Infantile Serborrhoeic Eczema: An Overview

Your baby may be having a case of infantile seborrhoeic eczema when he has crusty, red or scaly patches all over your body. When this becomes severe the skin can actually break, grow raw and begin to bleed. While it does not look pleasant, it is useful to know that at least it is not contagious. When the symptoms are just confined to the scalp, it is known as cradle cap.

This condition afflicts babies less than 1 year old. A startling one out of every five babies will develop this condition at one time or another in their lives. This can also occur in 1 in 5 older children and 1 in 12 adults as well. However, although the cases that happen in older children and adults are not the same as infantile seborrhoeic eczema, these cases may have originated from previous cases that occurred when the sufferer was a child.

Some say that infant seborrhoeic eczema occurs because of overactive sebaceous glands (that produce the oil on the skin). There are other forms that can occur. These reasons include asthma, hayfever, genetics or an allergy to something that the skin comes into contact with.

If your baby develops the symptoms of dry and scaly skin, consult a pediatrician as soon as possible. Early and proper diagnosis can lead to proper treatment. However, it is likely that the skin of the baby is always going to be sensitive and prone to flare ups. For this reason, it is important to take special care of the skin with a good cleansing and moisturizing routine.

For cradle cap, you can try rubbing a small amount of warm olive oil mixed with a few drops of primrose oil onto your baby's cradle cap in order to loosen it up. You should apply this mixture to your baby's head before bedtime. Let it soak into her skin before you wash it off in the morning with a mild baby shampoo. Some other topical supplements that can help your baby include Aloe vera and Borage oil.

If you are breastfeeding and if your baby is also having infantile seborrhoeic eczema at the same time, then you should change your diet. Try to consume more biotin from liver and eggs. You should also begin taking evening primrose oil, emu oil or any supplements known to help in eczema skin. In addition, your baby may be allergic to some of the foods in your diet such as milk, wheat and eggs. Hence, do avoid these food triggers while you are breastfeeding your baby. Hopefully, these tips will help alleviate the inflammations that arise with this condition.