Home care
Home treatment of eczema is often successful, except in severe or infected cases.
First stop any new foods, beverages, and medications that were added to the child’s diet within a month of the appearance of the rash.
If stopping these new items does not improve the rash in four to seven days in a child under one year, stop all foods and beverages most likely to cause eczema. Look for and remove possible irritating substances coming in contact with the child’s skin.
Ointments that contain coal-tar derivatives are safe to use, but their use can obscure the physician’s initial evaluation of the condition. To avoid further drying of the skin, use a humidifier to moisten dry air. Bathe the child sparingly, using mild dermatologic soaps.
If following this procedure clears up the eczema, try gradually returning the stopped foods to the child’s diet – one at a time. Reintroducing one food each week should help detect the foods that cause a reaction. Those foods should then be avoided. If the condition is not better in one week, see your doctor.
• As new foods are added to your infant’s diet, watch carefully for any sign of rash.
• If your infant is allergic to soy formula as well as cow’s milk, your doctor will recommend a non-soy, non-milk formula.
• Coal-tar ointments increase sensitivity to sunburn. When using these ointments, keep the child out of the sun as much as possible.
Medical treatment
Help your doctor find the cause of eczema by trying home treatment first and noting what doesn’t work and what seems to help. Inform your doctor, too, of any similar cases that have occurred in your older children. Your doctor may prescribe steroid creams, ointments, or lotions to ease the rash. Oral steroids will not be prescribed unless eczema is severe, and then they will be given for only a brief period. Oral antibiotics may be prescribed if eczema is infected.
*63/84/5*
