Baby
What to do when your baby has eczema?
27 October 2023
Dry, red patches and rough skin: eczema. Not nice. Eczema is an inflammation of the skin. In the smallest babies, it is usually on the cheeks and torso. In children, eczema moves to the elbows, hollows of the knees, wrists and ankles. The skin's natural fatty barrier is less present when you have eczema and that is why your little one gets dry skin. Read here what you can do and what you shouldn't do.
What to do about eczema
Bathe or shower twice a week. That is more than enough, really.
Use an oil-based product when bathing. This cares for the skin and prevents it from drying out unnecessarily. Go for instance for the Naïf Mild Bath Oil. This has caring ingredients such as camomile and cottonseed oil. Enjoy baby!
Pat the skin dry. A baby's skin is 5 times thinner than an adult's. Eczema makes the skin even more sensitive and vulnerable. So never rub dry roughly, but dab gently with a soft cloth or hydrophilic.
Grease, grease, grease. Lubricate daily with an greasy cream, to help the skin recover. An oily cream contains less water than body lotion, which makes it perfect for dry patches. You can safely use Naïf Nurturing Cream on the body and the face. And it immediately relieves itching.
What not to do when you have eczema
Take a bath or shower every day. Water dries out the skin even more. So it's better not to. Hot water enhances this effect even more, so pay attention to the temperature.
Clean the skin with soap. Soap dries out the skin and makes the eczema worse. Ouch.
Wearing rough fabrics on your skin. Like wool. This makes the itching and symptoms worse.
My baby has cradle cap, is that the same as eczema?
Sort of. Cradle cap is a skin condition in a mild form of seborrhoeic eczema: a thick, oily and yellowish rash with redness and scaling of skin with many sebaceous glands. It occurs on the head, eyebrows, the crease between nose and cheeks, behind the ears and on the chest. Like eczema, it is harmless and not contagious.
