Dry Skin Treatment

A Worrying Trend
Some statistics estimate that as high as seventy percent of children suffer from some form of dry skin condition. Unfortunately this sometimes leads to eczema given the fact that children’s skins are generally more prone to damage than those of adults. All parents should be concerned about these trends because nothing exercises the conscience of a parent than the health or wellbeing of their child. The statistics are high but the worrying thing is that there are solutions that people are simply not taking up in the fight against dry skin.

The Reasons for Dry Skin
Upon birth, the child will lose the slippery protection of amniotic fluid. This means that the skin has to quickly adjust to the new harsh environment of the world at large. This can eventually lead to the development of dry skin and a certain level of redness. If the family home is heated during the winter period, then this can remove moisture from the air. Moisture is crucial to maintaining a moist healthy skin.

Bathing is important in order to maintain a certain level of hygiene and to give the germs away. However if it is done too frequently then it can remove the essential oils from the skin thus causing eczema. If the child is taken for a swim during the warmer weather, that can also lead to an increase in their exposure to salt and chlorine. These substances can have the effect of drying the skin or causing some severe skin rashes.

Treatment of the Conditions and Preventative Measures
Some people who can afford it include humidifiers in their home furnishings to ensure that there is moisture in the house at all times. This gives the skin the opportunity to rehydrate on a regular basis. There are many vaporizers that are now available to the ordinary markets and therefore parents should take the opportunity to stock them. In terms of dealing with the cold, the parents are advised to use warm clothing rather than always relying on heaters. Gloves and mittens can become an effective tool against reduced humidity during the colder periods of the year.

Bathing should only be done when necessary. Some guides advise that bathing should only occur once every four days although for some parents this is not acceptable. However daily or multi daily baths are not a very good idea. Bubble baths also tend to cause dry skin conditions among toddlers. You should use moisturizing baby products in the bath and get the baby to have some oil within the water that they bathe in. This ensures that even if the moisture is being lost, there is an opportunity for replenishment.

The final measure is to have vigilance when looking after the baby. If it appears that there is dryness or reddening then the parent needs to make sure that this is addressed as a matter of urgency. Where the parent neglects to deal with the skin problems they can turn into something more serious such as eczema which can be much more difficult to treat.