How to Treat a Child With Eczema

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Hill, and today, we're going to talk about how to treat a child with eczema. Eczema is a very common allergic condition of the skin in young children. In infants, it tends to appear on the face, and on the chest, and on the extensive surfaces of the arms, as bumps or thickened, scaly-appearing skin. As children grow, it moves to the flexor surfaces of the arms, on the inside of the elbow, behind the knees, and still, on the rest of the body in patches. One of the hallmarks of eczema is itching. You'll see children, as soon as they figure out how to scratch, starting to scratch these areas. Eczema is caused by a combination of allergies and dry skin, so treating eczema involves treating both of these problems. Some of the medications that we use especially address itching, Hydroxyzine, or Benadryl, Diphenhydramine are two anti-itching medicines that we use a lot. We also use other later generation antihistamines, like Cetirizine or Loratadine to control itching. We also may use steroid creams to fight the allergic reaction that underlies eczema. Over-the-counter, you can get Hydrocortisone cream, or your doctor may prescribe stronger steroid creams or ointments if the disease seems to be resistant to conservative therapy. Moisturizing the skin and maintaining the skin's natural moisture are critical to controlling eczema. Children should bathe daily, but baths should be short, with lukewarm water instead of hot water, and a minimum of soap can be used. You can even add baby oil to the bath water to increase the oiliness. As soon as the child is out of the bath, you want to pat, rather than rub them down with a towel, and you want to apply some sort of lotion, ointment, or even Vaseline, as soon as you can, after they're dry. Some common products that work well include Eucerin, Aquaphor, Cetaphil, and like I said, Vaseline will work well, especially on areas that are not particularly exposed, such as the face. So remember, treating eczema is a matter of maintaining the skin's natural oils by minimizing the amount of time in the bath, and the amount of soap used, replacing the skins oils by rubbing your child down with emollient creams or petrolatum jelly, immediately after a bath, and controlling the allergic reaction with steroid creams and antihistamines. Talking about how to treat a child with Eczema, I'm Dr. David Hill."