Eczema. It seems this is such a common problem in recent years. Years back, our parents probably never heard of eczema, it was rare. These days, I've heard of more and more eczema cases in babies.
For me, both my kids developed eczema when they were about 2-3months old. Theirs was probably heriditary as my hubby has eczema. So let me share my experience here, in hopes that maybe someone may benefit from it. By the way, both my kids, my son is 5+ and my daughter is 18 months old, have 'outgrown' or 'cured' their eczema, thank god!
What is eczema? In short, it is a condition that causes the skin to become inflamed or irritated. It is usually itchy and may start oozing and produce crusting on the surface. There are many different types of eczema, some appear on the folds of the body, some on the whole body and some just on the hands and so on. Just google for images and you can see the various types. The cause is unknown but based on what I read, it has alot to do with your gut. Flare ups, where the skin becomes inflamed and usually itchy, can be triggered by many things but some common ones are, exposure to harsh skincare or detergent, coming in contact with rough material, different types of allergen like pollen, dusts, animal fur, even food. Stress and also changes in temperature can also trigger flare ups.
Eczema is usually heriditary but I've heard of alot of cases that's not. Many believe that it is because of our modern lifestyle, with more exposure to processed food, pollutants and just our stressful lifestyle.
They say there's no cure to eczema but you can keep in under control by managing the flare-ups. During flare-ups, eczema sufferers are usually prescribed with steroid creams and there are different strengths of steroids as well. For children, it's usually the milder type of steroid creams.
How do you avoid flare ups? Well here are some of those that I know of from what I've read.
1.Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! This is the most important step. Eczema skin tends to get dry and itchy, so it is important to keep the skin moisturized. Reapply through out the day. I'll share later on the various moisturizers that I've tried
2. Avoid overheating or sweating. Not easy in our hot Singapore weather.
3. Avoid harsh detergents, soap or any skin care
4. Ensure clean environment, ie dust free as much as possible. Change bedsheets regularly, avoid softtoy for example.
5. Take note of any food triggers and try to avoid. This could be eggs, nuts, eggs, etc.
There's more but these are the more common ones I've read.
So, this is my summary of what ECZEMA is about. In my next post, I will share my own struggles with eczema. This is something that is very close to my heart because I've had a lot of heartaches, especially with my eldest. So I would like to share it, in the hopes that someone else may benefit from it as well.
