How Common Is Eczema? Symptoms A Visual Guide Types Of Eczema Common Triggers For Parents
How Common Is Eczema? Symptoms A Visual Guide Types Of Eczema Common Triggers For Parents

What Is Eczema

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a skin condition that affects babies and children. Eczema presents as red, rough itchy skin and it needs to be treated properly in order to improve. There is no cure for eczema and sometimes it will get better while other times there can be eczema flares. To reduce the rashes, there are strategies to control your child’s eczema flares and monitor the skin. Eczema is not contagious.

How Common Is Eczema?

Atopic dermatitis or eczema occurs in up to 20% of children. Approximately 90% of children with atopic dermatitis experience the onset of disease before 5 years of age.

1 in 10

or 32M suffer from eczema

10M Children

(under age of 18) or up to 1 in 8 children suffer from eczema

90%

of children develop eczema before 5 years of age

60%

of children develop eczema in infancy

Where Do Symptoms First Appear?

  • Face
  • Neck
  • Behind the knees
  • Between the elbows
  • Wrists
  • Ankles
  • Fingers

The distribution of skin affected by eczema tends to change with age.

• Newborn: Atopic dermatitis most often first appears between the age of 2 to 6 months.

• Infant: In non-mobile infants, the face and scalp are commonly affected. In later infancy, the extensor surfaces of the extremities, trunk, face, and neck become involved.

• Children: In older children and adolescents, the primary focus is often the wrists, ankles, antecubital and popliteal fossae, and neck.

Types of Eczema

There are several types of eczema that children suffer from. Here are
the most common types:

Contact Dermatitis
A red, itchy rash caused by direct contact with a substance or an allergic reaction to it. The rash isn’t contagious or life-threatening, but it can be very uncomfortable.

Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis, the most common type of eczema, causes red, dry, and itchy skin. In infants, this form of eczema usually affects the face, scalp, and skin creases, but can also involve other areas of the body.

Dyshidrotic Eczema or Dyshidrosis
A skin condition in which blisters develop on the soles of your feet and/or the palms of your hands. The blisters are usually itchy and may be filled with fluid. Blisters normally last for about two to four weeks and may be related to seasonal allergies or stress. This is usually seen in adults but can affect children too.

Seborrheic Dermatitis (or Cradle Cap)
Cradle cap can often cause crusty or oily scaly patches on an infant’s scalp. The condition is not painful or itchy but it can cause thick white or yellow scales that can be difficult to remove. Cradle cap usually clears up on its own within a few weeks or months. Special shampoos such as T-Sal shampoo helps

Common Triggers

Each time your child has an eczema flare-up, take note of all the possible factors that might have caused it. Eliminate the suspected triggers and see if the symptoms improve.

Common triggers can include:

• Fabrics: Polyester, wool, nylon, rayon

• Fragrance: Found in personal hygiene or household products like soap, lotions, shampoo, detergent soap, perfume

• Environmental: Dry air, hot or cold weather, change in season, low or high humidity, pets, dust, temperature being too hot or too cold

• Physical: stress (ie. caused by temper tantrum), sweat, saliva, hormones, germs, infection, excessive scratching, excessive sebum on the skin, overgrowth of yeast on the skin

• Allergies: food allergies, airborne allergies

• Food sensitivities

• Insect bites

• Existing skin infection

• Chemicals: found in glue, paint, carpet, plastic chairs,
pool water

• Metals: Nickel

You will often find eczema flares where the irritant like fabrics, metal, food, or sweat, came into contact with the skin. With food allergies, the skin reaction may be observed after ingesting the allergen. Airborne allergies may be more challenging to confirm. You can consult your child’s pediatrician or allergist to ask whether the child has possible airborne allergens that trigger eczema. Sometimes eczema is triggered with no identifiable cause.

What Parents
Need To Know

• Eczema is very common in children — more than one million school-age children suffer from atopic dermatitis. Eczema can flare up even after it’s treated, which can be frustrating for families.

• Unfortunately, children with eczema do not uniformly outgrow their eczema as it appears to be a lifelong disease for many, that may or may not persist into adulthood.

• Babies and children often scratch the eczema, making the eczema worse and intensifying the redness and swelling.

• Eczema needs to be treated, otherwise an eczema flare can get worse and sores may appear and the skin can become infected (yellow crust, or bumps with pus).

• It can affect a child’s comfort during sleep, thereby making babies more irritable during the day.

Copyright © 2020 Eczema Babies – All Rights Reserved.

What Is Eczema

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a skin condition that affects babies and children. Eczema presents as red, rough itchy skin and it needs to be treated properly in order to improve. There is no cure for eczema and sometimes it will get better while other times there can be eczema flares. To reduce the rashes, there are strategies to control your child’s eczema flares and monitor the skin. Eczema is not contagious.

How Common Is Eczema?

Atopic dermatitis or eczema occurs in up to 20% of children. Approximately 90% of children with atopic dermatitis experience the onset of disease before 5 years of age.

1 in 10

or 32M suffer from eczema

10M Children

(under age of 18) or up to 1 in 8 children suffer from eczema

90%

of children develop eczema before 5 years of age

60%

of children develop eczema in infancy

Where Do Symptoms First Appear?

  • Face
  • Neck
  • Behind the knees
  • Between the elbows
  • Wrists
  • Ankles
  • Fingers

The distribution of skin affected by eczema tends to change with age.

• Newborn: Atopic dermatitis most often first appears between the age of 2 to 6 months.

• Infant: In non-mobile infants, the face and scalp are commonly affected. In later infancy, the extensor surfaces of the extremities, trunk, face, and neck become involved.

• Children: In older children and adolescents, the primary focus is often the wrists, ankles, antecubital and popliteal fossae, and neck.

A Visual Guide to Mild, Moderate or Severe Eczema

Mild Eczema

Itching Scale: doesn’t interfere with normal activities

Moderate Eczema

Itching Scale: interferes with child care or school, sleep, or other normal activities

Severe Eczema

Itching Scale: constant itching that can’t be controlled

Types of Eczema

There are several types of eczema that children suffer from. Here are the most common types:

Contact Dermatitis
A red, itchy rash caused by direct contact with a substance or an allergic reaction to it. The rash isn’t contagious or life-threatening, but it can be very uncomfortable.

Dyshidrotic Eczema or Dyshidrosis
A skin condition in which blisters develop on the soles of your feet and/or the palms of your hands. The blisters are usually itchy and may be filled with fluid. Blisters normally last for about two to four weeks and may be related to seasonal allergies or stress. This is usually seen in adults but can affect children too.

Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis, the most common type of eczema, causes red, dry, and itchy skin. In infants, this form of eczema usually affects the face, scalp, and skin creases, but can also involve other areas of the body.

Seborrheic Dermatitis (or Cradle Cap)
Cradle cap can often cause crusty or oily scaly patches on an infant’s scalp. The condition is not painful or itchy but it can cause thick white or yellow scales that can be difficult to remove. Cradle cap usually clears up on its own within a few weeks or months. Special shampoos such as T-Sal shampoo helps

Common Triggers

Each time your child has an eczema flare-up, take note of all the possible factors that might have caused it. Eliminate the suspected triggers and see if the symptoms improve.

Common triggers can include:

• Fabrics: Polyester, wool, nylon, rayon

• Fragrance: Found in personal hygiene or household products like soap, lotions, shampoo, detergent soap, perfume

• Environmental: Dry air, hot or cold weather, change in season, low or high humidity, pets, dust, temperature being too hot or too cold

• Physical: stress (ie. caused by temper tantrum), sweat, saliva, hormones, germs, infection, excessive scratching, excessive sebum on the skin, overgrowth of yeast on the skin

• Allergies: food allergies, airborne allergies

• Food sensitivities

• Insect bites

• Existing skin infection

• Chemicals: found in glue, paint, carpet, plastic chairs,
pool water

• Metals: Nickel

You will often find eczema flares where the irritant like fabrics, metal, food, or sweat, came into contact with the skin. With food allergies, the skin reaction may be observed after ingesting the allergen. Airborne allergies may be more challenging to confirm. You can consult your child’s pediatrician or allergist to ask whether the child has possible airborne allergens that trigger eczema. Sometimes eczema is triggered with no identifiable cause.

What Parents Need To Know

• Eczema is very common in children — more than one million school-age children suffer from atopic dermatitis. Eczema can flare up even after it’s treated, which can be frustrating for families.

• Unfortunately, children with eczema do not uniformly outgrow their eczema as it appears to be a lifelong disease for many, that may or may not persist into adulthood.

• Babies and children often scratch the eczema, making the eczema worse and intensifying the redness and swelling.

• Eczema needs to be treated, otherwise an eczema flare can get worse and sores may appear and the skin can become infected (yellow crust, or bumps with pus).

• It can affect a child’s comfort during sleep, thereby making babies more irritable during the day.

© 2022 Eczema Babies – All Rights Reserved