The family where a little one is afflicted with eczema, is usually under stress. Though not a life-threatening ailment, it is definitely a life-disruptive one.
The child suffers from terrible itch and sometimes the rashes ooze or turn into dry and flaky patches.
Stop Your Child From Scratching
The first remedy is for decreasing the inflammation and thereby reducing the chance to develop the rash into a swollen and oozing wound. This first therapeutic step is very important in order to make the life comfortable for your child and for you. The itching can totally debilitate the child. To this end, try your best so that your child does not scratch, there will be strong urge for him or her to tear the skin.
But you, as a parent, have to do a very simple thing. On one hand, try to distract his attention to something that can attract him and on the other, almost simultaneously, cover that itchy area with the warmth and love of your hand. Gently move your palm on the affected area as if you are rubbing it. Loving attitude, care, and understanding the child’s urge to scratch will soothe the child’s nerves.
Remedies For Treatment of Eczema
The second level of treatment of eczema is the use of home remedies. You may have to combine any two remedies for better results. When you start with any of the home remedies, let the first two or three sessions be on a trial basis, so use low dosage/application. After all a child’s skin and system are delicate and sensitive.
Coconut Oil
You have to use only 100% pure coconut oil. Coconut oil has long been famed for its gentle moisturizing properties; hence, it can heal the children’s eczema. It is an incredibly light oil, you can buy it from the stores. The coconut oil is very similar to sebum, the natural moisturizer of the skin.
Coconut oil is being used since millennia all around the world. It is well known for being gentle on the skin. You should feel very safe about applying it on your child. This is one remedy, that is recommended to all parents whose children need treatment for eczema. But remember to apply it when the skin is slightly wet, particularly just after a bath or mix it with a few drops of water. Very gently massage it on the skin. If you have not used it till now, you are bound to feel blessed!
Neem( margosa)
Neem is likely to prove very beneficial in healing your child’s eczema. Neem contains organic compounds of sulphur, and is an important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicines to cure skin diseases. It is antiseptic and antifungal. It is a native of Indian sub-continent, and now it is being grown in many other countries as well. It can be used in two ways.
The best way is – boiling neem leaves in coconut oil and applying it four to five times a day. Second is application of Neem oil, available in the stores. It is a good idea to always keep neem oil at home, as it has many uses. Though neem has a strong odor, it is worth using. And, it is not an expensive item.
Best way of using it to first apply coconut oil and then on top use the neem oil. Believe me! It works wonders, if applied with care and regularity of three or four times a day. Most children start feeling comfortable after two three applications. Chances are that with the regular use of neem, the eczema is likely to go away completely. You may need to keep applying it once a day, for some more time even after the child feels completely alright.
Use Of Emollient Cream
One of the best emollient cream can be made at home from natural beeswax. It is better than Vaseline made from petroleum. One can make it at home by melting beeswax in a double boiler and mixing vitamin E capsules as well as almond oil. One should note the exact method of preparing this, so as to get the best result.
Take 25g fresh beeswax, it is easily available with beekeepers. With some effort you should be able to get it. Melt it in a double boiler, in no case should it be put in the microwave oven. When melted, add the vitamin E oil from 6 capsules. These capsules can be bought from any drug store. Lastly mix 100g sweet almond oil. Mix it well and put the lid when it has cooled down. Now it is ready to be stored.
Vitamin E nourishes the skin, as it is an antioxidant. Almond oil contains vitamins E and B, hence it is a good moisturizer and is used in the treatment of eczema to reduce inflammation. And wax too has all goodness of a moisturizer.
Oats
Oats can be wonderful for sore and itchy skin of your baby. Studies done by Food and Drug Administration of the United states quote oats as safe, cosmetically stable and non-irritating. They sooth the affected area with no side effects. Its use dates back to 2000 B.C., in ancient Egypt and Arabia, mentions a Cosmeceutical Critique by Dr Leslie Baumann.
The easiest way to use oats is to take a small bag of cloth, fill it with oats and dip it in the bathing water bucket. Squeeze out the milky liquid into the bucket.You can even rub the leftover oats on the skin as a form of soap. All beauty treatments vouch for benefits of oats for skin treatments. This is another very easy to use remedy, and will deliver good results to make your child free from itch.
Also Read
Foods That Cure Eczema
Herbal Remedies For Eczema
Home Remedies For Skin Rashes
Drugs And Medications To Treat Eczema
Sandalwood And Camphor
We all know that sandalwood possesses cooling and soothing properties, but not all know that it is applied on skin for its antiseptic and germicidal benefits. Camphor has the property to relieve itching, irritation and pain.
In some areas of the world, people regularly apply sandalwood paste on face for a beautiful skin. One teaspoon of sandalwood powder is mixed with one tenth quantity of camphor, and a paste can be made. Apply this paste on the areas of rashes. Take care not to apply it on the bleeding rashes. Camphor can harm the open wounds. Wash it after sometime.
Hydration
Keep your child well hydrated, this is the cheapest home remedy. You may add honey or something else which your child likes. Water will help flush the toxins out of the body as it is a natural cleanser. It will moisturize your child’s skin and help keep the child comfortable.
Clothing
The best eczema-friendly clothing is cottons. Cottons do not aggravate the eczema, the others will.
