this when dressing my babies.

When it’s bath time, I make sure that the water is only lukewarm and not hot before adding itchy baby relief bath soak.

Also, in the car I try and keep my babies cooler by shades on the windows.

• Dryness

I always moisturise my babies first thing in the morning and right after their bathtime. This is important as dryness will make their itch worse. I use an ointment made up by mixing emulsifying ointment and water – your pharmacist will be able to make this up for you. I also carry a small jar of this around with me when I go out to moisturise my babies skin when I need to.

• Prickle

Any fabric which has a prickle is a big no as it will make your baby’s eczema worse. As much as I can I try to only by 100% cotton clothing for my baby.

To read more, check out my article on Family Capers – Dealing With Baby Eczema.

This blog post is brought to you and your baby with love from Julia and the Itchy Baby co team x

Disclaimer: Information provided is of a general nature only, and you should always consult your medical professional.