So Everyone Feels Better
When your sweet little miracle has a rash or irritated skin, it’s so hard on your heart. You know they're uncomfortable and just want to help. Dealing with your baby’s eczema can feel as hard on you as it is for them! I mean, as an adult we know what it feels like to have an itch and not be able to scratch it. (Ugh).
Whether you’re navigating your baby’s food allergies or somehow consumed a hidden food allergen that gave your baby a reaction — you’re not alone. Free to Feed’s here to give solid educational information on how to soothe your baby’s skin.
Eczema adds to the stress of your food allergy journey. When a skin reaction pops up, so does the panic about how to treat it.
Today we're helping you understand what’s happening to the skin, the importance of moisture, and simple ways to comfort your food allergy little.
Understanding What’s Happening To The Skin with Eczema
Eczema encompasses an array of 7 different forms of inflammatory skin conditions. They come from multiple factors, including food allergens. Atopic dermatitis (one of the 7 types of eczema) commonly occurs in our food allergy babies.
It triggers an immune response that leads to an array of symptoms. Most problems end up affecting two layers of the skin: the top layer (epidermis) and second layer (dermis). The silver lining? We can easily reach these top two layers.
When inflammation occurs from an immune response to a food allergen, skin cells have more trouble holding in moisture. [1]
Imagine healthy skin cells stacked on each other, like tiny bricks. Eczema disrupts this healthy, compact ‘brick wall’ by pushing apart individual skin cells. Rather than nicely retaining moisture, these spaces let it escape. Just like that, the skin dries and itches, or swells and reddens.
The severity of symptoms can range for each baby (and adults too). It’s important to remember you may not see all of these symptoms. Some babies have red and sensitive areas while others have scaly and dry skin. Truly, any combo can exist.
Main Skin Symptoms of Eczema:[2]
Dryness
Sensitive
Inflamed or Red
Rough or Leathery
Scaly
Swelling in some areas
Oozing
Crusting
It’s no wonder you’re searching for solutions to soothe your child! These symptoms easily interfere with daily life. Sometimes, flare-ups or severe reactions lead to skin infections and even more discomfort for your little one.
For eczema reaction photos from real families like yours, check out: Eczema From Food Allergies: Proof In Pictures.
Getting to the root cause of your baby’s eczema is a top priority when suffering from food allergies. It often indicates that you, as the parent, need to remove another food. But it’s tricky navigating on your own.
Our food allergy consults get you solutions fast. If you’re not sure what to do next, we can guide you. Let’s look into treating that precious baby skin.
Adding Moisture, Moisture, & More Moisture
Go back to our brick analogy for a second. The reason you’ve been told to lotion your baby like a massage therapist would? Because it fills those gaps so they stop leaking moisture! We can’t add more bricks in or tighten them, but imagine lotion filling the spaces like mortar or cement. Adding enough moisture back in helps calm down irritated skin and reduce inflammation.
Not every lotion’s the same, as you can imagine. Keep in mind hidden allergies too, because if your baby reacts to oats — oat milk in lotion could make everything worse!
Our expert lotion recommendations for food allergy families:
Cetaphil
Lubridem
Moisturel
Eco Chic Movement (Discount code: freetofeed for 15% off!)
These creams add essential moisture back into your baby’s skin. Some coat even thicker, like emollients, and help the skin retain moisture longer.
Now, let’s talk about the other cream often used to help treat eczema or atopic dermatitis — hydrocortisone.
Sometimes a steroid cream is necessary because severe skin inflammation can lead to infection or skin lesions. Steroid creams work by calming your baby's overstimulated immune system. When the body isn’t signaling an attack, the skin gets a chance to heal. We want to add — we understand the struggle for families who feel like they’re just getting cream after cream with no real answers.
Addressing the root cause of your baby’s eczema is vital to treating it properly.
If something feels off to you as a parent, please advocate for your baby. Get a second opinion from a different pediatrician or allergist — whatever it takes to ease your concerns.
Let’s continue exploring other ways to treat eczema at home.
5 Simple Ways To Treat Your Baby’s Eczema At Home
Bathing Your Baby
Bathing routines can make or break your baby’s skin healing. If we think about irritated skin, a nice bath sounds soothing, right? Counterintuitively, bathing for long periods of time actually dries out the skin more.
Keep bath time to about 5 mins — in warm water. Never use hot water, which aggravates and increases inflammation. Directly after the bath, while your baby’s still damp, apply lotion to lock in moisture. Pro Tip: Don’t use soap with every bath, as it pulls precious oils off the skin. Don’t worry — even a quick dunk in water helps clean a dirty baby!
2. Short Nails
Keep your baby’s nails trimmed or mittens on. Since eczema creates intense itching — babies and toddlers try to alleviate this feeling even though they don’t know-how. Sometimes Zyrtec provides relief to those littles suffering from severe itching and discomfort to help them sleep.
Pro Tip: Use a cool washcloth to soothe in times of extra discomfort.
3. Products
Only buy scent-free, non-toxic, and “mild” household products, from soap to laundry detergent. Extra chemicals in household everyday products can add further problems to already irritated skin.
4. Clothing
Dress your baby in loose, soft clothing. Yes, baby and toddler clothes are absolutely adorable. (Who doesn’t love a good romper?) But some of the cutest clothes (think tutus and sparkles) can uncomfortably restrict and rub the skin. Light, airy clothing works best for babies with eczema.
5. Bleach Bath
This last treatment is not for every baby and should be intimately discussed with your child’s medical professional. Bleach baths can combat symptoms of eczema by disinfecting the skin surface and eliminating bacteria. It’s critical to properly dilute bleach baths for safety and effectiveness. Sometimes they make things worse, so it’s vital to know if it’s right or not for your baby.
We recommend the National Eczema bleach bath recipe that can be found here.
If at any time your baby experiences a worsening rash or a fever while treating eczema, immediately call your child’s medical provider!
Free To Feed’s Ready To Help Find Your Baby’s Eczema Triggers
Your baby’s eczema could be related to a food allergy, and if so — we’re the people you want helping you figure it out. Most of our team members are on this journey themselves and found their calling in professionally serving other food allergy families.
Our Food Allergy Support Package nails down your baby’s food allergy triggers — packed with educational videos, meal plans, and scientific research. At Free To Feed, we love guiding you in this epic journey.
You truly don’t have to suffer alone or try to do it all yourself. We’re building our community every day while supporting parents just like you. As experts in the field of infant food allergies, we’ve got the resources you need.
A special thanks to Dr. LaChiana for providing us with accurate educational information on treating eczema!
Resources: