Understanding Childhood Eczema: Triggers, Treatments, and When to See Your Pediatrician

Valencia Pediatrics Blog Understanding Childhood Eczema: Triggers, Treatments, and When to See Your Pediatrician
Understanding Childhood Eczema: Triggers, Treatments, and When to See Your Pediatrician

All babies are precious and beautiful, but it’s a myth that they’re born with perfect skin. Many infants and children develop a condition called eczema, which causes skin itchiness, irritation, and rashes.

There’s no cure for eczema, but with prompt treatment and a plan developed and monitored at Valencia Pediatrics in Victorville, California, your child can experience symptom relief and reduced breakouts. 

Keep reading to learn more about childhood eczema and what can help improve it from pediatric care doctors Rainilda Valencia, MD, and Deepika Saini, MD, FAAP.

What is eczema?

Eczema is a medical condition that presents on the skin. It can occur at any age, but most commonly begins in infancy and early childhood.

Children with eczema often develop itchy, dry patches of irritated skin. Depending on the severity of the eczema, your child’s skin can also crack, bleed, blister, and develop bumps.

Your child can get eczema on any part of their skin. Among the most common locations are the:

Eczema isn’t usually life-threatening, but it can cause fussiness and discomfort in babies and children. If your child has a flare-up or scratches the affected skin, they risk developing an infection.

What causes eczema?

Several factors can contribute to childhood eczema, including:

In most children, a mix of family history and environmental factors contributes to developing the condition. Identifying the cause or causes of your child’s eczema helps us determine the treatment that offers the most relief.

Diagnosing and treating eczema

Any child can get a rash occasionally. But if they regularly get rashes or other skin irritations, there’s a good chance your child has eczema.

Our team can diagnose eczema by examining your child’s skin and listening to a description of their symptoms. We might also run laboratory tests to rule out other skin problems.

Once we diagnose your child with eczema, we develop a plan to reduce flare-ups and safely relieve irritated skin patches when they do occur.

A treatment plan often involves:

Identifying eczema triggers

By paying attention to when eczema flare-ups start, we can identify triggers, such as allergies, sensitivities, or other environmental factors, that cause your child's eczema flares.

For some children, we recommend allergy testing. We’re especially likely to do this if your child has a history of allergic reactions or a condition like asthma.

By keeping a diary at home, you can identify environmental triggers your child encountered before a flare-up. When you identify a potential trigger, try eliminating or reducing it as much as possible to see if it helps.

Home treatment

You can help your child with many home remedies. Applying coconut oil, using oatmeal baths, avoiding irritating foods, not wearing irritating fabrics, and placing a humidifier in your child’s room to moisten the air are all at-home treatments that could improve your child’s eczema, depending on the cause.

The best time to apply oils or lotions is right after your child bathes. Make sure the water in the bath or shower isn’t too hot, and use fragrance-free soap.

Treatment with medication

There are over-the-counter and prescription treatments that can also relieve eczema symptoms. Short-term use of corticosteroid creams can help reduce inflammation, redness, and itchiness.

Antihistamines and other allergy medications can also help inflamed skin. If your child develops an infection in an area with eczema, they might also need antibiotics.

Eczema is uncomfortable for children, but careful prevention and treatment strategies can keep flare-ups and irritations at a minimum. Contact us for help with your child’s eczema or other skin issues.

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