It can be heart breaking and challenging when your baby is suffering with the symptoms of eczema and dry, itchy skin. Keeping your little one’s skin hydrated, clean and moisturized is vital each to bring about an improvement to their skin. Here we provide some information on how to manage your child’s symptoms.
Bath Time
- Bath no more than once a day and keep water luke warm. Bath times should be less than 10 minutes because long, warm can baths dry out, irritate and tighten skin.
- Avoid using soaps. They are often not pH balanced and contain ingredients that strip natural oils from the skin and dehydrate (try our soap-free cleansing bar to cleanse without drying the skin).
- Once you have finished bathing, apply a lotion, cream or gel immediately to create a skin barrier that will protect the skin, moisturize and relieve itching.
- When clothing your bub, choose loose fitting cotton items.
Day Care / School Time
- One worry is that the hand-washing products in day-care centers may dry out kids’ skin or aggravate eczema. Send your little ones along with their own cleansing and moisturising products (we have a hand pump body wash that can be used on hands, a cleansing bar and a range of moisturising products).
- Provide your kids with their own snacks and lunches to avoid foods that may cause flare-ups (such as dairy or nuts).
- Also take a look at your child’s classroom and check if there are irritants such as carpets and plush toys.
Topical Moisturising
- It is important to try to keep your child’s skin moisturized regularly though-out the day (2 – 3 times) to avoid allowing the skin to dry out. Thicker lotions and creams are best to help break the itch-scratch cycle and lock in moisture.
Day to Day Tips
- In dry or heated rooms, use a humidifier to keep the air moist.
- Keep your child’s fingernails short to help keep the scratching from breaking the skin. For baby’s, cotton mitts over their hands especially at night will help to prevent damage from scratching.
- Keep pets off beds and other furniture, as their shedding is a common allergen.
- Vacuum and damp dust regularly to keep dust mites at bay
- Keep windows closed and your child indoors when lawns are being mowed to avoid excess exposure to pollens.