Scratching on the skin of most children is quite normal but a constant scratching doesn’t seem to be, and that’s what happens to 3 of my boys. They have eczema, and it has been passed on from their father, which means they are more likely to get it. I have learned how to treat and prevent eczema for infants due to years of experience, and I hope what I have learned will be useful to some of you reading this.

Causes and symptoms of eczema

I never knew until my oldest developed eczema on his legs and feet. My poor 6 month old son cried and screamed almost every night. As a first time mom, I had no clue on how to treat it. I have tried every OTC creams, soaps, etc but they didn’t help. My oldest always rubbed his feet together which caused them to be red and inflamed. He didn’t have any allergies or asthma, though, and those are associated with eczema. We went to the doctor to get presciption cream and they seemed to help a little. My poor child was able to sleep peacefully. We used this cream until he turned 5 and his eczema never returned.

My middle son had the same problem as his older brother but it’s more on his legs than his feet. As an experienced mom, I treated it with a no scent soap such as Dove and Aveeno and retained the moisturizes with cetaphil and/or Eucerin lotion. I often found that prescription creams that the doctors got for my boys didn’t seem to help much; often the symptoms only worsened after applying them.

I believe what triggers my boys’ eczema are dry winters with little moisture, skin becoming too dry (often times I forget to apply moisturizing lotion every three or four hours – that’s my biggest problem) and excessive heat. Those are the three factors that triggers eczema in my boys.

How to treat eczema

I help prevent or treat eczema by doing the following, step by step: running a warm bath (not too hot which triggers the flare-ups), use a mild soap such as dove, aveeno, cetaphil, eucerin. don’t too much scrubbing on them and I gently pat them dry with a towel (not too rough!). Then apply moisturizing lotions right after toweling. I also recommend that you choose light-weight clothing, ideally made from cotton. If I can, I could put socks on them but my boys hate wearing socks to bed so I leave them alone. I always keep our rooms cool and keep the fan/AC running overnight to avoid the flare-ups.

Since my youngest son is here and he recently developed eczema, I now know some ways to prevent them and follow my past experiences to keep it under control.

What are some ways do you keep it under control? I’d love to hear them. Do you have a friend who has children with eczema? Please share this post with them so they can benefit! 

Special thanks to Linda from My 2 Crazy Curls for sharing what she has learned about how eczema flare-ups occur, and how to treat them quickly and effectively. Check out Linda’s blog, where she blogs about life as a deaf stay-at-home mom to three adorable little boys. She shares her latest great deals and other musings daily!

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