Babies have extremely soft and sensitive skin and that’s probably why they are so cuddly! But such soft and sensitive skin can experience a wide range of skin issues. One of those common skin issues for babies is eczema. If your baby’s skin looks red, itchy, and inflamed, they may have eczema. But don’t worry, this is a very common skin irritation and there are many natural remedies to help soothe and heal your baby’s skin!
Eczema in babies often manifests as dry and scaly patches on the skin. They often appear on the scalp, forehead, and face. They are very common on babies’ cheeks. It’s important to note that baby eczema does not always appear on the same body parts as adult eczema.
There are many causes of eczema in babies including genetics, dry skin, irritants in their surroundings, excessive heat, perspiration, allergies, overactive immune response, and more. If your baby has eczema, it’s a good idea to try to figure out what is causing a breakout and limit their exposure to those triggers as much as possible and when they do have a breakout, try to use natural remedies to soothe and heal their skin.
Natural Remedies for Baby Eczema include:
-Increase Vitamin Levels. Low levels of Vitamin D are associated with an increased risk for developing allergies, which can trigger eczema breakouts. Try taking Vitamin D if you are pregnant or nursing to help decrease your baby’s risk of allergies. B12 has been proven to help treat eczema and can be applied B12 directly onto children’s skin to help treat breakouts. In older babies, increasing fish intake or giving them cod liver oil can help reduce eczema, and it contains Vitamin D so it is a great option to consider.
-Improve Gut Health and Make Diet Changes. Since the majority of our immune system is found in the gut its very important to ensure proper gut bacteria health and integrity of the gut lining (avoiding “leaky gut”). Adding a probiotic like this one for infants and kids and eating more fermented foods (kefir, kombucha, kimchi, etc.) can help improve gut health and prevent breakouts. You can make diet changes that can help as well. Try to avoid inflammatory foods and common allergens like dairy, gluten, and soy. Also, choose organic whenever possible and avoid genetically modified foods. These diet changes will also help to heal the gut!
-Soothe and Moisturize. You can apply coconut oil to help moisturize the dry skin or calendula cream to help soothe the skin. Coconut oil has antibacterial properties which is great as eczema sores can easily become infected. Magnesium lotions are another great way to relieve eczema and soothe your baby’s skin. Giving your baby an oatmeal bath or apply an oatmeal paste, just be sure your baby doesn’t eat any of the paste.
If your baby is suffering from eczema, don’t worry, it is extremely common and luckily there are many natural remedies! Next, find out some of my natural remedies for teething.