Dealing with symptoms of baby eczema on the forehead or anywhere else in the body can get overwhelming sometimes. But hey, there are ways to make things lighter and make coping with baby eczema easier. Let me share some with you.
Let me just do a disclaimer here. I am not an expert. What I am going to share with you are basically from what I have experienced firsthand as a mom to an eczema baby and some pieces of advice from our healthcare provider that I follow.
I understand every family, every parent per se has his or her own way of coping with baby eczema. Some cope based on what the doctor tells them to do, which I admit is where I belong, while others try to experiment on things.
As a mom to a baby boy, I must admit upon learning my son’s skin condition, I felt terrible inside. I couldn’t help but blame it on myself, because he inherited it from me. For a few days, I was in denial, but after a while, I have learned to accept and focused on the brighter side of things.
I can still vividly remember when I first saw symptoms of the baby eczema forehead. Right there and then, I felt scared. I thought it was something really very serious. I immediately brought him to his pediatrician to run through some tests on him.
I didn’t know it was eczema. Since I have outgrown my eczema, and I really did not like to study about it growing up, I had no idea about the condition. Maybe it was mother’s instinct, but I just felt I needed to have him checked right away.
To cut the long story short, apparently, it was indeed a baby eczema forehead. My baby does have eczema like I did when I was about a year old.
Since he was diagnosed up to this day, I have to say, our lives were never the same again. We had to make necessary changes to ensure our baby is flare-free. To be honest, it was not easy at first. You know, especially if you are used to some things, change is just hard in the beginning. But because we do love our kid, we made necessary adjustments and sacrifices. After all, we want nothing but the best of health for our son.
WHAT IS ECZEMA
For those who are not quite familiar with this skin condition, eczema or dermatitis is a very common skin condition among babies and children. In fact, there are reports saying that 20 percent of American children are said to be diagnosed with eczema of different forms or types.
In the website Parents.com, they refer to eczema as “a chronic, inflammatory condition of the skin that causes redness, dryness, scaling, and itching”.
You know, I find this skin condition very mysterious. Why? Simply because up to this day and age, the age of technology and modernity, what causes eczema still remains unknown. Yes, experts have yet to find out what causes eczema specifically.
However, based on studies, most of the eczema patients belong to families with medical history involving any form of eczema, allergies, hay fever, and asthma. While baby eczema is not contagious or transferrable from one person to another, it is, however, inherited. It basically means, if any of the parents have family or personal medical history of eczema, their offspring or their baby is most likely to develop eczema as well.
Allergies, asthma, and/or hay fever, on the other hand, may cause eczema flare. There are a number of factors that is said to affect eczema flare. The following could either cause symptoms or worsen the case of flare:
- Irritants like body soaps, laundry detergents, household cleaners, wool, polyester, synthetic fabrics, metal, certain chemicals, lubricants, etc.
- Too much heat or too much sun exposure
- Too much cold
- Sweating
- Allergens like mold, pet dander, pollen, dust mite, fragrances, etc.
- Food Allergens like cow’s milk, wheat, eggs, shellfish, soy, corn, peanut, etc.
Eczema is considered chronic or long-term skin condition. However, studies show that babies and children are likely to outgrow such condition as they grow older. In fact, in some cases, it does go away for life, but in other people, it disappears but reappears when they are older. More so, in some cases, it never goes away.
According to The Bump, baby eczema comes in three categories, which are:
– Mild Baby Eczema – This refers to the occurrence of dry skin patches on the skin. Normally, mild baby eczema can be treated by using moisturizers regularly.
– Moderate Baby Eczema – This category refers to the condition of the skin wherein it tends to be pinker dry and flaky. In this case, doctors usually prescribe cortisone cream or ointment as treatment.
– Severe Baby Eczema – In severe cases of eczema, it usually looks very red and flaky compared to the other two. Usually, sever eczema appears on larger surfaces of the body, and it is normally harder to control. There are cases when the affected area becomes infected and some spots ooze out. Normally, prescription-based treatments are used to help cure the baby’s skin condition.
COMMON TYPES OF ECZEMA
There are different types of eczema, but the ones that are common among babies are atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and contact dermatitis.
To give you an idea, here are what makes one different from the other:
Atopic Dermatitis
It is the most common form or type of dermatitis affecting babies and children. In fact, the symptom of the baby eczema forehead that affected my baby is a form of atopic dermatitis. This type of eczema is chronic or long-lasting. When someone is affected by this skin condition, normally he or she experiences dry and itchy rashes, while the skin becomes red or pinkish, scaly, and irritated. When your kid is diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, make sure to put on gloves or mittens on him or her, or keep his or her fingernails trimmed short as it is prone to itching, which leads to scratching. Scratching the affected skin may result in secondary infection or in some cases, scarring.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Seborrheic dermatitis is another common form of eczema that affects babies and children especially the ones who between 3 months and 3 years old. Like any other form of eczema, what causes seborrheic dermatitis is not yet known, but experts believe it has something to do with the disturbance in the production of sebaceous matter and sweat in the skin.
Unlike atopic dermatitis, the rash that seborrheic dermatitis produces is not usually itchy. But it is dry, red in color, and slightly flaky. Normally, it appears on just certain areas of the skin like the face, neck, and folds of the skin. Sometimes, it may also occur in the diaper area of babies.
Seborrheic dermatitis is also known as cradle cap, which usually develops on the scalp of an infant. It is typically yellowish in color and generally disappears after a few months.
Contact Dermatitis
Contact dermatitis is related to allergens and irritants. It usually occurs when the person with eczema get near certain substances like creams, detergents, nickel, cosmetics, and other highly allergenic substances or food, as well as other forms of irritants.
When you have contact dermatitis, the skin usually becomes red and angry-looking. In some cases, the rashes rise to raise vesicles. Normally, the rashes are itchy. Sometimes, it can be moist and with blisters too.
HOW TO PREVENT ECZEMA
When my baby had symptoms of baby eczema forehead the first time, to be honest, deep inside I was panicking. I was really worried about my baby. I was so scared for my baby.
But you know, when I finally had a serious discussion with our healthcare provider, and she presented the baby eczema management plan she created for my baby, my fears eventually subsided. I felt relieved, and grateful knowing that there are ways to help prevent eczema flare.
Mommies and daddies, just so you know, in managing eczema, we are actually managing the symptoms only. Eczema, in particular, is hard to manage because one, no one knows what causes it, and two, there really is no definite data about how to properly diagnose it and to properly treat eczema itself.
Again, managing eczema actually means managing the symptoms of eczema.
So, to give you an idea, here are some ways to avoid the occurrence of baby eczema forehead or in any parts of the body:
- Keep your baby away from allergens and irritants.
One of the best ways to avoid symptoms of eczema from showing up is by avoiding anything that may contain allergens or considered as irritants. Some examples are the following, which I actually already shares a while ago:
- Irritants like body soaps, laundry detergents, household cleaners, wool, polyester, synthetic fabrics, metal, certain chemicals, lubricants, etc.
- Too much heat or too much sun exposure
- Too much cold
- Sweating
- Allergens like mold, pet dander, pollen, dust mite, fragrances, etc.
- Food Allergens like cow’s milk, wheat, eggs, shellfish, soy, corn, peanut, etc.
By the way, if you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby, make sure to also avoid food allergens. Remember, what you eat passes through your milk, and may affect your baby. So, be extra careful, mommies.
- Avoid using harsh, strong body and laundry soaps.
Your baby’s skin is very delicate in the first place, how much more if your baby has eczema, right? Using strong soaps for both the body and his or her clothes may cause skin irritation leading to eczema flare, of he or she has an existing flare, using such kind of product may worsen the situation of the skin.
Instead, use mild, hypoallergenic, unscented soaps of your baby’s body, as well as in cleaning or washing his or her soap and other baby stuff like linens, pillowcases, towels, etc.
- Upon the discretion of your healthcare provider, bath your baby regularly.
Taking a bath helps hydrate the skin, but bathing too often may also cause dryness of the skin. So, to be sure, ask your pediatric dermatologist about it, because at the end of the day, every child and every skin is different. What works for one may not work for the other.
After bathing, make sure to gently pat dry your baby’s skin. Avoid rubbing it off as it may be harmful to your baby’s very sensitive skin.
- Apply moisturizer two to three times daily (or as prescribed by the doctor).
Moisturizer is every eczema patient’s best friend. Whether your baby has flare or none, make sure to regularly apply moisturizer on your baby’s skin – preferably immediately after bathing.
There are so many moisturizing creams to choose from, but what is highly suggested by dermatologists are the ones with high ceramide content. Ceramide is an element that helps put back moisture on the skin.
- Put on loose and comfortable clothing on your child.
When my baby was diagnosed with eczema, one of the major changes we had to make is to change all his clothing and our daily clothing to cotton-based ones. Wool, polyester and synthetic fabrics are harmful to an eczema patient’s skin. That is why it is highly advisable to only use clothing made of cotton fabrics.
If you are wondering we also had to change our clothes especially me, well it is because my baby is always near me. He is breastfed so I always carry him and he always leans on my shoulders. So, imagine if I am wearing clothes made of irritant fabrics, right?
- If your child is older, encourage him or her to drink plenty of water every day.
Generally, water keeps us hydrated, but it also keeps our skin hydrated and moisturized. So, if your child is a little older already, make sure to always make him or her drink plenty of water. Please, this does not include infants. First and foremost, babies are not allowed to drink water in the first six months of life, and six months after, there is just a certain required amount of water that they can take in a day. To be sure about water intake, ask your healthcare provider.
- Keep your baby’s fingernails short.
Ideally, babies must wear mitten or gloves. However, there are children who sweat a lot and wearing mittens or gloves may cause flare instead of preventing it from showing up.
So, like in our case, our doctor suggested to just keep our baby’s nails trimmed short all the time. This helps avoid further damage on the skin especially when the symptoms are too itchy and babies try to scratch them off to find relief.
- Stay out of the sun.
I know it is very tempting to stay under the sun especially during summer. Unfortunately, the heat of the sun (well, heat caused by anything actually) is one of the many triggers of an eczema flare.
So, to avoid eczema flare, always keep your baby away from heat or hot places. Instead, keep him or her in a warm or cool place.
- Invest a good air humidifier.
An air humidifier helps keep moisture in the air, and as I have earlier mentioned, moisture is vital for people with eczema.
We did invest in a really good humidifier and we installed in almost every area where our baby and I usually hang out. It may cost a little but just think of it as a very good investment. I swear, it’s really very helpful.
- Always wash your baby’s face especially when he or she is secreting saliva.
Again, please ask your doctor first about this. In my son’s case, his symptoms usually show up in his forehead so it was advised to always make sure the head and the face are always clean. When washing his face, when he was a little older already, I use mild, hypoallergenic, and fragrance-free soap. But water is actually fine. After cleaning the face, I make sure to apply a moisturizer specifically made for the skin.
- Take medications as prescribed by your doctor.
There are cases when no matter how much you try to prevent flares from showing up, they just do show up. There are also cases when no matter how you do everything that needs to be done, it just wouldn’t disappear. In that case, your doctor may prescribe steroid creams or ointments to help ease out symptoms or help reduce itching on the affected area.
Again, consult your doctor first before applying anything to your kid, okay? Yes, even if it was already prescribed before. Better have your baby checked first.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Going back to what I said when we started, dealing with the symptoms of baby eczema forehead or anywhere else in the body can really get overwhelming and exhausting, but as parents, we have no right to get tired. Remember, our little ones depend their lives on us. They have no one else but us, their parents.
But you know what I realized? It can only get tiring and overwhelming when you do not know what to do. But when you are guided by the right people, and you follow a certain plan or instructions, it is way easier. That is why if you notice, I always say consult your doctor first – in everything. Following your doctor’s orders will help make life and dealing with eczema better and easier.
We did it, and in my heart, I believe you too can do it.
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