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What Causes Eczema In Children?

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Posted on Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Question: My son having Eczema.. He is 18 months old. If i don't apply vaseline, he will be scratching all the time. should i worry about this? Please let me know the reasons for eczema. Some times i should apply cortaid cream along with vaseline to reduce his itching. Is it good to apply vaseline and cortaid cream all the time? i feel,his complexion is changing to dark because of vaseline. Till what age he should suffer with eczema.. what kind of care I should take.. any good product,which is natural and does not effect his complexion..
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (34 minutes later)
Brief Answer: Atopic dermatitis Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic. I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it. I would keep a possibility of Atopic dermatitis. People who are atopic have inherited low water retentive capacity of the skin, which leads to increased trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) into the atmosphere, specially when the weather is dry and cold in winters. Soaps dry the skin further, and thus exacerbates the condition further. In atopics, it is advisable to apply a good moisturizer as frequently as possible. Moisturizers specially those that contain hygroscopic ingredients (those which attract water from the atmosphere) like glycerin, hyaluronic acid etc and those which are specially formulated for atopics e.g containing ceramides are specially useful for these children. My choice is, one popular brand marketed by Galderma, called Cetaphil Restoraderm lotion. It should be applied twice daily over the whole body, immediately after bath and before going to bed, at night. Cortaid cream contains hydrocortisone, which is a very mild steroid and can be used after mixing it with a moisturizer, off and on. I usually ask my patients to mix and apply a small amount of a moderately potent steroid e.g fluticasone, specially over the areas which are showing patches of eczema/roughness, dryness, redness and scaling etc is absolutely justified and desirable. It can be used off and on. An oral antihistamine like cetrizine in a dose of 2.5mg/5ml once daily can be given to help him symptomatically with the itch. General measures like avoiding heaters/blowers in the room, wearing cotton lined woolens and inner's is also helpful. Dry skin is very easily irritated with wool and therefore it should not be worn directly over the skin. Usually children outgrow there disease and symptoms lessen, once they get older (6-8 years of age). However they will always have dry skin and will need to apply a moisturizer more often than others, specially in winters. I hope you will find this useful. regards
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Kakkar

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Practicing since :2002

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What Causes Eczema In Children?

Brief Answer: Atopic dermatitis Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic. I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it. I would keep a possibility of Atopic dermatitis. People who are atopic have inherited low water retentive capacity of the skin, which leads to increased trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) into the atmosphere, specially when the weather is dry and cold in winters. Soaps dry the skin further, and thus exacerbates the condition further. In atopics, it is advisable to apply a good moisturizer as frequently as possible. Moisturizers specially those that contain hygroscopic ingredients (those which attract water from the atmosphere) like glycerin, hyaluronic acid etc and those which are specially formulated for atopics e.g containing ceramides are specially useful for these children. My choice is, one popular brand marketed by Galderma, called Cetaphil Restoraderm lotion. It should be applied twice daily over the whole body, immediately after bath and before going to bed, at night. Cortaid cream contains hydrocortisone, which is a very mild steroid and can be used after mixing it with a moisturizer, off and on. I usually ask my patients to mix and apply a small amount of a moderately potent steroid e.g fluticasone, specially over the areas which are showing patches of eczema/roughness, dryness, redness and scaling etc is absolutely justified and desirable. It can be used off and on. An oral antihistamine like cetrizine in a dose of 2.5mg/5ml once daily can be given to help him symptomatically with the itch. General measures like avoiding heaters/blowers in the room, wearing cotton lined woolens and inner's is also helpful. Dry skin is very easily irritated with wool and therefore it should not be worn directly over the skin. Usually children outgrow there disease and symptoms lessen, once they get older (6-8 years of age). However they will always have dry skin and will need to apply a moisturizer more often than others, specially in winters. I hope you will find this useful. regards