Home | Health-and-fitness

Eczema : Diagnosing Eczema in Babies

Even with millions of sufferers worldwide, medical science has not yet discovered the reason why some people suffer with eczema and others do not. Typically, contact with some external allergen triggers an allergic reaction, leading to the typical skin symptoms and changes seen in sufferers. Baby eczema is a rash seen on their face which gradually gets worse unless treated, eventually becoming causing cracking and flaking. Anything up to one fifth of infants in the USA will suffer with this awful skin complaint.

In the majority of these cases, the condition resolves by the time they reach two years of age. A small percentage of children will not be this fortunate and will experience this condition when they are adults and it will sometimes become a chronic complaint. Almost anyone can be affected by this problem at any time in their life but it is babies that are most likely to suffer. Unfortunately most people have suffered with this since they were at least five years of age but around 33 percent will have contracted the condition by the time they reached their first birthday.

The most common type in babies is atopic eczema and this type of baby eczema is characterized by itching, and red, scaly skin on the scalp, face, arms or legs. Atopic eczema often runs in families, and can be triggered when a baby's skin isn't moisturized properly. In some babies, wearing clothes that have been washed in certain detergents or treated with fabric softeners may trigger the condition. Some recent research has indicated that baby eczema may caused by babies that are weaned early so breastfeeding for a longer period be beneficial.

Although asthma triggers could also include other respiratory problems and medical conditions. 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. Food allergies are believed to be responsible for anything up to 3 cases in ten; once the foodstuff causing the problem is discovered, it is just a simple matter of taking out of the child's meals. 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

Often, the cause of baby eczema is attributed to antibiotics given to the child when it was born. Infants, in particular babies with the condition need to be washed gently in lukewarm water using proprietary lubricating creams. When they are dry, the use of fragrance free products is highly recommended and only natural fabrics like cotton for example. To stop a baby form scratching the irritated skin it is important to ensure they have their nails short and wear mittens which should help stop further infection. For more sever cases of baby eczema, the pediatrician may suggest the use of antihistamines which can help relieve itching; steroid creams can also be used for a short period to help heal the skin. It is not yet possible to completely cure this skin complaint but at least a number of treatments can help ease the situation.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Cure Your Child's Eczema while learning about Radiation Dermatitis by visiting dermatitiscure.info, a popular website that provides free dermatitis cure information, tips and advice for you. Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content children eczema article here.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entiretly, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE VISIBLE links (without "nofollow" tags).