Anyone who has experience with eczema knows how persistent and draining it can be. Our little one suffered from severe eczema from birth to about 1 year old and out of all his baby ailments it was without doubt the hardest to get on top of. But after a whole year of struggling we finally managed to kick eczema’s butt and can honestly say that it has completely cleared with no sign of returning. We really wanted to share this information with other struggling families in the hope that we can help. Granted, every baby is different but there are definitely some key factors that you should know and be open to trying before you give up!
It is estimated that 20% of infants suffer from eczema but it is very common to grow out of it. For the first 6 months of their life, babies only really consume milk so when the doctor explained that it could be a milk intolerance, the correlation seemed pretty obvious!
1. Milk intolerance
Milk is a necessity in the early stages of infancy however it is a common trigger for eczema. We were unable to breastfeed our little one and our paediatrician suggested that the powdered milk we were giving him could be causing flare-ups. This led us on a journey of trialing different milks that didn’t contain cows' milk protein. We changed his milk about five times which seemed to help reduce the eczema on his face but we finally saw significant change at around 11 months when we switched to oat milk completely and stopped giving him formula milk. The eczema on the insides of his legs finally disappeared and we were absolutely elated. He also seemed happier in himself generally after this switch with less stomach and indigestion issues. Milk was our little ones kryptonite but its worth exploring all food allergy avenues! Other food triggers that are know to cause flare-ups include: eggs, gluten, soy, citrus fruits and spices. Unfortunately it has to be the process of elimination for this one, testing them out one by one. Its slow, but definitely worth doing to rule out any food allergy or intolerances!
2. Bath time
As new parents we were under the impression that you have to bath your baby every day however when we started to reduce this to every other day we noticed this gave his skin time to breathe and build up natural oil. Having done our research, we found contrasting advice on whether it was better to bath daily or less frequent in order to help reduce eczema. But after trialing both methods, we found bathing less frequently to be more effective for our little one because it didn't dry out his skin as much. It's definitely something worth experimenting with as every baby is different.
3. Clothing
Having done our research on clothing that aggravates eczema it was clear that fabrics such as nylon and polyester were extremely irritable. Cotton was deemed better however bamboo fabric sat firmly at the top as THE most non-irritable due to its natural beneficial qualities of being breathable, soft, heat regulating and hypoallergenic. These factors combined made it the perfect choice for sleepwear and day attire to keep eczema at bay. Please check out our clothing range if you’re considering giving bamboo fabric a go! We have a beautiful range of gender neutral colours and designs that we're sure your little ones will love!
Tip: We found the most effective cream to alleviate and soothe eczema was Bepanthen having trialled many over the counter remedies from the pharmacy and prescribed by the doctor. Bepanthen is a cream for nappy rash but soothed our little ones' rashes caused by eczema also. Check with a doctor before using of course!
The before and after our tips above!
