My doctor says my 10-week-old son has eczema and prescribed some cream. What is eczema and will he have it all his life?
Eczema means a scaly rash. Most doctors mean “atopic eczema” when they say “eczema”. There are other scaly rashes that are called eczema. A similar rash to atopic eczema that affects babies is seborrheic dermatitis. As both these types of eczema (atopic eczema and seborrheic dermatitis) improve on corticosteroid creams, knowing which form of eczema it is may not seem important. However, the course of these 2 conditions will be very different. Atopic eczema is part of atopy and babies who have it may develop asthma, hayfever and an undue tendency to allergies. Seborrheic dermatitis tends to disappear by 2 years, only to reappear in adolescence as dandruff.
It is important to emphasize that your child may grow out of his eczema and never have any of these other conditions in later life, no matter which of these 2 scaling rashes he has.
Eczema does not produce permanent scarring by itself. It is itchy and if scratched, it may become infected and require antibiotics. If this secondary infection is severe it may cause scarring. Babies with eczema in the nappy region (usually due to seborrheic dermatitis) may have recurrent and very difficult to control nappy rash. This will require antiseptic baths as well as the corticosteroid creams- this needs medical attention and advice.
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I love knowing that my child's health is in the hands of knowledgeable children specialists when she has health problems. They have done a great job being our doctor.
A pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializes in treating young children up to younger teens. If you are interested pediatric surgery we have a large amount of professional articles on the subject.
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