How to Treat Eczema and Cradle Cap in Kids

My son, Kevin had a bad case of eczema when he was born.

 He used to scratch his skin until it starts to break out and turn red. His legs, arms and face were the parts which got the worst of it. His face when flares up was not a pretty sight to behold and it made me cry to look at him.

This began in earnest when Kevin was about six months old and continued up until he turned three. Right after he was born, we had another issue to deal with and that was the cradle caps. My baby had lots of hair when he was born and he started losing all his hair in the aftermath. In few weeks, he turned completely bald! And honestly, I did not know what to do to get rid of them. I used to wash his hair every so often in hopes to clean his hair from this annoying white particles but it kept on coming back without fail.

Anyways, the villain cradle caps gradually retreated into oblivion making way for the evil eczema.

From then on, it was a whole different struggle to cope with his skin predicament. I tried different kinds of creams on him starting with Vaseline petroleum jelly. When that didn’t seem to ease the problem, I moved on to Glaxal Base, Aveeno Eczema cream, some herbal remedies my Dad bought from India and eventually hydro cortisone.

I don’t know if it was the medicine that caught up to the problem or the passing time, Kevin was finally able to go out in public without people staring at the red puffy blotches that marred his perfect face. My little one got back his smooth complexion and we all were very relieved! He still has itchy arms and legs and rashes come and go occasionally but nothing uncontrollable or that which goes out of hand.

How to Treat Eczema and Cradle Cap in Kids

Here are some tips on what worked for me in dealing with his cradle caps and eczema over this time period. If you were in a similar situation like me and stumbled on some techniques to fight these villains, please feel free to share them here so that everyone could benefit.

For Cradle Caps

1.  Wash the baby’s hair (with shampoo or without it).

2.  After the hair is completely soaked, comb his/her hair two ways in swift movements- if done right, you will see the white particles accumulating on the teeth of the comb.

3.  Put the comb aside, wash the hair one more time to get it freed of any remaining particles lurking around.

4.  Dry up the hair and off you go!

(This one really works! I have tried it with my baby girl, Krista and she never had to deal with cradle caps because of it. And her beautiful hair stayed intact)

For Eczema

1. I used to wash Kevin’s body with lukewarm water when his scratching becomes uncontrollable. Please remember to finish up the bath within five to ten minutes time. It needs to be very brief as too much of soaking the tender skin is not good either.

2. Gently pat him/her dry. It’s okay to leave some water in the body. It helps to leave some moisture on the skin.

3.  Apply the cream you have. (be it Vaseline, Glaxal Base or any other body cream). Spread it around evenly. They recommend fragrance free products if possible. You could apply the cream at least twice a day. If you got hydro cortisone prescription from the Doctor, use it as directed. Personally, I am not a fan of the chemical, as it could have detrimental effects on the skin like thinning of the skin.

Petroleum jelly is what I like but I cannot use it if my child’s case is extreme. My advice, in that case- go with your ‘Mommy Gut Instincts’. What I also did was after every bath, I massaged the baby oil/olive oil or whichever cream you prefer deep into his skin (takes about 10-15 minutes) that helped the moisture to stay longer on his skin minimizing on the rashes.

4. It is also wise to trim your child’s finger nails short so that they would not be able to scratch their skin bloody. Keep the rashes to a minimum.

5. I also used hypoallergenic detergent to wash his cloths. Make sure it is fragrance free also. I also did not use any fabric softener as well.

6. Do not wear brand new cloths on your child without washing especially if he or she has eczema. Always wash before wearing. What it does is it removes the dyes and finishers on new fabric which could be harmful for the child’s skin.

7. We also made it a point to keep the temperature and humidity level at home at a comfortable level.  If the air is dry, Kevin will start sweating and becomes itchy, and needless to say it triggers of his eczema.

8. Mindful of the food you are feeding your child because some food could cause itchiness and allergy. At the time when Eczema was at its peek, Kevin was very much allergic to Spaghetti sauce!

9. Make the appointment with your Doctor to do an allergy test so that you have a better idea on what food items to stay away from to keep the eczema on the low side.

10. As always, if an infection develops in extreme situations, make use of emergency services and get the help you need immediately.

Did you find these tips helpful? If your child had eczema ,what were the methods that you have tried to deal with it?