How to Treat Baby Eczema at Home
Baby Eczema (also called infantile eczema) is thought to affect about 10% of babies worldwide and can range from mild to severe.
Usually babies that suffer from it have dry skin and/or some other form of allergies such as hayfever or asthma.
It shows up as a red dry rash and can appear on any part of the body although typically it is on the torso or face.
Like for adults, the rash is extremely itchy and irritating for the baby so it's important to keep symptoms at bay at all times.
It is thought to run in the family because if both parents suffer from eczema it is highly likely the child will too, but really nobody truly knows what causes it and why it appears on some people and not others.
The good news is that most babies will outgrow it by their first birthday and go on to live happy normal rash free lives, but a small number of people do go on to suffer from eczema throughout their lives.
So what do you do if you baby has it? First thing to try to do is relieve the itching.
Make sure you don't use soaps or anything else that can be drying and irritating to the skin as this can make things worse.
One of the most soothing things that you can do is give your baby a bath in plain lukewarm water and add an oat soak to it.
To make an oat soak get some oats (any kind that you have - porridge, steel cut oats) and put them into the middle of a square of fabric.
Any fabric that is breathable will work (cotton is good and so is using old pantyhose) so that the oat milk can seep out into the water.
Tie the fabric together or place a rubber band around the top so the oats don't fall out.
And then just place the oat soak into the water.
The oat milk that seeps out is very mild but also extremely soothing to any itching that your baby might be experiencing.
Once your child has been in there for about 10 minutes bring them out and gently pat dry with a soft towel being very careful not to rub or irritate the skin.
Then you can moisturize the skin to help clear the dry rash.
The best moisturizers to use are those that contain no petroleum products (so no Vaseline).
One of the best moisturizing treatments that you can make at home is to pop open a vitamin E capsule with a pin and put the Vitamin E oil into some almond oil and apply that to the affected areas.
The vitamin E helps heal the skin and the almond oil is extremely soothing for your baby's eczema.
Usually babies that suffer from it have dry skin and/or some other form of allergies such as hayfever or asthma.
It shows up as a red dry rash and can appear on any part of the body although typically it is on the torso or face.
Like for adults, the rash is extremely itchy and irritating for the baby so it's important to keep symptoms at bay at all times.
It is thought to run in the family because if both parents suffer from eczema it is highly likely the child will too, but really nobody truly knows what causes it and why it appears on some people and not others.
The good news is that most babies will outgrow it by their first birthday and go on to live happy normal rash free lives, but a small number of people do go on to suffer from eczema throughout their lives.
So what do you do if you baby has it? First thing to try to do is relieve the itching.
Make sure you don't use soaps or anything else that can be drying and irritating to the skin as this can make things worse.
One of the most soothing things that you can do is give your baby a bath in plain lukewarm water and add an oat soak to it.
To make an oat soak get some oats (any kind that you have - porridge, steel cut oats) and put them into the middle of a square of fabric.
Any fabric that is breathable will work (cotton is good and so is using old pantyhose) so that the oat milk can seep out into the water.
Tie the fabric together or place a rubber band around the top so the oats don't fall out.
And then just place the oat soak into the water.
The oat milk that seeps out is very mild but also extremely soothing to any itching that your baby might be experiencing.
Once your child has been in there for about 10 minutes bring them out and gently pat dry with a soft towel being very careful not to rub or irritate the skin.
Then you can moisturize the skin to help clear the dry rash.
The best moisturizers to use are those that contain no petroleum products (so no Vaseline).
One of the best moisturizing treatments that you can make at home is to pop open a vitamin E capsule with a pin and put the Vitamin E oil into some almond oil and apply that to the affected areas.
The vitamin E helps heal the skin and the almond oil is extremely soothing for your baby's eczema.
