Eczema in Babies signing on again… I found these tips online and thought they’d be very helpful, if your baby, toddler or child already has eczema. Once you’ve cleared it up, these kinds of tips won’t be needed, except when things go sideways (stress, allergens) and a flare-up occurs.
Bathtime
Bathe your baby in a long-sleeved T-shirt to prevent scratching. Or put cotton mittens on your baby while bathing them.
Changing Your Baby
Unsnap or unzip the legs of the sleeper and put the foot part over your baby’s hands. This will prevent baby from scratching her legs and tummy while you’re busy changing her diaper.
Dressing and Changing Your Toddler
Distract your toddler with a flashlight while you’re dressing them or changing them. Show your toddler how to shine the light on the roof or the wall. Keep the flashlight as a special toy only to be used for these occasions. Then it won’t lose its appeal.
Dust Mites
Freeze soft toys overnight to kill dust mites. Vacuum baby’s mattress both sides to get rid of dust mites. It’s a good idea for everyone’s health to vacuum all the mattresses in the house regularly. Dust mites are a major cause of allergies.
Pet Dander
If you don’t plan to get rid of the pet, if possible take up all your wall-to-wall carpets and remove throw rugs. Wall-to-wall carpeting has always been a bad idea. The amount of allergens it hides is scary. Vacuum daily, including furniture where pets sleep. Wash dog beds often.
Toys and Clothes
Be careful of itchy/scratchy toys and clothing. Tell friends and relatives to buy cotton clothing and hypo-allergenic toys only. No wool! Otherwise, they are wasting their money.
A hand-held computer game or game controller (Nintendo GameBoy, Nintendo DS, Playstation, XBox, Wii, etc.) can distract your child for hours when their eczema is really bothering them.
Fingernails
File baby’s fingernails (and toenails) while they’re sleeping. Filing is easier than cutting. If baby’s fingernails are too long to file and you must cut them, you’ve left it too long. They’re likely already scratching enough to draw blood.
Covering Children’s Hands
For severe eczema: Put a pair of clean cotton socks over your child’s hands with a hole cut out for the thumb. Use an elastic tube bandage (also with a hole cut out for the thumb) to hold the sock in place. This type of bandage can contain latex or lycra, but it’s cotton-covered and you’ll be putting it over the cotton socks, so it should be fine even in hyper-sensitive kids. Just watch where the thumb comes in contact with the bandage.
