Eczema in Babies
Symptoms of Eczema

Eczema in babies is a common occurance today. Did you know eczema's incidence is on the rise? In the last 30 years the number of children and adults suffering from eczema has doubled

Many believe the increment is due to modern lifestyle changes, like pollution, central heating, new man made materials like synthetic fabrics for clothing, eating habits that are far from helathy and natural and the abuse of additives.

In Great Britain alone 1 of every 12 adults and 1 of every 8 children suffer from eczema according to the book "Eccema" by Patsy Wescott.

In the U.S. Eczema affects 20% of school-age children [Fleischer et al, 2002]. I was not surprised to know the incidence of atopic dermatitis is rising in the U.S. [Schiffner et al, 2003; Boguniewicz & Leung, 1996].

When my son was born his skin was fine and showed no signs of eczema. After five months when I started introducing other foods and milk besides breast milk, I noticed his eczema started to appear.

Like in many other cases of eczema in babies, my son developed eczema on his elbows and it slowly started to spread to the back of his knees.

The first step I took was to go to the pediatrician and let the western allopatic medicine guide me. I did't think about fully analyzing what could've been causing my baby's eczema. I didn't think of an immediate connection to foods.

We also had a pet. The cat was a member of the family but after we took our son to the specialist he told us we had to give the pet away if we wanted our son to improve.

What Causes Eczema in Babies

There are several explanaitions, and in my own experience it all depends on a case by case basis. The most common are:

Baby Eczema Symptmos

Skin inflamation which is a characteristic of all types of eczema. This inflamation appears also in the tissue located under the dermis. See eczema skin relationship article.

Severe itchy skin that is more frequent in babies with atopic eczema. During winter time, at night and during the afternoons it can be more prevalent.

Red skin that is a result of the dialation of the blood vessels allowing more blood into the affected area.

Blisters or vesicules that appear because of the allergic reaction. Blisters cause accumulation of fluids in the tissues that when burst release the fluid, and later scabs appear.

Dark blue marks under the baby's eyes. Doctors don't know the reason for them. I didn't know why my son had those marks under his eyes until my friend told me.

Treating Eczema in Babies

Like in the case of many other mothers my pediatrician didn't offer much help to my baby's eczema.

Thankfully my son didn't have an accute case of eczema. So I decided to do some homework to improve his eczema. Here is what I think can improve eczema in babies.

Eczema in babies is very common but there are also many ways to treat eczema. An educated mother is the best ally for an defenseless baby.