Eczema and Cloth

Baby with Eczema

What is Eczema? Eczema is a chronic skin disorder that involves scaly and itchy rashes and is most common in babies. Fortunately, most people outgrow Eczema, but what do you do until then?

The first major step is to choose cloth diapering. Cloth is must more gentle on the sensitive skin of babies with Eczema. The chemicals and additives in disposables can actually cause Eczema to flare up. Babies with Eczema are typically more prone to skin allergies and have extremely sensitive skin, so you will want to try some different diaper fabrics to see what works best for your baby. Some people have great luck with regular organic cotton, but some babies need a microfleece barrier if they are super sensitive to wetness. A pocket diaper or microfleece liners are great to try if the baby does not respond well to a typical cotton diaper. There are lots of natural remedies to help treat Eczema and most are very cloth diaper friendly.

Moisturizing is obviously very important for the baby. This can sooth some of the pain and itch and will keep the baby from irritating the area with constant scratching. Using an all-natural moisturizer is very important. The lesser amount of ingredients the better! If the baby has a particularly bad flare up and needs some immediate relief a good old fashion oatmeal bath can help dramatically. 

Anything that comes into contact with the baby's skin needs to be as simple and natural as you can find. This would include detergents for clothes, lotions, baby washes, ect. This just will help ensure any irritants are avoided as much as possible.

There are also some things that have been shown to help treat Eczema without using prescription strength medication. First thing is blueberry leaves. Blueberry leaves are a natural inflammation reliever. Vitamin E and egg white solutions can also help speed up healing. You can purchase a vitamin E oil and apply it directly to the skin or use a egg white solution applied to the skin. Simply let the egg whites dry on skin then wipe away. You can also mix ground oats with egg whites for an even more relieving treatment. Calendula cream is a common lotion used to help sooth Eczema in babies as well.

None of this should be taken as medical advice as I am not a medical professional; however, there are many mothers who swear by natural treatments and I think they are worth a shot!