Mind Body & Soul

Archive for March, 2010

While the immune system is involved in some way, the exact cause of eczema is unknown. Although it can be hereditary, it can also happen when a person comes into contact with something that causes the body to react by producing a rash. Infants that suffer with baby eczema seem to have the condition primarily around the facial area and starts off as a red rash which gradually gets worse. In babies, the disorder unfortunately affects between ten and twenty percent of all infants in the United States.

Strangely, this condition is short lived and in most cases it seems to cure itself before the child reaches the age of two. In some cases however, the condition becomes chronic and may continue into adulthood. Although this skin disorder can affect someone at any stage in their life, it is most prevalent in infants. 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. Moisturizing a baby’s skin can help prevent atopic eczema but this skin condition does run in families. Sometimes it is the washing powder or fabric conditioner that triggers the disorder, something that can be a cause of the adult condition as well. In some instances it would seem that breastfeeding seems to protect the child from baby eczema as opposed to those mothers who stop this practice prematurely.